Abstract:

The project entitled FarmForward: Sustainable and Transformative Strategies for Climate-Resilient Farming in VET (2024-1-LT01-KA220-VET-000248582) is an Erasmus+ initiative that has been developed to provide support for agricultural education systems as they adapt to increasingly unstable climate conditions. The project is founded upon a robust research basis, integrating national analyses, multi-country surveys and focus groups with farmers to identify real-world needs and barriers within the sector.

The research phase involved a total of 340 participants, including educators, VET learners, agricultural stakeholders, and farmers, across five partner countries. The results obtained demonstrated a consistent pattern: whilst awareness of climate change is high, confidence in teaching or applying climate-resilient farming strategies is uneven. It was reported by educators that practical training opportunities were inadequate, that access to updated teaching materials was limited, and that there was a paucity of localised examples that would facilitate the translation of scientific knowledge into everyday farming practices. Learners expressed a strong interest in sustainable farming, yet noted that current curricula rarely include practical activities or demonstrations. Stakeholder organisations and farmers identified financial risks, restricted access to contemporary technologies, and economic uncertainty surrounding novel methods as the primary obstacles. A review of the literature reveals that there are a number of common priorities that are being identified by groups across the board. These include the need for demonstration farms, precision agriculture tools, drought-resilient crop strategies, water-management solutions, and more tailored, region-specific resources.

These findings form the basis for the project's development phase. The project will yield four primary outcomes: firstly, the creation of a comprehensive Climate-Resilient Agriculture Handbook for educators; secondly, the development of a suite of modular educational resources that combine theory with practical scenarios; thirdly, the organisation of a series of expert-led webinars and videos showcasing real-world applications of climate-smart farming; and fourthly, the formulation of evidence-based policy recommendations aimed at supporting the integration of climate resilience into national VET systems. Collectively, these outputs aspire to address the persistent disparity between knowledge and application, thereby empowering educators and farmers alike to make informed, future-oriented decisions.

The subsequent phases of the project entail the collaborative design of educational materials with practitioners, the implementation of training activities across partner countries, and the augmentation of stakeholder engagement to ensure robust sectoral alignment. By grounding its activities in research and real agricultural contexts, FarmForward aims to strengthen the long-term capacity of VET systems to contribute to the sustainability and resilience of European agriculture.

Keywords:

Climate-resilient agriculture, VET, sustainable farming, precision agriculture, agricultural training.