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HIGH QUALITY
Start date: Jun 1, 2015, End date: May 31, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

According to statistics from Svimez the agricultural sector in central and southern Italy accounts for 40% of the value added produced and 46% of all employment in the south. In spite of this, nationally the area receives only 22% of investment and employment is in decline. Thus we can see that agriculture remains a sector characterized by light and shade, the lack of people specialized in agriculture and the cultivation of high quality food products as well as the widespread reluctance to approach and develop the agricutlural sector due to the lack of knowledge regarding the employment potential of this sector. In recent decades these issues this have contributed to people abandonning agricultural land and a reduction of the area of utilized land. Moreover only 5% of the land in the South is currently being used to cultivate high quality products. Italy has always distinguished itself for its agricultural richness, variety and quality. Today there are 268 products with regional and geographic protection which puts Italy at the forefront of the EU in terms of agriculture. This agricultural wealth creates value from a cultural, economic and social perspective esepcially when one considers gastrotourism which contributes to awareness and enthusiasm for Italian products abroad and assists in developing disadvantaged areas which produce high quality products. The DOP, IGP and STG labels which indicate geographic protection of agricultural products also make up a significant part of Italian food production and also encourage competition in local agricultural contexts. From this analysis, the dea for the project High Quality was born, a project which primarily offers the opportunity to new graduates in agricultural subjects to complete training in the agricultural sector in a European context. This opportunity will develop and foster the competitiveness of the agricultural producers of the future and better prepare them for the commerical challenges which lay ahead in their career. Indeed the most powerful weapon available to farmers in the EU is the quality of their products and for that reason the hosting organizations are producers of top quality products, allowing graduates to learn from the best. The overall objective of the project is to create qualified professionals able to import and contextualize best practices in food production to their territory and furthermore spread these good practices in the cultivation of DOP, IGP and STG products thereby promoting a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship in the sector.Specific Objectives:- Provide work experience that allows participants to learn the techniques and dynamics of crop production;- Stimulate the creation of new farms which produce quality products from the central and southern regions;- Introduce into the world of farming 100 new operators/people with a clear professional profile in agri-food sector.The project High Quality has been promoted and proposed by the Technical training school M. Buonarroti which is situated in the territory of Caserta as a training centre for people in the agricultural sector and has been supported by the Department of Industrial Engineering and I.T. at the Second University of Naples. Other project partners include 012Factory, an enterprise center which seeks to create a 'space' where ideas, knowledge, competence and intelligence can circulate freely through the cross-fertilization and Confagricoltura Campania which supports the synergy of entrepreneurial attitude with agriculture and looks to the future and innovation whilst respecting traditions.The beneficiaries of the project will be new graduates (within one year of graduation) of the agricultural project partners (ISSS Mondelli Massafra (Ta), ISISS Piedimonte (Ce), ISSS Angeloni of Frosinone), who will receive interdisciplinary training associated with the activities of a farm specifically in the production of DOP, IGP, STG products. Trainees will develop simultaneously the technical skills of cultivation with the enterprising and entrepreneurial know-how, looking at introducing both managerial and financial nouse with the promotion and cultivation of hig quality foodstuffs.The mobility activity has been organized into two streams lasting three months without interruption and participants will fulfill these traineeships in farms in the following European countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Malta, Portugal and the United Kingdom.At the end of the mobility period, for each of the two streams there will be a final workshop in which the acquired skills and experiences will be shared and will bring together companies operating in the area, professional associations and all other relevant stakeholders.The expected result is the fostering of entrepreneurial spirit in each of the participants which can then assist them in their future career by developing transferable soft-skills or allowing them to achieve self-employment. The project also serves as an opportunity to create a meeting point for the agricultural businesses and producers in the South of Italy and thereby create a network for the continuing exchange of best practices.
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