“Digital literacy in agriculture” – the what, how and why for a better sustainable agri-chain

Everyone who follows the changes in the world knows that farming is going digital. To ensure a more sustainable, effective, and transparent agricultural activity, farmers need to update their digital literacy skills. In Moldova, a local agricultural company has offered to train farmers, students, and generally anyone interested in agriculture to improve their skills and knowledge in how to use technology in the Agrifood sector.

Euroalun, a local company that focuses on hazelnut growth, has developed a 5-day training course, called “Digital Literacy in Agriculture”. This training aimed to instruct farmers, students, and generally anyone interested in discovering the agricultural sector, about the importance and usage of digital solutions in contemporary agriculture. 

Digital literacy – available to anyone, independent of age, gender, sector, or location

Alexandr Perjan, Administrator, “Euroalun” SRL: As a part of our project iFarms, we aimed to bring a new and vital challenge for farmers in Moldova – digital literacy in agriculture. We were highly surprised to see more than 260 people sign up in the first week, some even fresh students. Through this course we shared the best practices from our experiences in Moldova and Italy, having also brought 3 international experts, who had well-packed presentations for participants. Thanks to the support of Optim, a partner who was side-by-side during the implementation of the project, we succeeded to offer an opportunity for skills development and make a good change in the Moldovan Agri-food sector.

The duration of the course was 5 days in total, which were split into 4 days of offline content and one day offline, where students could meet and apply in practice their fresh information. On the 5^th day, the course took place at the Agrarian University, Faculty of Horticulture. There, participants meet the Euroalun team who organized the course, the trainers, the partners who supported the development of the course, and the dean of the faculty of horticulture. 

Eugeniu Bumacov, Sector Coordinator, Optim Project: We encourage the development of such valuable initiatives – a training course available for anyone, that teaches 21st-century skills and gives beneficiaries the tools to operate in modern agriculture. Capacity building is one of Optim’s major priorities, which is an important step toward a successful implementation of a business idea. We were glad to see so many people interested in this course and hope to have other local companies replicate this model.

Keeping up with Agriculture 4.0

The training course focused mainly on subjects like agriculture 4.0, news and updates in agriculture, climate changes, and various digital application that nowadays have many advantages for a farmer and his or her farm. The tech solution that trainers talked about focused more on the innovative application – iFarms, implemented by Euroalun. iFarms is a software that allows farmers to check their agriculture progress, lands, and crops based on climate data and other updates in the sector. With this information available, farmers can keep control over their harvest, boost their contribution and improve the business overall. In the course “Digital Literacy for Agriculture” the participants had the chance to discover this software, observe its features and apply them in practical exercises. Also, on the last day, beneficiaries met each other and had the possibility to exchange opinions, connect and discuss subjects of interest.

International expertise for local development

The training course was fully developed by Euroalun, with the theoretical support of 3 international experts in agriculture from Italy and Romania. Having brought knowledge and European best practices, the course was even more educative for participants, who were very active with relevant questions.

Most of the attending beneficiaries were young students, nonetheless, this course sparked interest among farmers who are already initiated in agricultural activity and want to expand their business. 

“I enjoyed attending the “Digital Literacy for Agriculture” course because the knowledge and information I received here will be very beneficial in my future activity. Also, I got to know the new tech solution that our companies implement for more productive and sustainable agriculture, and I had the chance to analyze the case studies presented by the international experts.”, participant

To offer everyone the possibility to develop contemporary skills and meet the market’s demands is one of the top priorities of Optim Project. Through courses like this, Optim aims to educate citizens regarding the digital revolution in agriculture and help them keep track of the latest updates. Having relevant abilities and information on how things work, youngsters, both men, and women, will be even more motivated to apply their knowledge and capacities to developing a business or obtaining a higher income. 

This course was fully supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Moldova (SDC) through the Optim Project – “Opportunities through technologies and innovation in Moldova” implemented by Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation.