From 13 to 19 May, representatives of schools in the framework of the EU4Youth project: “School Garden” for Agricultural Entrepreneurship from Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine took part in an educational tour to Italy. Italian partners in accordance with the purpose of the trip prepared the tour program. They aimed to acquaint participants of the educational tour with Italian experience in rural development through a visit to Agro-College, a local rural school, an agricultural cooperative, a trade agricultural fair.

The program of the educational tour was very rich and focused. First of all, the Italian partners tried to show the prospects of the rural business through various forms.

During the week, the participants of the trip visited the farm AGRICOLA CASA PALLINO, the permanent agricultural exhibition FICO, the educational institution of High School Giovanni da San Giovanni and the Agricultural Institute “I.P.A.A Istituto Professionale per l'agricoltura e L'ambiente Bruno Marchino” ISTITUTO OMNICOMPRENSIVO R. LAPORTA.

While visiting the farm AGRICOLA CASA PALLINO, which focuses on the production of sheep cheese according to old technologies, school representatives were able to learn the peculiarities of small farmers, equipment, technology, business solutions as a model for rural development and self-organization.

The participants of the trip not only observed the process of production of various types of cheese by hand and making traditional tortellini, but also tasted them with pleasure.

After visiting this farm, the participants had many ideas and plans for implementation in their places. In particular, Yevgeny Tsalko, director of the state educational institution “Zalessky nursery-kindergarten - secondary school of Chechersk district” believes:

“In our national cuisine there are too many dishes that could be used in agritourism to attract visitors, and thus even the village to have a stable income."

Lyudmila Kuchinskaya, director of the state educational institution “Yurtsevskaya kindergarten - Secondary School of Orsha district”, had ideas for creating a school-farm, a school-estate; in the near future - a project for collecting dumplings recipes - a national dish that is very popular in Vitebsk region.

At the ongoing agricultural exhibition FICO (Fico Eataly World) - the world's first experimental theme park dedicated to the agro-food and gastronomic sector, the participants of the educational tour attended workshops on the production of classic mortadella and handmade pasta, "spied" many ideas to promote agricultural products .

After visiting the exhibition, Yevgeny Tsalko shared his plans:

“In autumn, agricultural fairs are held in all regions of Belarus. Our institution also participates in fairs, where we sell berry seedlings to the population. Perhaps, for the promotional steps for the implementation of seedlings, we will try to put up for tasting various types of products from the berries collected at our school site (syrups, jams, compotes, jams, etc.). Thus, we will be able to interest the buyer not only with the original product (plant seedlings), but also with the final product (syrup, jam, compote, jam, etc.). ”

The multi-educational institution High School Giovanni da San Giovanni impressed all participants greatly. Here students have a choice of educational programs and original educational projects. The value of the principle of freedom is visible in many ways: in the absence of a standard approach to the design of school, in the integration of teaching subjects, in the motivation built on self-determination, but not on the fear of getting unsatisfactory marks.

Teaching and school programs are practice-oriented. For example, Russian language teachers mind that this rural region, where this school is located, is a unique tourist cluster and they organize the teaching of Russian language, taking into account the tourist and historical heritage of this territory. Thus, graduates can immediately find employment in the tourism industry after graduation.

A visit to the agricultural institute “I.P.A.A Istituto Professionale per l’agricoltura e L’ambiente Bruno Marchino” is memorable because different teaching methods are used in the learning process: alternating practice with theory, laboratory activities, and a large amount of practical tasks.

It is important that in this settlement there is a cooperative for the processing of products and joint promotion, which includes 20 local farmers. The premises provided by the local municipality free of charge. Farmers donate products for processing and then jointly sell them under their own brands. Thus, due to cooperation and joint activities, they can feel more stable in the market and get more profit. It is interesting that students do practical work on the basis of this cooperative and have the opportunity to experience all business processes from sales to sales. Subsequently, after graduation, they can easily join this cooperative by organizing their agribusiness.

Thus, on a concrete example, it is clear that agriculture represents today and in the future great opportunities for employment, as well as a desire to contribute to the development of the region through the preservation of the traditions of the production of local authentic products.

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This publication has been produced with the support of the European Union and the Green Cross International. Responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the public organization “Green Cross Belarus”, and it can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union and Green Cross International.