Development and Implementation of Digital Practices in Adult Education in Horticulture and Orcharding

"<< Background >>The main motivation for the development of the project was related to supporting the implementation of the Agricultural Development Program in 2022, PRIORITY 3: ""Competitiveness of Agriculture"" IMPACT 3 - ""Qualification and knowledge of agricultural producers"" - Measure 2, 3 and 7 - measures that correspond to our understandings, desires and opportunities to increase the qualifications and knowledge of agricultural producers. For the elderly, Erasmus+ projects are developed and implemented. With the implementation of this project, we have filled the lack of specific offers on professional training in agriculture, through short-term courses using modern and accessible ICT.With the results of the project, there is the opportunity for adults to acquire key knowledge and competences in vegetable production and fruit growing, using the informational training resources of the educational Portal developed by us, ""Horticulture & Orcharding Portal"", for free and with ease. The representatives of the first and second target groups can to satisfy their basic needs for the production of fruits and vegetables, as well as other agricultural products, by means of easier and more accessible solutions to the problems during their cultivation.<< Objectives >>The objectives we set for ourselves were:1.Improving the digital literacy of the elderly for work and training with interactive software applications in crop production.2. Provision of new short-term training programs and training materials based on innovative information and communication technologies.3. Helping the elderly to grow organic agricultural products, through training on acquiring competences in vegetable production and fruit growing4. Transfer of innovative European training practices for adults in agriculture.We linked the project objectives to the following main priorities of the KA210-ADU, Erasmus+ programе: We assisted in increasing the capacity of adult education institutions in the three partner organizations, for an effective transition to digital education.We linked the project objectives to the specific priorities of the sector for:- improving the availability of high-quality, flexible opportunities for adult education - through a new digital educational approach with innovative educational materials and programs;-creating pathways to up skill, improve accessibility and increase the spread of adult education - through interactive agricultural competency training.<< Implementation >>The main activities that we performed on the project are the following:1. We held a partnership meeting where we adopted a Work Program; Plan and Schedule of activities, with a clear definition of roles between all partners; Internal monitoring procedures; quality control; risk management and communication methods.2. We created an educational Portal for information resources and training for adults, oriented towards horticulture and fruit growing - design, development and administration of the Portal; We entered into the Portal educational information related to agriculture, the developed curricula, as well as the educational materials for their implementation. The developed three blogs were included in the Portal. We periodically introduced and disseminated information through the blogs. The portal is an intellectual product of the project.3. We developed three short-term educational programs for adults and educational materials for them, based on ICT - an intellectual product of the project4. We conducted training for adults, within 40 training hours with over 45 adults - representatives of the target group from every country. The training were held according to the new curricula for the cultivation of organic agricultural<< Results >>The results we achieved from the implementation of the project are:1.An active educational web Portal for information and training for acquiring competences in the production of products in vegetable and fruit gardens.2.Working Blogs, linked to the Web Portal, of teachers from the partner organizations, with theoretical and practical experience in plant breeding.3.Developed and implemented three training programs for acquiring knowledge and competences for growing organic fruits and vegetables and innovative training materials for them.4. Conducted training in short-term courses for the acquisition of new knowledge, skills and attitudes by the elderly in the cultivation of organic agricultural products.The results of the project implementation contribute to improving the competences of adults in the field of digital technologies; increasing the spread of education for the elderly to acquire competences in agriculture; meeting the needs of organic food growing families for a healthy lifestyle; increased motivation and satisfaction in daily work in the vegetable and fruit garden; transfer of innovative European practices, promoting cooperation between institutions not only at the national level,but also at the European level."