Herb Sector in Greece: Training Needs and Perspectives

The Greek flora is rich in native herbaceous plants and due to the Mediterranean climate, there are optimal climatic and soil conditions for their cultivation. Herbs play a very important role in the Greek rural economy and facilitate change in the national agro-food sector as it is still developing. In recent years, this sector has become an area of interest. Many farmers changed their old crops into new cultivations like herbs. This development requires investments, training programs, new studies, and projects in order to enrich the knowledge and skills of all the participants involved in the value chain. HEGO is a Black Sea Project, funded by the European Union, and one of its main goals is the modernization of enterprises associated with the cultivation, production, and promotion of diversified, sustainable, value-added herb products, as well as the enhancement of cross-border trade opportunities for local herb enterprises in participating Black Sea Basin countries (Greece, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia). This paper explores the current situation of the herb sector in Greece regarding the cultivation, processing legislation, managerial issues, and the trade value of herb products. More specifically, its purpose is to investigate the current skills and expertise in herbs of the participants in Greece. Additionally, this paper explores the future training needs in relation to the above mention topics. Descriptive statistics, SWOT, and PEST analysis were performed. The main results of this research revealed the lack of knowledge of wildcrafting practices and trading. The importance of further training was highlighted, especially in marketing and trading skills. These findings can be used to develop training curricula and courses in order to cope with potential threats in the herb sector in Greece. Keywords: herbs, Greece, training needs, skills, knowledg

Bioeconomy and Livestock Production Nexus: A Bibliometric Network Analysis

Over the last couple of decades, the livestock production systems of the agri-food sector increase meat production in order to meet the demand and adapt to satisfy the food preferences of the continuously increasingly world population. This fact, along with the promotion of sustainable production, has brought to light the topic of bioeconomy. The rapid increase in publications on the research area of bioeconomy has become the motivation for this study in order to analyze its relation with livestock production. This study provides a thorough review of the scientific literature on the bioeconomy of livestock production. The bibliometric network analysis (i.e., software VOSviewer) were performed over the time frame of 2004–2021. The results identified 624 documents bioeconomy of livestock production by 160 research organizations from 83 countries. This paper visualizes the strongest links about livestock production bioeconomy, main research topics, most influential countries, authors, and organizations, as well as high-frequency keywords. Therefore, this study contributes to building global bioeconomy policies and encouraging the livestock sector to implement bioeconomy practices. The research gap identified in many countries should be the trigger for future research in this subject

Adoption of bioeconomy practices and training needs assessment of farmers in Western Macedonia

