SUSTAGRI4.0 will bring digital and marketing skills to small-scale farmers and agribusiness owners towards a sustainable and community-driven future.
SUSTAGRI4.0's core aim is to promote sustainable agriculture and agribusinesses as part of the necessary transition to Agriculture 4.0 – the fourth revolutionary wave in adopting advanced and deep tech. Kicking off in May 2022, this project will run till May 2024.
It will empower local producers and sustainable agribusiness owners with digital and marketing skills to bring them closer to their local community and allow them to promote their products more effectively, which will also encourage an expansion of sustainable practices and a food culture that favours local products, as well as waste reduction.
By learning key digital competencies, such as social media management and digital storytelling, small-scale producers and agribusiness owners can embrace the twin transition (green and digital) for their business. Professionals in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector will work with our team and be trained in an e-course designed for young farmers and agribusiness owners, as well as students studying agriculture, offering future-oriented curricula in a blended learning format. Trained VET professionals will gain a deeper understanding of knowledge gaps within digital skills uptake and other educators will be able to run this e-course in 2023 once it is provided online as open source.
An e-commerce platform will be developed and launched in 2023 for agribusiness owners and farmers to sell their products. This platform will serve as a tool to connect directly with customers and expand clientele, as well as raise awareness of local and sustainable food production.
The project will culminate in a series of public events in each partner country (Ireland, Italy, Spain and Greece) to showcase local food products that have been made available on the e-commerce platform and to promote the e-course as a critical tool to empower small-scale food producers.
Targeting small-scale farmers, agribusiness owners and students entering the agriculture sector between the ages of 18 – 25, as well as VET professionals keen to expand their knowledge portfolio when it comes to teaching digital and marketing skills to embrace advanced technologies.
An open source E-Course will be developed in a blended learning format, offering modules including digital storytelling, social media management and creating a business plan. It will be launched in October 2023 after going through testing with VET professionals who attend a Train-The-Trainer knowledge exchange and training in Valencia, Spain (November 2022).
An E-Commerce Platform will be built by Quality Culture (Italy) and launched in February 2024. Participating agribusiness owners and local producers will be trained on how to use the platform ahead of the launch to showcase their products, connect directly with more clientele and be part of a greater movement to promote sustainable practices.
What we achieved
November 2022
February 2024
October 2023
March 2024