Project summary

The objective of our project is to strengthen rural advisory services to improve their standards through a monitoring and evaluation system that can simultaneously support the development of a targeted, personalized, work based, vocational training programme and the establishment of a quality certification scheme.

summary1

The term precision is not unknown in agriculture, however, we will demonstrate that – besides production technology - it can also be relevant and successfully applied in knowledge transfer, for the sake of service providers and their clients. The learning activities aim to develop competencies in specific areas where our primary focus group, the rural advisors lack or miss adequate capacity, while, by the results of the learning programme, we expect that the quality of work performance will be increased, upon which the certification scheme is to be introduced.

We plan to adopt a novel method of using a state-of-the-art (digital, online) service tracking and monitoring system besides traditional data acquisition techniques, to support the collection of more detailed information with regards to increased data quantity and quality, right from the field level (where the service actually takes place).

Our main target groups are 1) the rural advisors working at the field level (providing assistance for clients to solve their actual problems raising from the everyday practice and introducing innovative methods), 2) the service provider organisations, who coordinate the work of their advisors and responsible for the overall process, and as the secondary group, 3) the clients of the services themselves, primarily farmers and rural entrepreneurs.

During the carrying out of the project activities, the partnership will develop six outputs, which are to be built upon each other. The first product will be a Competence Dictionary to identify main business processes, competences, categories, indicators and data sources specific to advisory activity. The Methodologies of RAMONES-PL will describe the process flow and related components of service tracking, monitoring, evaluation and precision learning. In the third step we will set up the information system of data management. In the next stage, the Learning Programme will be implemented in work based setting, with the participation of 24 rural advisors and nearly 300 service clients. Parallel will run the activities related to certification, which contain the development of a proprietary market oriented quality assurance scheme according to the project concept, and the preparation for an international standard  certification. All results necessary and suitable for effective dissemination in the project countries and EU wide, will be summarized and published in the RAMONES Guidebook.

The methodology of the project follows the latest professional guidelines and policy recommendations developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and the Global Forum of Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), as well as several research findings and methods in the subject area. The innovative elements are related to the work based, precision, personalized approach, and the advanced use of ICTs, by the digital platform and other tools.

Expected performance of service delivery and reputation of advisors will be increased from the employer and the client's side, by higher satisfaction based on the better service. Improved knowledge, skills, increased specific and cross functional competences of the advisors will lead to enhanced confidence, validated by carrying a well-recognizable “badge”, which the industry and the clients accept and honour. Advisors will have opportunity to expand and deepen their farmer contacts.

For the partner organisations, the project will provide better understanding of the used innovative approaches. Improved efficiency of the service provision, knowledge base maintenance and training implementation within the organisation will be ensured, as well as of taking end users’ perspective into account more systematically, using feedback loops for service development. The use of the QA scheme ensures enhanced professional image and positive recognition of the service provider as well.                                                                                                      

Programme:

Erasmus+ Call 2020 Round 1 KA2

Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

KA202 - Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Partners:

  1. GAK OKTATO, KUTATO ES INNOVACIOS NON PROFIT KOZHASZNU KORLATOIT FELELOSSEGU TARSASAG Hungary (coordinator)
  2. CONSIGLIO PER LA RICERCA IN AGRICOLTURA E L'ANALISI DELL'ECONOMIA AGRARIA Italy
  3. FONDACIJA AGRO CENTAR ZA EDUKACIJA FACE The Republic of North Macedonia
  4. GAZDA KONTROLL KFT. Hungary
  5. LATVIJAS LAUKU KONSULTACIJU UN IZGLITIBAS CENTRS Latvia
  6. SLOVENSKA POLNOHOSPODARSKA UNIVERZITA V NITRE Slovakia
  7. SREDNJA SKOLA "ARBORETUM OPEKA" Croatia

Timeline: 1 September 2020 – February 28 2023

Budget: 360.433€