The sustainability of the agri-food system is one of the challenges of this century because it affects the basic needs for economic and social development. Environmental, economic and social challenges require changes in the production systems. The transition to a bioeconomy may be an answer to these issues, especially in agriculture.In this doctoral thesis, an attempt is made to investigate the training needs of the Region of Western Macedonia farmers regarding the adoption and use of bioeconomy practices in their agricultural holdings (plant and animal based). In addition, the determination of farmers' interest in adopting innovations is sought. The research also attempts to design possible training programs by first detecting the attitudes and opinions of farmers.For the purposes of the research, primary data were collected from the farmers of the Western Macedonia Region using a structured questionnaire, which was initially implemented as a pilot and then random sampling resulted in 331 valid questionnaires. The methodological framework of the analysis includes descriptive statistical analysis, to identify farmers' attitudes towards the bioeconomy, the adoption of its practices, training, innovations as well as their personal characteristics. This was followed by the Two-Step Cluster Analysis in order to group the population into groups of farmers with common characteristics, as regards the application of bioeconomy practices, the training needs related to the bioeconomy, the type, the implementing body, the duration of the training program and the willingness of payment. Then, Categorical Principal Component Analysis was applied to investigate the attitudes and opinions of farmers regarding the benefits of adopting bioeconomy practices, the barriers to adopting bioeconomy practices, actions to promote bioeconomy in Western Macedonia Region, motivations for participating in a training program related to bioeconomy and innovation adoption motivations. Then, a Categorical Regression performed to investigate the characteristics of the dimensions resulted from the Categorical Principal Component Analysis regarding demographic, social and economic characteristics of the respondents, as well as characteristics of their behavior. Finally, the Pareto analysis and the control of the research hypotheses are applied. Of particular interest in the results of the research is the increased need and desire of farmers to develop training programs on topics related to the bioeconomy, innovations in the bioeconomy industry and the application of bioeconomy practices on their farms. Two-Step Cluster Analysis highlights five groups of farmers, each with different characteristics, training needs and preferred training program. In fact, it was revealed that a group of young female farmers are leading the process of innovation diffusion in the adoption of bioeconomy practices. The Categorical Principal Components Analysis gave 2 dimensions to each of the 5 variables. From the total of 10 dimensions, 6 had a satisfactory degree of reliability. Categorical Regression was applied to these 6 dimensions leading to possible actions in the different groups of farmers. Pareto analysis as a decision-making tool identified the points to be emphasized in terms of subject areas and means of monitoring the training programs, the barriers to be overcome to increase farmers adopting bioeconomy practices and the actions to the promotion of the bioeconomy in the Region of Western Macedonia.The thesis concludes by recording the conclusions that emerge from the research results and the proposals for policy makers while presenting the main limitations of the research and some suggestions for further research.Η βιωσιμότητα του αγροδιατροφικού συστήματος είναι μια από τις προκλήσεις αυτού του αιώνα, καθώς επηρεάζει τις βασικές ανάγκες για οικονομική και κοινωνική ανάπτυξη. Οι περιβαλλοντικές, οικονομικές και κοινωνικές προκλήσεις απαιτούν αλλαγές στα συστήματα παραγωγής. Η μετάβαση προς τη βιοοικονομία μπορεί να είναι απάντηση σε αυτά τα ζητήματα, ειδικά στη γεωργία και κτηνοτροφία.Στην παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή γίνεται προσπάθεια διερεύνησης των αναγκών κατάρτισης των γεωργών της Περιφέρειας Δυτικής Μακεδονίας σχετικά με την υιοθέτηση και χρήση πρακτικών βιοοικονομίας στις γεωργοκτηνοτροφικές εκμεταλλεύσεις. Επιπλέον, επιδιώκεται ο προσδιορισμός του ενδιαφέροντος των γεωργών για την υιοθέτηση καινοτομιών. Επίσης, μέσα από την έρευνα επιδιώκεται ο σχεδιασμός πιθανών προγραμμάτων κατάρτισης, ανιχνεύοντας πρώτα τις στάσεις και τις απόψεις των γεωργών.Για τους σκοπούς της έρευνας συγκεντρώθηκαν πρωτογενή δεδομένα από τους γεωργούς της Περιφέρειας Δυτικής Μακεδονίας με τη χρήση δομημένου ερωτηματολογίου, το οποίο εφαρμόστηκε αρχικά πιλοτικά και στη συνέχεια η στρωματοποιημένη τυχαία δειγματοληψία οδήγησε σε 331 έγκυρα ερωτηματολόγια. Το μεθοδολογικό πλαίσιο της ανάλυσης περιλαμβάνει περιγραφική στατιστική ανάλυση, για τον εντοπισμό των στάσεων των γεωργών απέναντι στη βιοοικονομία, στην υιοθέτηση των πρακτικών της, στην κατάρτιση, στις καινοτομίες καθώς και τα προσωπικά χαρακτηριστικά τους. Ακολούθησε, η Διβηματική Ανάλυση σε Συστάδες προκειμένου να γίνει ομαδοποίηση του πληθυσμού σε ομάδες γεωργών με κοινά χαρακτηριστικά, όσο αφορά την εφαρμογή πρακτικών βιοοικονομίας, τις ανάγκες κατάρτισης σχετικά με τη βιοοικονομία, το είδος, το φορέα υλοποίησης, τη διάρκεια του προγράμματος κατάρτισης και την προθυμία πληρωμής. Έπειτα, η Κατηγορική Ανάλυση σε Κύριες Συνιστώσες εφαρμόστηκε για τη διερεύνηση των στάσεων και των απόψεων των γεωργών σχετικά με τα οφέλη υιοθέτησης πρακτικών βιοοικονομίας, τα εμπόδια υιοθέτησης πρακτικών βιοοικονομίας, τις ενέργειες προώθησης της βιοοικονομίας στην Περιφέρεια Δυτικής Μακεδονίας, τα κίνητρα συμμετοχής σε πρόγραμμα κατάρτισης σχετικό με τη βιοοικονομία και τα κίνητρα υιοθέτησης καινοτομίας. Στη συνέχεια, με την Κατηγορική Παλινδρόμηση ερευνώνται τα χαρακτηριστικά των διαστάσεων που προέκυψαν από την Κατηγορική Ανάλυση σε Κύριες Συνιστώσες αναφορικά με τα δημογραφικά, κοινωνικά και οικονομικά χαρακτηριστικά των ερωτηθέντων, καθώς και χαρακτηριστικά της συμπεριφοράς τους. Τέλος, εφαρμόζεται η ανάλυση Pareto και γίνεται έλεγχος των ερευνητικών υποθέσεων. Ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον στα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας παρουσιάζει η αυξημένη ανάγκη και επιθυμία των γεωργών για ανάπτυξη προγραμμάτων κατάρτισης σε θέματα που σχετίζονται με τη βιοοικονομία, τις καινοτομίες στον κλάδο της βιοοικονομίας και την εφαρμογή πρακτικών βιοοικονομίας στις εκμεταλλεύσεις τους. Η Διβηματική Ανάλυση σε Συστάδες αναδεικνύει πέντε ομάδες γεωργών, κάθε μια από τις οποίες έχει διαφορετικά χαρακτηριστικά, ανάγκες κατάρτισης και προτιμώμενο πρόγραμμα κατάρτισης. Μάλιστα, αποκαλύφθηκε, πως μια ομάδα νέων γυναικών γεωργών ηγούνται της διαδικασίας διάχυσης της καινοτομίας στην υιοθέτηση πρακτικών βιοοικονομίας. Η Κατηγορική Ανάλυση σε Κύριες Συνιστώσες έδωσε 2 διαστάσεις σε κάθε μία από τις 5 μεταβλητές που εφαρμόστηκε. Από τις 10 συνολικά διαστάσεις που προέκυψαν, οι 6 είχαν ικανοποιητικό βαθμό αξιοπιστίας. Η Κατηγορική Παλινδρόμηση εφαρμόστηκε σε αυτές τις 6 διαστάσεις οδηγώντας σε πιθανές δράσεις στις διαφορετικές ομάδες γεωργών. Η ανάλυση Pareto ως ένα εργαλείο λήψης αποφάσεων εντόπισε τα σημεία στα οποία πρέπει να δοθεί ιδιαίτερη βαρύτητα αναφορικά με τις θεματικές ενότητες και τα μέσα παρακολούθησης των προγραμμάτων κατάρτισης, τα εμπόδια που πρέπει να ξεπεραστούν ώστε να αυξηθούν οι γεωργοί που θα υιοθετήσουν πρακτικές βιοοικονομίας και τις ενέργειες για την προώθηση της βιοοικονομίας στην Περιφέρεια Δυτικής Μακεδονίας.Η διατριβή ολοκληρώνεται με την καταγραφή των συμπερασμάτων που αναδύονται από τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας και των προτάσεων προς τους υπεύθυνους χάραξης πολιτικής ενώ παρουσιάζονται οι κύριοι περιορισμοί της έρευνας και ορισμένες προτάσεις για περαιτέρω έρευνα

