New digital and technological solutions in agriculture often present challenges for small- and medium-sized farms. Bigger farms are more prone to implementing new technologies, and small- and medium-sized farms need to bridge the gap to stay in the global market. GUARDIANS aims to provide farmers with new technological solutions to confront specific challenges and help them tackle market challenges both by promoting their role as guardians of their territories and being competitors in the global market.
However, farmers need to accept, implement and master new technologies.
In this framework SERIDA (Regional Service for Agri-Food Research and Development) organized the first workshop to assess main stakeholders’ knowledge about new technologies in agriculture and their degree of acceptance of them.
Seventeen stakeholders participated in this workshop – 4 farmers, 5 cooperatives, 2 policymakers, 6 researchers and educators. Their knowledge, visions and suggestions on how technologies can help them to confront their challenges and how smart solutions can be accepted and implemented in their local territories were assessed through a questionnaire followed by a discussion within each of the three groups of stakeholders (farmers, cooperatives, and policymakers and educators).
The workshop was moderated by 4 facilitators from SERIDA.
Some conclusions were drawn at the end of the workshop.
Farmers, cooperatives, policymakers and educators all agreed that the knowledge and degree of implementation of digital technologies is still limited in Asturias. A greater effort, in terms of accessibility of information, accompanied by training and follow-ups, is needed.
Rocío Rosa García from the Department of Nutrition, Grasslands and Forages of SERIDA after the workshop affirmed: “Access to information, technical and economic guidance, continued training and follow up are essential for the acceptance and implementation of new technologies in Asturias”.
Workshops assessing stakeholder’s acceptance and engagement towards new digital solutions are indeed crucial to GUARDIANS project to maximize its impact and exploitation of results.
