European agriculture is facing a significant transformation. Reduction of CO2 emissions, preservation of biodiversity, careful use of soil, air and water are just some of the demands made by politicians, nature conservation associations and citizens’ initiatives.

At the same time, farmers are expected to generate sustainable incomes, increase their competitiveness, produce high-quality food and, at the same time, take on important social functions such as inclusion and the development of local networks. However, according to the European Parliament’s assessment, there is a lack of important qualifications for this, as only 8.5% of farmers have a comprehensive education. Also, the current generation of European farmers is severely over-aged, with only 11% younger than 40 and a third over 65.

This means that the substantive ecological transformation must be accompanied by a personnel one.

This project wants to contribute to better agricultural qualifications with the educational products to be developed, in order to be able to support the personnel and ecological transformation processes in the EU in the best possible way. An important concern of the project is an inclusive project design in order to promote equal opportunities and equal access to educational programs in agriculture. In this way, an important contribution is made to socially responsible agriculture.

Ecology through economy is the conviction that characterizes the consortium and this project. Ecological measures are only sustainable if they also make business sense for the individual farmer, because a loss-making farm cannot hold its own in the market. For this reason, business management skills specifically for organic farming are imparted through targeted further training, thus enabling farmers who want to operate in an ecologically and socially sustainable manner to generate sustainable incomes.