Erasmus+ Project: AGRIDIRECT: New alternatives for the agricultural sector: study of experiences in multifunctionality, short supply chains, and direct sales in Tuscany
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2014 -2015
- Assigned Budget 23.140,00 €
- Scope Europeo
- Autonomous community Andalucía
- Main source of financing Erasmus +
The economic crisis in the EU had a negative impact on the employment rate. The unemployment rate in the eurozone rose from 6.4% in 2007 to 12.2% in September 2013, with even worse figures, from 8.3% to 26.6%, in some countries such as Spain (Eurostat, 31 October 2013). Therefore, rural areas in the EU, and specifically in Spain, face a common challenge: the creation of sustainable, high-quality jobs that allow young people to live and work in these areas, contributing to social, cultural, and economic wealth. Although rural areas represent 93% of the EU's territory, per capita income is just over half that of urban areas. The European Commission proposes closing the employment gap in rural areas by fostering entrepreneurship and ensuring better education and training [COM(2006) 857]. At COAG-Jaén, we firmly believe that investing in quality training that covers innovative areas can contribute to improving the situation described above.
To provide this training, the technical and teaching staff responsible for the courses must receive specific training directly related to on-site knowledge of best practices. With this project, we aim to provide the participants (20 technicians responsible for teaching and managing the vocational training courses organized by COAG-Jaén) with the necessary knowledge to transmit to the students skills related to multifunctionality, short supply chains, and direct sales in the olive oil and agritourism sector, using Tuscany as a model. These skills can provide farmers, cooperative technicians, agricultural entrepreneurs, and workers linked to the agricultural sector and the rural world with a valuable tool to generate additional income that will revitalize the sector, especially olive oil production, and promote the entrepreneurial spirit of its stakeholders.
We believe that the most appropriate way for our technical and teaching staff to acquire this knowledge is through a direct visit, which will allow them to gain firsthand knowledge of the different elements, the actors involved, and the political and business tools that have enabled the development of activities related to multifunctionality, short supply chains, and direct selling. The ideal destination for a visit of this type is Tuscany, a pioneering region that represents the forefront of this type of initiative. The project will be developed following the CEDEFOP study visit model. The profile of the entities visited will be diverse to cover all the necessary aspects and offer participants effective training and a comprehensive overview of the sector. Visits will include: Agri-food companies whose success is based on multifunctionality, short supply chains, and direct selling initiatives; Consortia and organizations involved in rural development initiatives; Cooperatives; Farmers' associations; and Regional and local public administrations.
- Improve the qualifications of our technical staff, responsible for teaching our vocational training courses on multifunctionality, short supply chains, and direct sales in the olive oil and agritourism sectors, using Tuscany as a model;
- To transfer the acquired knowledge to students from the vocational training courses organized by COAG-Jaén, promoting the development of an entrepreneurial spirit and the establishment of initiatives similar to those learned about during the visit;
- Develop and strengthen participants' intercultural competencies.
Meeting these objectives will achieve the following impacts:
- Application of knowledge acquired during mobility to vocational training.
- Improving the capacity to promote entrepreneurship among farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs, and stakeholders in the agricultural sector through the transfer of knowledge acquired through training courses.
At COAG-Jaén:
- Improve the capacity to offer viable alternatives to the current management of agricultural companies, based on concrete and successful experiences acquired during mobility;
- Improve the organization's international reach and open new avenues for collaboration on European projects;
- Strengthen relations with CIA-Toscana, which will result in future collaborations.
Regarding the students of the courses organized by COAG-Jaén:
- To transfer the knowledge acquired by participants to approximately 500 students per year.
- Coordinator/entity name: UNION OF FARMERS AND RANCHERS-YOUNG FARMERS OF JAÉN
- Postal address: Maestro Cebrián 4, 1º, 23003 Jaén
- Telephone: 953256628
- Union De Agricultores Y Ganaderos-Jovenes Agricultores De Jaén
- CONFEDERACIÓN ITALIANA DE AGRICULTORES TOSCANA
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