SLO 19.1.2022 je minister dr. Podgoršek obisk Savinjske regije začel na Polzeli, kjer se je srečal z vodstvom občine. Pogovor je tekel o razvoju kmetijstva v Spodnji Savinjski dolini in samooskrbi. V popoldanskem delu obiska se je minister srečal z županom Občine Žalec Jankom Kosom, direktorico občinske uprave na Občina Žalec dr. Darjo Majkovič, poslancem državnega zbora iz naše doline Aleksander Reberšek in predstavniki Razvojne agencije Savinja (direktor Stojan Praprotnik) ter Inštituta za hmeljarstvo in pivovarstvo Slovenije (direktor Bojan Cizej in vodja projekta Barbara Čeh). Tema srečanja je bilo zaključevanje LIFE projekta BioTHOP, v katerem se preizkuša biorazgradljiva hmeljska vrvica. Prisotni so pojasnili, da je še nekaj izzivov, predvsem na nivoju zakonodaje in politike, da bo v prakso vpeljana celovita rešitev na področju vpeljave krožnega gospodarstva v hmeljarstvo. Vodja projekta dr. Barbara Čeh je pokazala tudi izdelke iz hmeljevine, ki so do sedaj nastali tekom projekta; glavni izdelek je vsekakor biorazgradljiva vrvica za napeljavo hmelja, ki je kompostabilna na kmetijah samih. S pravilnim kompostiranjem hmeljevine si bodo hmeljarji lahko sami pridelali kvaliteten kompost, pri tem pa bo ta vrvica razpadla na vodo, ogljikov dioksid in organsko maso. Cilj je dolina brez ostankov plastike, kompost pa vrnjen na kmetijske površine, s čimer se ohranja njihova rodovitnost. Interese hmeljarjev je zastopal Janez Oset, predsednik Združenje hmeljarjev Slovenije. Na sestanku je minister dr. Jože Podgoršek poudaril, da so se hmeljarji v preteklem letu zelo izkazali.
EN On January 19, 2022, Minister dr. Podgoršek began his visit to the Savinjska region in Polzela, where he met with the municipality’s leadership. The discussion was focused on the development of agriculture in the Lower Savinja Valley and self-sufficiency. In the afternoon part of the visit, the Minister met with the Mayor of the Municipality of Žalec Janko Kos, the Director of the Municipal Administration of the Municipality of Žalec dr. Darjo Majkovič, member of the Parliament from our valley Aleksander Reberšek and representatives of the Savinja Development Agency (director Stojan Praprotnik) and the Institute of Hop Growing and Brewing of Slovenia (director Bojan Cizej and project manager Barbara Čeh). The topic of the meeting was the completion of the LIFE project BioTHOP, in which the biodegradable hop twine is being tested. The participants explained that there are still some challenges, especially at the level of legislation and policy, that a comprehensive solution in the field of introducing a circular economy in hop growing will be put into practice. Project manager dr. Barbara Čeh also showed the project products that have been made so far during the project; the main product is definitely the biodegradable hop twine, which is compostable on the farms themselves. With proper composting of hop waste, hop growers will be able to produce quality compost themselves, and this twine will break down into the water, carbon dioxide and organic matter. The main goal is a valley free of plastic residues, and compost is returned to agricultural land, thus preserving their fertility. The interests of hop growers were represented by Janez Oset, president of the Slovenian Hop Growers Association. At the meeting, Minister dr. Jože Podgoršek emphasized that hop growers had proved themselves in the past year.
