The RURAL/ITER project (Reintroduction Upon Rural Agricultural Lands of Innovative Training for Entrepreneurs on Return) is a 24 months Transfer of Innovation Leonardo da Vinci project, in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme. RURAL/ITER aims at transferring the results of the NATURALITER Leonardo da Vinci project www.ciaumbria.it/naturaliter based on innovative agricultural activities suitable to stimulate the growth of the European farms and on case studies from different countries for benchmarking of production processes and relevant competencies. The main project outputs from the NATURALITER training system include: interactive self-assessment tool for a basic approach to the agricultural sector, virtual case study library to gather successful case studies from Europe, training gym to play the role of a farmer planning own business, computerized corporate platform to create a basic business plan of own farm.
The project has updated the training needs analysis focusing on three specific target groups of farmers: young people, women and entrepreneurs “on return” or from other economic sectors and professional. The main reason the identification of this specific target comes from the observation that the most dynamic and innovative farms in recent years have managed considerably from these actors, each with its specificities.
The training platform includes an introductory test for self-assessment and six training modules:
- Farm food processing & direct selling
- Agritourism & multifunctional activities
- Biodiversity & organic farming,
- Farm management for competitiveness & sustainability
- Farm use of renewable energy sources
- CAP measures on good practices, conditionalities & animal welfare
The platform also provides a tool for developing a Business Plan.
