AgriRessource : rally resources to get back on our feet again Erasmus Project

Project Title

AgriRessource : rally resources to get back on our feet again

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal)

Project Summary

The Agriressources project was designed and implemented by 4 agricultural organizations that support farmers in difficulty: Agricall Wallonie Asbl (Belgium), BAG Familie und Betrieb e.V. (Germany), LFI (Austria) and Solidarité Paysans (France), coordinator.
The 4 associations of the project found that the mental health status of farmers facing difficulties is very degraded and that situations are becoming more complex. In France, in 2015, 604 deaths by suicide were recorded.
In this context, how to better support farmers facing difficulties? How to help identify and mobilize their resources to bounce back?
The support of people in the mobilization of their own resources concern the ability to make by themselves what they are capable to make and then empower the existing resources, activate the lost resources and build new resources. In supporting farmers’ families, it is clear that focusing on the positive aspects and, thus, on the enhancement of well-being and capacity for action, contributes to the success of support. Yet, in support, there was often a lack of a comprehensive understanding of the concept of resource mobilization and its integration into methods and action instructions.
The aim of the AgriRessource project is to secure the path of vulnerable farmers and help them to rebound in their lives, allowing them to better identify and mobilize their resources. It is for the final public (farmers and women farmers in difficulty) to acquire the social skills necessary to face their difficulties, and thus to consider a well-being at work, in their social life and also to bounce back (resilience skills) in the professional sphere.
The hundred or so participants of AgriRessource are the accompaniers, counselors (psychologists, trainers, volunteer farmers, employees) of the 4 associations involved in the project and some 40 farmers facing difficulties, accompanied by these associations.
The project resulted in the joint creation of a training module and an infographic on the theme: “Identify and mobilize resources to bounce back”.
Different activities have been implemented:
Inventory of existing practices in the 4 organizations and in the literature in and outside the area of the helping relationship, in order to establish an inventory of the existing. This inventory led to the production of a report on practices.
This phase was the input of the training module design which is available in a Handbook describing 2 workshops; one for farmers, the other for supporting teams. Before it was finalized, the training module was tested in France, Germany and Austria with farmers and supporting teams.
The training module is also available in an infographic in 3 languages (French, German, English) which synthesizes and explores different methods allowing the mobilization of resources on a daily basis. The infographic has been printed in 11000 copies.
The results of the project were disseminated during a conference-type event, which took place at the heart of the International Agricultural Fair in Libramont (July 2019) which welcomes 260.000 visitors each year. The conference was attended by about 80 people, including the Walloon Minister of Agriculture, many farmers, agricultural unions, students, representatives of social protection in France (Msa) and Belgium, etc …
7 transnational meetings were needed to implement this project.
The impact on the partners concerns a better inter-knowledge, a rise in skills of English and project management in an intercultural context. On professional skills, it is a real process of continuous training that has been designed and will be implemented gradually in each country. In numerical terms, the communication around the project that was carried out during the whole implementation, through press articles could reach more than 250.000 people.
Finally, the European association Rural Solidarity in Europe, whose website disseminates the results of the project and which brings together BAG, Solidarité Paysans and Agricall, plans to continue its work on a European scale, integrating LFI, and already plans to work on social rights, European regulations that block the support of farmers, evaluation of the social balance sheet of the CAP. Already, it is planned to present the results of the project Agriressources at the next EUFRAS international meeting in 2020 (European organization of agricultural councils, gathering 14 European countries).

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 105938 Eur

Project Coordinator

Solidarité Paysans & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Ländliches Fortbildungsinstitut
• AGRICALL WALLONIE
• BAG Familie und Betrieb e. V.