New Entrants in Agrifood, creating a Training Net Erasmus Project

Project Title

New Entrants in Agrifood, creating a Training Net

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cooperation between educational institutions and business; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries

Project Summary

In such an insecure, changing and vulnerable environment, we are increasingly aware of the need for all European territories to have their own food sovereignty. No European region or country can afford to lose its primary sector and therefore not be able to generate its own food. After these recent financial crises and this health crisis that we are suffering, it is even more obvious that a territory cannot depend exclusively on food imports. In all of them there must be a consolidated, profitable and sustainable primary sector that will enable it to face any kind of future crisis with, at least, the guarantee of guaranteed quality food.
In a European situation like the current one where only 0.6% of farmers are under 25 years old and the generational change in the primary sector is in a very critical state, new approaches and skills are needed to increase this change and provide new actors with motivation and sustainability in their business approaches. The main reason for this situation is the lack of profitability for primary producers. Young people (also supported by their families) do not want to engage in an activity that, despite its great positive social and environmental impact, does not have the profitability that would allow them to live with dignity.
It is in this vulnerable and critical environment that NewAgroNet emerges. We will provide added value to primary producers to convert their products into quality food, as well as food sustainability to European territories

NewAgroNet is a project that will promote and consolidate the creation of new companies in the agro-food sector. In order to achieve this main objective, we are going to base on the following specific objectives, foreseen and developed in the proposal:
– To use the new digital technologies present, open and available already in the market.
– To improve student profiles by providing them with innovative tools and approaches based on real cases.
– To increase the opportunity of students by helping them in their professional development. To change the paradigm of “agricultural exploitation” for “agro-alimentary enterprise”.
– To help create a more modern and professional environment in the basic schools that promotes entrepreneurship, business initiative and increases motivation for daily work in the agri-food sector.

To achieve all these objectives we have:
– 4 European countries where the development of the agro-food sector is in different stages of development. In France and Italy they know how to give added value to their agricultural products to turn them into quality food and in Spain and Romania they know how to grow agricultural products in an efficient and sustainable way. This complementary knowledge, based on real success stories from each of the 4 countries, will be the pillars of NewAgroNet results
– 4 professional agricultural schools with different and complementary academic specializations that form a new professional profile totally focused on agri-food entrepreneurship. Some examples are: EFA – new rural businesses and forestry sector; VERGANI – agricultural and gastronomic tourism and biotechnology; MRF – agro-ecology and food and ELIAS – veterinary and agricultural machinery.
– 3 partners of a more technical nature that will bring the basic knowledge to the project and will facilitate the achievement of all the expected results. As a summary we would have: CACV-coordination, modelling of success cases and sustainable and social approach, AREAE-new digital tools and business methodologies and FRMFR-agricultural and ecological businesses and communication.

Based on the need described above and taking into account the objectives pursued and the tools used, NewAgroNet will achieve the following results:
– In the short term (during the project). Innovative methodologies to create new sustainable agro-food businesses. Handbooks containing incentive and replicable examples. Teaching material that promotes entrepreneurship in the agrifood sector.
– In the medium term (2-3 years after the project). New sustainable agro-food businesses in the territories where the project has been developed. Improvement and adaptation of the previous teaching material by incorporating the success cases generated in each territory. Replicability and transference of the teaching materials generated. Direct influence on local and regional policies.
– In the long term (4-5 years after the project). Expansion of new sustainable agro-food businesses in other European territories. Adaptation of the teaching materials to each of the transferred territories. Influence on national and European policies regarding the sustainability of agri-food.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 202524 Eur

Project Coordinator

FEDERACION DE COOPERATIVAS AGROALIMENTARES DE LA COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Federación EFAS CV La Malvesia
• FRMFR Bretagne
• Area Europa scrl
• LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC “JACQUES M. ELIAS”
• MFR FOUGERES
• Istituto Istruzione Secondaria Vergani Navarra Ferrara