Precision Farming (PA) according to the European Parliament and the European Commission is the new innovative technology expected to change the agriculture as we know it today and convert it to the digital age. PA is considering as a major tool both in agricultural policies and environmental protection and climate change policies. In this proposed project special reference is made to the use of Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) in PA and the technology used in combination with them to support the advanced farm operator. The idea of this project was initiated after the completion of a previous Erasmus+ project Skills for Future Farmers (SKIFF, future-farmer.eu), where it was proved that there was a strong demand among agronomists, environmentalists and farmers for this subject, exceeding the number of 2.000 students and today is used for the training of students in several agricultural colleges in Europe. The output as module was limited and it was prepared as an initiation of one of the partners, which also participates in this project. Thus, this project is based on this primary work, however, the partnership has the ambition to exceed the previous number of students and produce a unique course for PA. The experience and the expertise of the partnership in major scientific aspects of the proposed project and in distance learning will be combined for the optimum result. In this project all the competences acquired by the partnership during participation in previous Erasmus+ projects will be fully exploited. The pademic conditions caused by covid-19 were taken into account and thsi project focuses on the solutions offered by PA for operations (farms) management without the necessity for natural presence of ecperts or farmers. Limited exposure is an important elements during this period. Additionally virtual project management solutions are provided through this project.
The main objective of the SATI project is to provide a complete training platform on the most advanced challenges of smart agriculture. It aims to familiarize the interested parties with applications of precision agriculture (PA) and with new and more green solutions, such as the use of drones, to monitor the field and the cultivations. The target group of the training platform is agronomists, farmers and professionals of the primary sector who are dealing with smart agriculture, its methods and applications.
Covid pandemic has affected the agricultural sector as agricultural and livestock markets were forced to close and many farms / operations were abandoned or poorly cultivated due to difficulties in selling their products. The need for new methods of farm management and protocols was obvious. In addition, the continuously changing scene in agriculture that has to comply with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU necessitate the adoption of green techniques to address the need for more green and safe products. The implementation of green agriculture can save financial resources and actions should be taken towards this direction. SATI project is an effort from the VET point of view of digitizing the agriculture in the European area, taking into account the current trends.