New curricula and teaching programmes on sustainable agriculture: the “SAGRI” Project.

In the European Union almost 50% of the territory is covered by farmland, which means that agriculture plays a key role in land management, having also a huge responsibility in the preservation of natural resources. In order to practice a sustainable agriculture, farmers and other agricultural operators must adopt correct and environmentally-friendly practices, using appropriate technology and complying with relevant regulations. Recent developments in science and technology are however still unfortunately unutilized in many situations even since - as a recent survey conducted for the European Commission revealed - only 17% of farmers has finished a basic or full training specifically focused on agriculture-related disciplines. In the present paper, the main results achieved so far by the European Project: “Skills Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture - SAGRI” are presented. SAGRI is a project financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission aimed to give a decisive answer to the request of better trained farmers, agricultural workers and extension staff, thanks to structuring specific courses aimed to increase their knowledge, competence and skills in the field of agro-environmental technology for sustainable agriculture. Through the institution of suitable concerted and standardized study curricula and relevant teaching programmes, the SAGRI Project is aimed to increase the technological level for agricultural operators, then promoting their employment as well.