uP_running project aims to set the path for the development of the bioenergy utilisation of agrarian pruning and plantation removal (APPR) wood obtained from vineyards, olive groves and fruit tree plantations. uP_running vocation is the abatement of the current immobilism of the value chain actors for the utilization of APPR woody biomass. For that purpose uP_running incorporates a set of straight actions aimed to reshape the sectors perception, to provide evidences of real success and replicable models to follow, as well as to promote the take-off for the utilisation of APPR biomass residues. An intense communication campaign will address the varied target audience with tailored messages and materials to raise the awareness. An impact on policy barriers and on the legal framework currently setting limits for the utilisation of APPR wood will be carried out through direct advocacy and lobbying work at national and EU level. Once the awareness is raised and the sector is released of hindering barriers, a snowball effect will be triggered through multiplicative and dissemination actions. First part of uP_running multiplicative strategy is to create a permanent capacity in Europe, by empowering national and regional agrarian associations, extension services and/or private consultants with capacities to give support for decision making to farmers, cooperatives and agro-industries owing the APPR residues. A call for entrepreneurship will put into operation the newly created capacities in 7 EU countries to promote the decision making of pioneer entrepreneurs. Setting up and running new APPR biomass value chains is the key for a self-replication and to further contribute to the development of the bio-economy in Europe. The actions will be initiated in a set of 4 “demo” countries (that together account for 50% of EU potential), replicated in 3 relevant EU countries, and extended through precursor actions to 7 additional EU countries.

Core of this project is the understanding that the valorisation of what is currently considered as a “waste” by farmers and relevant stakeholders, may contribute to a significant improvement of both the economic revenues of agricultural entrepreneurs and the environmental sustainability of their productions. Indeed, if adequately managed and entrained in a proper value chain, the agricultural waste, both organic and non-organic, may reveal a new resource, to be valorised in the framework of a circular economy approach. However, although the farmer is responsible for the end-of-life management, he is not able to do it alone. The farmer plays an important role in the recyclability, depending on the waste preparation at farm and his participation in the collection scheme. Hence, farmers, as well as other stakeholders involved in the relevant value chain, deserve a specific training, that is currently not existing all over Europe. Aim of this Project is the contribution to the development of regional eco-systems directly providing a valuable input to the economy by integrating work-based learning, thanks to a Quadruple-Helix approach involving Public Institutions (Regional/Local Ministries/Agencies), RTD performers/ VET providers, Private stakeholders (Farmers Associations, Collectors/Recycling Firms/Associations, etc.) and the Civil Society (NGO, No-profit Association, etc.). Core of the Project will be the modelling, implementation and validation of the Project “Rural Labs” in which, under the co-ordination of some among the most important Universities of the Mediterranean Europe, expert in agricultural waste management, the farmers and other relevant stakeholders will be trained. In these Rural Labs, new ways of training will be explored, starting from an on-site training, and implementing new ICT tools, to be produced for the sake of a larger audience of trained people, working in the Project Countries as well as in the rest of Europe.

The aim of SAGRI “Skills Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture” project was to provide the agricultural workers (mainly farmers), as well as other agricultural stakeholders with knowledge, skills and competences in the field of agro-environmental technology for sustainable agriculture. SAGRI project enabled agricultural workers to acquire the skills, knowledge and ability to understand and approach agri-environmental systems as natural ecosystems modified by human activity, though with an emphasis on environmental technologies that can be applied to achieve sustainable crop production by means of improved systems’ management.The main project results, which were achieved during the project lifetime, can be summarized as following:- The identification of specific skills (with particular focus on “green skills” and “digital skills”) that agricultural workers require, as well as the analysis of most recent practical advancements of the agricultural sector. These results were useful for the development of SAGRI training programme. - The development of an innovative curriculum that responds to specific training needs of agricultural workers and integrates the latest advancements of the “agri-tech” sector. The programme abides by the European Qualification Framework (EQF) and the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) standards. Six (6) training modules were developed targeting to a max EQF level 4, supported by relevant learning and assessment material: Module 1: Precision AgricultureModule 2: Integrated pest management in plant protectionModule 3: Agricultural reuse of organic residualsModule 4: Drip irrigation and water conserving technologiesModule 5: Renewable energy and its application as green agriculture energy sourceModule 6: Bioenergy and energy crops- The development of a virtual learning platform which makes all training resources widely available as Open Educational Resources (OER). The SAGRI OER platform (www.sagri-vet.eu) is linked to the SAGRI website (www.sagriproject.eu) and both will remain active and sustainable beyond the project end. The SAGRI OER platform as well as the project website are available in English and all consortium languages.- The organization of training workshops and the delivery of the SAGRI training programme in 219 agriculture engineers, agricultural researchers and extension staff in three partner countries (Greece, Portugal and Italy).- The organization of training workshops and the delivery of the SAGRI curriculum in 855 agricultural workers/farmers in all partner countries.- The development of the certification scheme where the trained agricultural workers can be assessed and awarded with the certification of “sustainable farmer” according the international standard ISO/IEC 17024 for personnel certification. - A plethora of dissemination activities bringing together major stakeholders of the agricultural sector, including agricultural workers (mainly farmers), extension staff and agriculturists, Higher Education Institutions, VET providers and social partners such as: * Portfolio of dissemination material * SAGRI website* SAGRI Facebook page* YouTube Channel* Participation and Publications in conferences, exhibitions, Trade Fairs, info days etc. * Interviews and Articles in Newspapers* Training workshops to the agricultural extension staff* Training workshops to the agricultural workers/farmers* Dissemination Conference at the end of the projectA developed exploitation strategy will ensure the sustainability of the project's results which will be maintained and exploited beyond the project lifetime. Particularly, the innovative curriculum, supported by relevant learning and assessment material will be integrated into the education and training programme of the partner Universities and VET partners specifically indented for agricultural worker.

