LET US INTRODUCE ONE OF THE SUCCESFULL PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE REALISED WITH OUR EUROPEAN PARTNERS
Learning Agriculture by Comparison of Agricultural Production in Partner Schools
2016-1-CZ01-KA202-023884
General Introduction
Students from partner schools have for several times visited various European countries EU in short time and they never had any chance to compare real conditions of farming in these countries. The students have only obtained some general data dealing with subsidies and the farming methods. This project enabled them to get real information about concrete methods and results of farming during the vegetative seasons in a sample of four European countries. It brought them new view on a real life of the farmers in these countries and the conditions in agricultural sector there. The participants of the project visited the schools involved. They compared agricultural education and conditions for practical training there. The student teams were accompanied by special subjects and practical training teachers, who presented the situation in their schools and countries as for the curricula, machinery, evaluation and motivation, and collaboration with social partners. The project was important as it showed to the participants both the level of agricultural education quality and agricultural sector in the European framework. The project also motivated students to improve their skills and knowledge, including language skills in comparison with other participating countries.
The student participating in the project will be future farmers of EU and they must get known with different climate conditions, difference of quality of arable land – soil, different economical situation and conditions for farming in different parts of EU to understand the way of necessity of diving the Europe of producing different commodities in different parts of European Union, f.e. the setting up the quotas of growing wheat and areas where the wheat is grown as a commodity.
The project was focused on agricultural secondary school students and teachers. The project developed their knowledge and skills in agricultural practises in European framework and promotes mutual relationship among the participants. Four agricultural schools from the Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark, and the UK were involved in the project. Each school set up a student company, where the students had their specific roles. The teams agreed on a cultivated plant by means of analyzing the growing conditions in each of the countries at the first face to face meeting. The teams obtained for their project one hectare of arable land and performed all activities connected with the cultivation such as from the soil preparation up to selling the commodity. They also compared the tillage methods, kinds of fertilizers, used machinery, and climatic conditions during the vegetation season. They compared the yields, the quality of the product, the efficiency of fertilizers, the collaboration within the team, and among individual teams. They also compared total costs and revenues (in Euro), marketing of the product, and the situation at the national market with commodities, and also the price development during the vegetation season.
There were five face to face meetings and six on-line video conferences. The first meeting were held in November (in the Czech Republic), where the participants introduced their countries and schools. They discussed and chose the crop which they will grow. The students communicated about the terms of seeding, growing and harvesting. They also created the timetable of the growing process. They agreed upon a proposed communication platform (FB) and the people responsible for the communication and the frequency. The agenda of the next four meetings was stated on the on-line video conferences in advance. The student teams presented the results of their work there, also visited the partner schools, and chosen agricultural enterprises.
One of the project results were the set of videos showing the work of participating teams, a printed brochure summarizing individual components used for the production, including climatic conditions, machinery, tillage operations, fertilizers etc. in the participating countries. The brochure is utilized at schools, showing the variability in growing methods in the countries.
