Supporting farmers in adopting Agriculture 4.0 technologies to improve their yield and minimise their environmental impact.
Context
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the world’s population will grow by 2.3 billion by 2050 and agricultural production and consumption could be 60% higher than today. Taking into consideration the effects of climate change, feeding an extra two billion people will require innovative solutions. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has the power to change things but the existing digital divide prevents many farmers from accessing ICT for agriculture. To help farms to transform their business activities to new standards based on integrated digitization of production processes, the ITFARM project will create ad hoc educational resources on Agriculture 4.0 for farmers and VET teachers.
Objectives
- To provide educational opportunities on Agriculture 4.0 technologies to farmers and VET teachers;
- To help farms to transform their business activities to new standards based on integrated digitization of production processes;
- To support of VET teachers in introducing Smart Agriculture into educational and training programmes;
- To raise awareness of stakeholders and decision makers of the potential of digital agricultural technologies.
Activities
- Conducting research survey among farmers and technology providers to identify the current situation of Agriculture 4.0 and the demand for ICT in agriculture;
- Developing educational materials to help farms owners and (future) employees to familiarise with the newest digital technologies in the field of agriculture;
- Providing tailor-made courses for farmers and VET teachers and students.
Resources
- Research report on the current state and the latest trends of Agriculture 4.0;
- Study materialsand teaching tool-kits on Smart Farming and Precision Agriculture formanagers and (future) employees of the farming sector;
- Online e-learning platform on digital agriculture for farmers and VET teachers and students.
Impact
- 140 farmers and VET providers and students trained on the use of ICT in agriculture;
- 210 stakeholders informed about the opportunities offered by Agriculture 4.0;
- Strengthened ICT curricula into agricultural vocational education and training programmes;
- Enhanced digitalisation of agribusiness.
Partners
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Czech Republic, coordinatore)
- University of Liege (Belgium)
- Agraren Universitet Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
- IDEC (Greece)
- Meath Partnership (Ireland)
- CESIE (Italy)