<< Objectives >>The main MILIMAT objective of this project is to raise training and awareness of farmers and migrant workers in the agricultural sector, so that they are able to lead and manage these new multicultural teams in a professional and responsible way, to ensure a labour and social integration in farms where codes of conduct based on diversity, equality and respect are followed to guarantee the rights of all workers. Supported by a cooperative platform for communication, management and mutual planning<< Implementation >>Based on our previous needs analysis, on the National Reports and the Transnational Analyses Report-TaR (WP2), on the knowledge and experience of the partners, and on the Manual of Best Practices (WP3), the consortium will design and develop dual training materials for migrant workers and farmers (WP4) that will be hosted on the corresponding training platforms (WP5/R5.4.) in conjunction with the MILIMAT collaboration platform (WP5/R2.2) founded on the MILIMAT Code of Good Conduct (WP5/R5.3).<< Results >>The project results are:-WP1: Management-WP2: R1: Workshop; R2: NRs; R3: TaR; R4: Database; R5: TPM1+VM1-WP3: R1: Best Practices; R2: Case Studies; R3: Good Practices Manual; R4: Extended Database2; R5: TPM2/3 + VM2/3-WP4: R1: Training Modules; R2: Self-Assessment Tool; R3: Introductory videos; R4/5: VM4 + TPM4-WP5: R1: Requirement Document; R2: Code of Good Conduct; R3: CWP; R4: Training System; R5: Pilot Test; R6/7: VM5 + TPM5 -WP6: R1: Dissemination M R2: 5 Diss. Conferences.

GEORGIA (Green dEal cOmpliant iRriGation Increasing Europe’s Agriculture resilience to drought) consortium, consisting of 16 partners from 9 European countries and led by Synelixis SA (the provider of SynField smart agriculture platform), has joined forces to increasing the resilience of agriculture to drought enhancing efficiency in water management. The project assesses drivers and barriers of key innovative irrigation systems, including environmentally responsible recycling of sewage sludge and biowaste streams, biological water-absorbing geocomposites, as well as water abundance and scarcity solutions. In parallel, GEORGIA pursues their optimal application through local condition modeling and employment of Artificial Intelligence. To this end, the partners develop in-situ, drone-based and geospatial monitoring, an eXplainable-AI decision support system as well as Crop Digital Twins. GEORGIA enhances and validates these technologies starting from the farm level and upscaling at large-scale and catchment levels. The socio-techno-economic approach is validated in 7 pilots in 6 countries, connected through a Federated Deep Machine Learning architecture. GEORGIA covers multiple crops, production types (conventional, intensive, agroecology and organic) and geographical regions, namely a) Mediterranean (Greece, Cyprus), b) Southeast Europe-Balkans (Bulgaria, Serbia) c) Central Europe-Midland (Austria), and d) Continental Europe-Baltic Sea (Poland). We will be able to collect and process sensor data from farms that span from the Southern to Northeast Europe, along with organic and non-organic production. We will also have access to large facilities such as Biological Cleaning Plant at BSL 3 covering large private farms, a Greek island (Santorini) and a Greek Region. More than 1,200 farmers will be directly involved in the experimentation phase, providing insights and feedback on AgriDataSpace platform and knowledge provided and more than 89,000 farmers will be dire