Abstract

SILVA, Luis L.; BAPTISTA, Fátima; CRUZ, Vasco F.  and  SILVA, José R. Marques da. Increasing farmers’ skills towards a sustainable agriculture. Rev. de Ciências Agrárias [online]. 2020, vol.43, n.2, pp.189-217.  Epub July 03, 2020. ISSN 0871-018X.  https://doi.org/10.19084/rca.19942.

In order to practice a sustainable agriculture, farmers should adopt correct and environmental friendly practices, using appropriate technology and complying with EU regulations for a sustainable agriculture. Recent developments in science and technology, that could be an added value for farmers’ crop and land management, are still unused in many situations because farmers have not been introduced to them or have not been trained to use them. The purpose of this study was to define job-specific skills in agricultural thematic areas where significant technological developments occurred and that can help farmers for a more sustainable agriculture. Six major areas were identified: 1) Precision agriculture; 2) Integrated pest management; 3) Agricultural reuse of organic residuals; 4) Drip irrigation and water-conserving technologies; 5) Renewable energy; and 6) Bioenergy and energy crops. For each of these areas there were defined job-specific skills for farmers with a highlight in the awareness for all agricultural sustainability aspects and in the introduction to major technological developments. These skills were then used to develop a new innovative training program for farmers. The training courses were delivered during 2019 in Greece, Italy and Portugal to around 600 farmers.

Keywords : sustainable agriculture; training; skills; technology; environment.

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