Thematic Group on Nurturing Skills for a Thriving and Sustainable Agricultural Sector

• Identify specific priority skill needs for farmers and those employed in agriculture, including skills related to emerging societal and market demands, and the younger generation's transition into farming. Discussions helped participants understand where skills could be accessed and identify relevant providers.
• Discuss the potential contributions of CAP Strategic Plans and other funds and initiatives (beyond the CAP) to enhance the development and provision of relevant skills. The goal was to formulate action-oriented recommendations for policymakers at both the EU and national levels, while maintaining a broader perspective.
• Provide a space for people working in agriculture—both self-employed and employed—to share real-life experiences, expectations, and challenges in terms of skills development, training, and rewarding career development opportunities.

Activities

The first TG meeting (9 October 2023, online) highlighted the importance of diversified skills in agriculture and identified specific skill needs related to farm development, sustainable farming practices, and digital literacy. The second TG meeting (16 January 2024, Brussels) focused on tailoring skills development initiatives to farmers' needs. It resulted in eight action-oriented recommendations for enhancing skills in the EU agri-food sector.

In addition, two informal discussions further enriched the group’s work and focused on societal demands and knowledge transfer across generations.

The outcomes of the TG meetings are highlighted in the event reports available in the Related content section of this page.

Key findings

The TG members produced a set of eight action-oriented recommendations for upskilling and reskilling the agricultural workforce. Addressing various levels of policymaking and involving key actors and enabling factors, these recommendations are crucial for creating a more skilled and adaptable agricultural workforce within the framework of the CAP Strategic Plans. They provide actionable measures to address skill gaps, promote sustainable practices, and enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing, ultimately leading to improved productivity, sustainability, and resilience in the EU agri-food sector.

 The main points of the recommendations cover:

• Sustainable practices and skills development: Introducing initiatives like an EU-wide certification programme for sustainable farming, a comprehensive skills diversification programme to broaden agricultural skills, and promoting training on agro-ecology practices through demonstration farms.
• Collaboration and knowledge sharing: Encouraging cross-border peer learning, creating a centralised platform for knowledge exchange and training opportunities, and establishing an EU-wide skills tracker to collect and analyse data on training programmes, fostering best practices.
• Support and accessibility: Simplifying access to funding and providing vouchers for farmers to attend tailored training sessions.

The TG also produced a document on examples of approaches to encouraging skills development in agriculture that provides an overview of four methods to enhance agricultural skills: demonstration farms, exchange visits, professional advice, and collaboration. Each approach is detailed with practical examples, critical success factors and policy support recommendations. Demonstration farms offer hands-on learning experiences, while exchange visits provide immersive learning and mentoring. Professional advice highlights the role of farm advisers in providing up-to-date knowledge and strategic planning. Collaboration focuses on the benefits of collective action through Producer Organisations and Interbranch Organisations. The document also includes sources of further information and examples to inspire future skills development initiatives.

Finally, a collection of relevant initiatives shared by TG members was also compiled and categorised by funding sources, including EAFRD, national or regional funds, EU projects like Erasmus+ or Horizon, and other types of support.

Learn more

Scroll down this page to find all the outputs of this Thematic Group and relevant resources related to this topic.

You can find other useful resources about this theme in our Publications section and in our Good Practice database.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at implementation@eucapnetwork.eu.

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