Bioeconomy and Livestock Production Nexus: A Bibliometric Network Analysis

Over the last couple of decades, the livestock production systems of the agri-food sector increase meat production in order to meet the demand and adapt to satisfy the food preferences of the continuously increasingly world population. This fact, along with the promotion of sustainable production, has brought to light the topic of bioeconomy. The rapid increase in publications on the research area of bioeconomy has become the motivation for this study in order to analyze its relation with livestock production. This study provides a thorough review of the scientific literature on the bioeconomy of livestock production. The bibliometric network analysis (i.e., software VOSviewer) were performed over the time frame of 2004–2021. The results identified 624 documents bioeconomy of livestock production by 160 research organizations from 83 countries. This paper visualizes the strongest links about livestock production bioeconomy, main research topics, most influential countries, authors, and organizations, as well as high-frequency keywords. Therefore, this study contributes to building global bioeconomy policies and encouraging the livestock sector to implement bioeconomy practices. The research gap identified in many countries should be the trigger for future research in this subject

Business model canvas analysis on Greek farms implementing Precision Agriculture

The main aim of this paper is narrowing the innovation divide on entrepreneurship and the effective application of sustainable Precision Agriculture (PA). For this purpose, the Business Model Canvas (BMC) analysis was carried out for farms belonging to different crop sectors in Greece. The goal is to present how the use of BMC methodology analyses the entrepreneurial formula of farms that have successfully implemented PA technologies. Furthermore, it can be a new tool towards “Agriculture 4.0” to support companies that could invest in PA in order to grow economically and, at the same time, decrease the environmental impact. To succeed this, 5 BMC analyses were performed and SWOT analysis to investigate barriers, drivers, benefits, and impact, according to the entrepreneur’s perception, towards the implementation of PA technologies. Finally, there was evaluation research of the BMC experience from both the interviewed farmers’ and interviewers’ point of view. The results of this analysis showed that the samples of the five cases have a common attitude regarding PA. On the one hand, the barriers highlighted where the lack of knowledge, lack of support systems and high investment costs. On the other hand, the benefits where higher quality productivity and profitability and lower environmental and control costs. As for the drivers and the expected impact, all farmers agreed on the development of a more environmentally friendly sustainable agriculture with reduced costs. Finally, this paper clarifies how the “human factor” is the element key to motivate farmers to adopt PA practices

Competencies Needed for Guiding the Digital Transition of Agriculture: Are Future Advisors Well-Equipped?

As the penetration of digital technologies in agriculture deepens, farm advisors have to cope with new roles, which generate the need for updating already possessed and developing new competencies. Although in-service advisors can build such skills through their involvement with the practice of digital agriculture, students of agronomy (and related) departments who will undertake the role of advisors in the future are expected to develop relevant competencies during their university education. Do current curricula supply them with such competencies? In pursuing this question, in the present study, we developed a theoretical scheme involving eight sets of competencies. After constructing a scale for each set, we collected data from students enrolled in an agronomy department of a Greek university. Our findings revealed that participants’ overall competency in dealing with digital agriculture was considerably low. Among the eight sets of competencies, the highest scores were observed for empathy and future orientation, while students had low levels of technology exploitation, technology integration, and transition facilitation competencies. A regression analysis indicated that the two last sets shape students’ overall competency. These results point out the need to integrate a farmer-centered philosophy in digitalization-related higher agronomic education and consider the critical role that social science can play in equipping future advisors with competencies needed to facilitate the digital agricultural transition

What Makes Farmers Aware in Adopting Circular Bioeconomy Practices? Evidence from a Greek Rural Region

Action 2 of the European Union’s Updated Bioeconomy Strategy, i.e., “Deploy local bioeconomies rapidly across Europe”, promotes education and training in all member states. It is a fact that Greece has not yet adopted a national bioeconomy strategy, so stakeholders and farmers cannot benefit from its potential. The adoption of bioeconomy practices is now a prerequisite for receiving funding under the Common Agricultural Policy 2023–2027. Farmers unknowingly use some bioeconomy practices on their farms, and in this study, an attempt was made to investigate how farmers in the region of Western Macedonia would like to be trained in respect of the bioeconomy, knowing the opportunities it offers. The research was conducted through a structured questionnaire answered by 412 farmers from the region. The findings from the subsequent k-means cluster analysis show that farmers can be classified into three clusters: engaged, restricted, and partially engaged. The perceptions that predominate in each cluster are influenced by age, income, and the regional unit in which the farmers reside. In addition, the decarbonization of the Western Macedonia region influences their views and how they would like to be informed about opportunities arising from the bioeconomy. Limitations in this study include the fact that the sample consists only of farmers living and operating in a particular region. In addition, there is an urgent need for political will to establish a national strategy for the bioeconomy. The importance of the present study lies in the fact that few studies have addressed the training of farmers on bioeconomy issues either in Greece or internationally

Current Skills of Students and Their Expected Future Training Needs on Precision Agriculture: Evidence from Euro-Mediterranean Higher Education Institutes

This paper set out to explore the precision agriculture (PA)-training needs of students studying in agricultural universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). SPARKLE is a Knowledge Alliance Project, funded by the European Union (EU), and one of its main goals is to narrow the innovation divide between entrepreneurship and the effective application of sustainable PA. During the project, the research conducted in all countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region revealed differences in the PA-training needs of university students. Additionally, this paper set out to explore the socioeconomic characteristics of students that affect their interest and knowledge towards PA. Finally, this paper aimed to understand the scope, present status and strategies for improving PA training in agricultural universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The following descriptive statistics and two multivariate analysis techniques were used: Two-Step Cluster Analysis (TSCA) and Categorical Regression (CATREG). Results support the notion that the lack of “PA knowledge/interest” adds to the technological gap amongst university students, slow adoption of PA and lower levels of overall rural economic development. These findings will be used as the fundamental cognition for the development of a joint action plan and several other national plans in the selected regions