Entrepreneurial skills for digitalisation of agriculture in rural areas – AgriSkills

"<< Background >>The AgriSkills project was initiated in response to the transformative impact of digitization on agriculture, prompting farmers to adapt to new technologies and practices. Recognizing the critical need for farmers to enhance their skills and knowledge in digital farming, the project aimed to raise awareness of technological advancements in agriculture and promote continuous skill adaptation.Key training needs were identified, including low awareness of new technologies, lack of knowledge about customized solutions for small farmers, and a need for digital and business skills and understanding of economic value chains in digital agriculture. The AgriSkills consortium was strategically formed to leverage the collective experience and expertise of its members, encompassing emerging digital technologies, innovation, business development, vocational education and training (VET), information technologies, and regional development. This collaborative approach positioned the project to effectively address the pressing concerns among farmers and promote sustainable agriculture.<< Objectives >>In terms of objectives, the project aimed to build organizational capacity for transnational collaboration to address common needs and priorities in education and training. By fostering a collaborative environment conducive to agricultural development and innovation across borders, the project sought to support agricultural development and innovation in rural European regions, prioritizing sustainable practices and eco-innovation solutions.The overarching goal was to equip farmers, entrepreneurs, SMEs, VET trainers, regional agencies, and the public with key competences in entrepreneurship and innovation. This would facilitate the transition from labor-intensive to knowledge-based agricultural practices, addressing the urgent training and education needs of target groups and showcasing innovative trends in agriculture production and services.By building organizational capacity for transnational cooperation between partners from Macedonia, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Greece, countries with different levels of digital development in agriculture, the project aimed to use diverse experiences and perspectives to foster innovation and collaboration in agricultural practices at the European level.<< Implementation >>In our project implementation, we undertook several key activities to achieve our objectives. Firstly, we conducted a need analysis survey across rural areas in Germany, Austria, Greece, Slovenia, and North Macedonia, engaging various stakeholders, including farmers, SMEs, farmers’ organizations, VET providers, and decision makers. The aim was to identify critical skills gaps in digital agriculture in rural areas. Based on the findings, we started a full process for the development of a modular training course tailored to address the identified needs, also including activities like testing and adaptation. Additionally, we were working on the establishment of a virtual learning environment to support the training course, including a multilingual e-learning platform and a database for good practices. We conducted usability testing to ensure accessibility and effectiveness. Furthermore, we performed interviews and desk research to collect good practices, showcasing successful technologies, use cases and initiatives in digital agriculture. In addition, we identified various criteria to arrange these good practices for better visibility and to unite them into a comprehensive reference catalogue, aimed at assisting stakeholders in applying necessary skills and competencies for digital transformation. << Results >>Moving on to the results achieved, our need analysis titled ""Survey Findings: Uncovering Essential Skills for Adopting Digital Technologies in Agriculture"" provides valuable insights into essential skills for adopting digital technologies in agriculture (https://agriskills40.com/need-analysis-survey-findings/). This was the base for the development of the AgriSkills Training Course with five modules, a multilingual program facilitating self-learning and blended learning, covering a range of topics such as digital and business skills for managing agricultural business in the digital economy, and financing the digital transformation of agricultural business (https://training.agriskills40.com/training/).Additionally, the AgriSkills reference catalogue named “AgriSkills Guidebook on Digitalization in Agriculture"", with >180 pages comprising the collected 47 good practices, serves as a vital resource for stakeholders to gain insights into successful digitalization practices and apply them in their own contexts (https://training.agriskills40.com/catalogue/).All learning materials are accessible through the AgriSkills 4.0 e-Learning Platform (https://training.agriskills40.com/catalogue/), with 1.683 unique users (in the period from JAN '24 to APR '24). The implemented database with all collected good practices, offering users the ability to search and access them individually through various criteria, enhancing learning (https://training.agriskills40.com/good_practices/). We also launched the AgriSkills Mobile App to provide flexible access to training materials and resources, promoting continuous learning in digital agriculture (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gr.connexions.agriskills).We also organized five multiplier events to disseminate the project results, facilitated knowledge sharing and feedback collection, contributing to improved stakeholder engagement and cross-sector collaboration (https://agriskills40.com/multiplier-events/).The AgriSkills website and blog (https://agriskills40.com/news/) are the central hubs for accessing project information and promoting knowledge sharing in digital agriculture. We reached more than 130.000 people with newsletters, press releases, social media posts and flyers with information about project updates, events, and key findings, fostering awareness in digital agricultural practices. Through these efforts, we achieved intangible results as increased awareness and understanding of digitization in agriculture, enhanced capacity, and skill development among stakeholders, and strengthened cooperation and knowledge exchange between partner countries. In addition, we created new partnerships that will lead to sustainable use of the project results: University Weihenstephan (Germany) started negotiation to use learning content for educational purposes, Agricultural University (Greece) and IDENER (Spain) committed to apply for a HORIZON EUROPE project to develop digital and sustainable transition use cases in the agricultural sector based on references from the AgriSkills project, and BadenCampus (Germany) expressing interest for using learning and training content for startup coaching in their “arise” accelerator.Finally, the feedback received from stakeholders highlights the innovative role of AgriSkills project in bridging the gap between innovation and traditional agriculture, facilitating a seamless transition to a more sustainable and technologically advanced agricultural sector."