Research and advocacy for positioning agriculture high-schools as hubs for small and medium farmers

Research and advocacy for positioning agriculture high-schools as hubs for small and medium farmers

Period of implementation: October 2015 – August 2023

The current project is part of a more complex program/intervention implemented in partnership/consortium with four other organisations (JAR, Civitas, World Vision, CEED), aiming to support agricultural high-schools to make their educational offer more relevant for the local economy. In the consortium’s vision, the high schools take an active role as community educational hubs for the development of small and medium farms and agricultural businesses, providing services for both youngsters and adults.

The component address by CRPE within the consortium is related to documentation (for consortium and outside consortium) and advocacy in order to ensure further premises for program’s sustainability and for addressing the aim at a larger scale.

Within the “Research and advocacy for positioning agriculture high-schools as hubs for small and medium farmers” project, CRPE sets out to contribute to the above consortium’s program/initiative by:

(1)documenting the effects of the program on high schools and communities (pupils, teachers and other community members), as well as other initiatives (from Romania and abroad) that can contribute to the program

(2)communicating the program to the beneficiaries and to other NGOs, donors, authorities, farms and agro-industrial companies, the public at large in order to ensure the premises for the continuation/expansion of the project

(3) by researching relevant public policy topics, and based on the experience gained through the project, formulating policy recommendations and advocating them among policy makers, public administration institutions with responsibilities in the area, etc. in order to enlist their support in sustaining agricultural vocational and technical education in Romania.

The objectives of the project are:

O1. Documenting the RAF consortium intervention models as well as other similar initiatives, with a focus on changes in behaviors, relationships, actions of the people, organizations, target groups involved in the project, aiming at engaging the consortium, providing for it inputs on lessons learned and good practice examples, so that the pilot program timely adapts to the realities in the field.

O2. Drawing well substantiated policy objectives from the program implementation (both local and national), formulating policy recommendations and advocating them to policy makers, public administration institutions with attributions in this field, etc. in order to enlist their support in sustaining agricultural vocational and technical education in Romania;

O3. Communicating the main issues, models, best practices which arise from the documentation and opportune policy research and communicating them to the relevant stakeholders (other NGOs, donors, authorities, farms and agro-industrial companies, public at large), with a view to engaging them, pushing for policy adaptations and further continuation of the program;

In the overall consortium’s program, we aim to stimulate and support the stakeholders (public and private as well) to be involved in the development of rural areas, particularly in the agriculture field (in the 8 high schools and beyond them), including by prioritizing the agricultural education and establishing data-driven, coherent national strategies and programs in this respect.

Donor: Romanian American Foundation