Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said “There is a great potential for regional and local products in the market, but, there is a lack of marketing strategies to enable European agricultural entrepreneurs to compete with the international network and structures of multinational companies. The Farm Inc project therefore involves a training tool to market produce, tailor-made to the needs of farmers. An interactive e-book has been created as an integrated training tool. It contains basic marketing principles for the agricultural sector as well as practical experiences (case studies, field visits etc). The output is innovative because all basic theoretical concepts, practical experiences and self-assessment exercises are integrated into a single training tool, to become the vademecum for marketing in the agricultural sector. The training material consists of 6 Modules (What is marketing?, A good marketing plan, Farmers markets, Quality, The strength of a Rural Brand, Selling Abroad) with a focus on marketing, branding and internationalisation of agricultural products”
In pilot tests in 3 European countries, there was a good response to the free, online, interactive education and training platform, produced by the EU co-funded project Farm inc. which focuses on marketing, branding and exporting agricultural products .More than 304 stakeholders (farmers, representatives of farmer associations, agricultural entrepreneurs, VET trainers, policy makers etc.) participated in 21 pilot events in the 3 targeted countries, endorsing the platform’s relevance and usefulness, while 191 of them provided valuable recorded feedback on the improvement of its content and interactivity. The active involvement of participants, even during harvest season and under bad socioeconomic conditions, added to the value and potential of it in the near future.
The majority (51,3%) of the participants were directly or indirectly involved in farm-related activities, 29,3% were VET providers, VET trainers, PhD students and researchers, 10,5% were marketing specialists, communication or rural development consultants while 8,9% included agri-food consultants, local government representatives, private employees interested in farming, export managers and agro-journalists. The majority of the participants (42,8%) had more than 10 years of farm-related experience while the participants’ diverse background and activities enhanced the credibility of the pilot training results. All participants were enthusiastic about the material, with 46% rating the material as “excellent”, 47% as “very good” and 100% said that they would suggest this course to other people/farmers. They described the online tool (platform) as “user-friendly”, “interesting”, “easy to navigate” and “enjoyable”, supported the interesting approach combining theory with practical examples, case studies and videos, thus, increasing engagement and enhancing understanding
The platform has been finalised, according to input received and it was presented during a series of roundtable discussions and infodays across Europe, in Belgium, Greece, Italy and Latvia in September. Copa Cogeca, the major European farmers and agri-cooperatives association, held the first event today.
There was also be a roundtable debate for key stakeholders today to discuss next steps and it will be presented at the famous Expo Milan 2015, under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Education, with the support by partner countries’ national representations and the participation of representatives of major European farmers’ organisations, on 27 September 2015 to celebrate the end of the project. For further information, please see http://www.farminc.eu/The Farm inc. project and platform will also be presented at the famous Expo Milan 2015, under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Education, with the support by partner countries’ national representations and the participation of representatives of major European farmers’ organisations, on 27 September 2015 to celebrate the end of the project.
Next steps in the project require the involvement of all farmers aspiring to become agricultural entrepreneurs. All farmers interested in the project activities are invited to propose their farm as a case study, participate to classroom training and take part to farm and study visits. The project was carried out also with our member organisations Coldiretti and Latvian Farmers Parliament. For further information, please see http://www.farminc.eu/
