The effect of the operation was to increase the efficiency and quality of the cultivation of the medicinal plant Rhodiola rosea. This was achieved by: 1. developing and optimising a method for microclonal propagation of R.rosea 2. improving the process of raw material preparation by equipping the farm with an innovative, ecological technological line (washing, cutting and drying). The operation was implemented using green technologies (both in the investment part, e.g. photovoltaics, recuperation) and in the research part (e.g. supercritical extraction), which directly contributes to environmental protection and climate change mitigation. The biggest innovation on a Polish scale was the development, optimisation and eventual production of the first extract from Polish R. rosea. This standardised product has expanded the Farm's product portfolio and is a finished product for the pharmaceutical or food industry.
The implementation of the operation and the results achieved have contributed to the establishment of lasting cooperation between the farm and Bialystok University of Technology. This has translated directly into the design and application for further joint research and development projects aimed at expanding the infrastructure of this organic farm to the extent that it can produce and sell extracts from all the herbaceous plants that are grown there. At the same time, Polish and European business interest in both the raw material itself and in Rhodiola rosea extract (the result of the operation) is high and a project is planned to carry out clinical trials of the extract produced. All these collaborations, the planned implementation of projects (both national and European within the framework of the European EPI AGRI groups) would not have been possible without the implementation of the present operation.
The implementation of the present operation was the first operation carried out under the action „Współpraca” in consortium with Białystok University of Technology. The experience of the project team, both from the perspective of the application and the implementation of the operation, contributed to a significant increase in the interest of other agricultural entrepreneurs in developing and implementing innovations on their farms in cooperation with the University. This resulted in 4 operations receiving aid under „M16 Współpraca”.
