Developing the entrepreneurial skills of farmers

This project examined the economic, social and cultural factors hindering or stimulating the development of entrepreneurial skills of farmers.

The primary concern of the project was to recommend ways how conditions of the social, economic, political and cultural framework can be changed in order to facilitate the adoption of entrepreneurial skills for farmers and how farmers themselves can improve their entrepreneurial skills. The guiding idea comprised the persuasion that the kind of necessary entrepreneurial skills is strongly dependent on the strategic orientation of the farm.

Besides recommendations a e-learning tool was elaborated with which farmers can learn to enhance their entrepreneurial skills. Farmers can assess themselves, learning their strengths and weaknesses concerning entrepreneurship.

Recommendations and the elaborated tool was be based on

• an analytical definition and description of relevance of the concept of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills for agriculture reflecting the strategic orientations of farms
• the specification of entrepreneurial skills in relation to the strategic orientation: This analysis was conducted in case studies following a participatory approach with farmers and representatives of the socio-technical network of farmers.
• the identification and analysis of the economic, social and cultural factors hindering and stimulating the development of entrepreneurial skills. Again, this analysis was conducted in case studies and in a participatory way.

The results of the three analyses were synthesised to strategies how to overcome barriers and improve stimulating factors for the development of entrepreneurial skills of farmers.

• European Union: 6th Research Framework Programme

• University of Wales, CARDIFF
• Research Institute of Pomology and Floricuture
• University of Helsinki
• Stichting Dienst Landbouwkunding Onderzoek
• University of Lincoln

• Rudmann Christine (Department of Food System Sciences)

Coordinator

• http://www.esofarmers.org/es-publications.html
• http://orgprints.org/5916/

• Agri-Food Systems (Department of Food System Sciences, FiBL Switzerland)
• Society & Innovation (Department of Food System Sciences, FiBL Switzerland)