United Kingdom
October 3, 2014
European decision makers are able to access a complete panorama of ways to reach farmers with information, orientation and support, thanks to a project which has mapped the many different knowledge sources available to farmers in the European Union (EU). PRO AKIS – ‘Prospects for Farmers’ Support: Advisory Services in the European Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems’ – is a European Commission-funded initiative undertaken by a consortium of partners from seven European institutions, including the James Hutton Institute in the UK.
The project has completed a country-by-country inventory of organisations and individual actors in the field, including basic and applied agricultural research institutes and universities, advisory services, and other actors influencing research priorities and practical decision making on farms, such as cooperatives, supply services, and farmers’ organisations.
Dr Katrin Prager, project co-ordinator at the James Hutton Institute who is responsible for UK and Ireland data, said: “PRO AKIS highlights the great diversity of agricultural knowledge resources and advisory systems that exist in Europe. The project improves our understanding of which services are part of the official Farm Advisory System of the Common Agricultural Policy and which other public and private advisory services are operational in the field, an overview which was previously missing.
“The project is contributing to building a European agricultural innovation system and supports better informed policy decisions to improve the functioning of the different components at European, national and regional levels.
“We believe this work will be of great use to agricultural and rural policy makers, administrators, agricultural chambers, farmer organisations, advisory organisations, researchers, consultants and stakeholders in the European Innovation Partnership ‘Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability’.”
The inventory consists of a report and a summary poster per country, covering the 27 member states of the EU. Reports follow the same structure to aid comparison between countries. They cover key actors in each country, as well as history, providers, policy, methods, topics and clients of advisory services.
Dr Talis Tisenkopfs, professor at the Department of Sociology of the University of Latvia and PRO AKIS advisory board member, commented: “I am very pleased with the 27 country reports that provide a comprehensive and insightful overview of the specificities of agricultural knowledge and innovation systems in the member states.
“I am sure these reports will be a source of valuable information, innovation aspiration and mutual learning, and underpin new collaborative practices among various actors interested in promoting rural innovations.”
Besides the James Hutton Institute in the UK, the PRO AKIS partners include the University of Hohenheim (Germany) (project leader), the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (Germany), the National Institute for Agricultural Research (France), University of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro (Portugal), the University of Agriculture in Krakow (Poland), Agricultural University Plovdiv (Bulgaria), and the Knowledge Centre for Agriculture (Denmark) .
For more information on the project including the complete inventory, case studies and country reports, visit the project website at www.proakis.eu.
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