WiseFarmer project – Connecting farm generations in the digital age

Project period: 09/2019-08/2021
Project coordinator: GAK KHT, PATER KAROLY UT. 1, GODOLLO, Hungary
Target group: Farmers, farm advisors
Participating countries: Greece, Croatia, Romania, Slovak Republic
Target countries: Hungary, Serbia
More informations: http://wisefarmer.eu


SUMMARY

The direct aim of the project is to bring the younger and elder farm generations together in a common program for the exchange of knowledge, access to high quality learning opportunity, facilitating support and sustained collaboration for increased competence, from one side in the use of digital tools, from the other side the crucial farming practices based on local knowledge.
The primary target group consists of smallholders and family farmers, where personal participation in the agricultural production is inevitable, the current level of skills and qualifications are generally low, both on the elder side - lacking digital skills, and the younger farmers - missing competency and experience in the practice of farming. Elderly farmers have local knowledge that is indispensable in the successful entrepreneurship at the farm level, while younger farmers are more advanced in the use of digital devices, but also lack their specific use in farming, as gaining local “slow” knowledge takes a considerable amount of time. The secondary target group at the local level are farm advisors, who work in the field and provide technical assistance for farmers. Their role will be to facilitate the learning process built around the specific needs and problems of the farmers taking part.
Project results will demonstrate the viability of the approach and methodology, as one of the possible techniques to overcome crucial challenges in the agricultural and rural sectors. The experience can be utilized in a wider strategic context for policymaking, to cope with the abandonment of farming activity especially by young people, the succession of farming, attracting new entrants into agricultural activities, the introduction of digital innovations in a responsible and effective way, suitable for smallholders' and family farmers' needs.


The project will achieve its results by five intellectual outputs:


    • conducting regional needs analysis and knowledge assessment in every participating country,
    • developing a methodology and content for the learning program, and matchmaking technique for the selection process of mentoring pairs,
    • creating a collaboration platform that provides learning content and functions, collects good practices and displays new digital tools (relevant for the region) and supports communication features that enable constant share of ideas and knowledge, using mobile and desktop devices,
    • implementing the pilot learning program in Serbia and Hungary,
    • extensively sharing project results using multiple channels, publishing the digital handbook titled “WiseFarmer Inventarium”.