FACILITATE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION MANAGING EFFORTS OF RENEWABLE SOURCES - FARMERS

Rural communities have strong ethical values that can create trust issues when influence is derived from external factors, even if they try to influence their lives positively. This has roots in the past, where development did not take into consideration local needs, resulting in the loss of social and environmental values. This is the case of innovative business models and production processes that could jeopardize their livelihoods. Rural areas are characterised by challenges that limit economic development: 1) the inverted age pyramid, in which only the elderly remain, as the younger generation cannot fulfil their creativity in a stagnating job market, 2) limited resources (e.g., bureaucracy, transport, energy) that make small communities dependent on larger neighboring villages or cities, affecting trade relations, and the direct sales price (unfair to the farmers who produce the essential goods, exacerbating social injustice, 3) the worsening availability of water for irrigation related to water scarcity and its price, exacerbating production costs, 4) climate changes that jeopardize sustainable production models, together with resource scarcity (energy-water-food nexus). Integrating technological advancements in renewable energy with innovative farming, FARMERS is a social-driven project strongly supporting the long-term vision for preserving rural areas financially and culturally. FARMERS will explore innovative business models based on sustainable and resource-efficient production and promote local supply chains, with a firm root on inclusive and participatory approaches, materialised in the form of Living Laboratories (LLs). The project aims to develop innovative business and production models for EU rural areas to achieve high sustainability, contribute to climate neutrality, and meet societal expectations to protect and restore natural resources.