The Centres of Vocational Excellence in Smart Farming and Sustainable Food Systems project aims to respond to the existing and emerging needs of an “agriculture of the future”. The project will work on contributing the necessary soft and technical skills needed for a transformed agriculture sector, covering the priority areas of digitalisation, decarbonisation and sustainability. The Centres of Vocational Excellence will bring together European leading actors from Vocational Education and Training, academia, research, and business across regions with tradition in the agri-food sector.
OVERVIEW
AGRIFOOD4FUTURE is a world-class ERASMUS+ initiative aimed at building VET skills and educational programs addressing the needs of the “agriculture of the future”. By bringing together European leading actors from VET-academia-research-business across regions with tradition in the agri-food (yet lagging in new practices adoption), we aim at building centers of vocational excellence able to respond to existing and emerging needs in the sector, while targeting the key priorities of the sector: digitalization, decarbonization and sustainability.
Scientists, policymakers, and open visioned agrifood players have noted the transformative potential of new and emerging agriculture practices, such as climate-smart agriculture, smart farming, precision agriculture, regenerative and organic practices, NEXUS based approach to agri-food, etc., but found difficulties to implement it at large scales. Barriers such as the insufficient level of awareness, soft and technical skills, and limited entrepreneurial mindset of, usually, more conservative farming professionals have been inhibitors of change.
Aligned with the need of writing new narratives for the “agriculture of the future” we aim to implement and develop vocational training and educational system from low-to-higher EQF levels, including lifelong learning tools for farmer advisors, SMEs, and agro-food players. AGRIFOOD4FUTURE will provide them with exemplary best practices and advances in the sector. It will equip them with technical, soft, and entrepreneurial skills towards new ventures and innovative mindset. It will foster perception change and acceptance of agro-food sector as a “bright” vocational career option, while preparing the sector for adoption of smart, advanced, and sustainable practices.
MAIN OBJECTIVES:
- To contribute to the transformation of the agri-food sector towards digitalisation, decarbonisation and sustainability
- To support the large-scale implementation of new and emerging agriculture practices, such as climate-smart agriculture, precision agriculture, regenerative and organic practices
- To provide the necessary soft and technical skills, raising awareness, and cultivating an entrepreneurial mind-set for the “agriculture of the future” for young people and workers in the agri-food sector
- Set-up of a transnational joint Master of Science, and development of Master and PhD training courses
- Design of a lifelong learning programme for farmers, on smart agriculture and digital farming, climate smart-farming and new sustainable practices among others
- Establishment of work-based learning and visits, for example through a network of exemplary farms on regenerative farming practices as an instrument for peer-to-peer learning and internships, an open innovation test farm program for start-ups, farmers, and VET students
BUDGET: 4,231,563€
LEAD ORGANIZATION: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy)