When he participated in the ITERA-AA project, a Basque farmer’s dairy production was made sustainable through the direct selling of milk in vending machines. ITERA-AA helps innovation at Basque dairy farms along by focusing on the individual farmers’ needs.

 How the Dairy Farmer Was Supported

A dairy farmer in the Basque Country was growing in size to meet the demand in the market. However, this led to several issues regarding sustainability and time management. The ITERA-AA project helped the farmer to establish a direct selling supply chain of milk through vending machines. Due to the higher prices obtained by direct selling, the farmer was able to maintain the income. This was possible because the farm is located near San Sebastian, a city providing enough consumers for the direct selling through vending machines.

Thus, the assistance provided through the ITERA-AA project allowed the farmer to reduce the number of cows and deal with the issues of getting bigger.

– This project has allowed me to reduce the number of cows in my herd, solving two major problems for the continuity of my business and achieving sustained profitability, the dairy farmer further explains.

ITERA-AA Supported Several Farmers

In total, the ITERA-AA project has helped 8 innovative dairy farms. The project analysed the needs of the farms and identified the aspects that affect the viability of innovation at the farms. The approach used by the advisors was to customize the solutions for the participating farms because the need for innovation depends on many factors and each farm has its own specificities.

ITERA-AA is Meeting a Need

In general, the dairy sector in the Basque Country encounters difficulties in implementing innovative ideas at their farms. Therefore, the ITERA-AA project was established. Its aim has been to facilitate the implementation of innovation at the dairy farms in this region.

Through support from Lursail, the association of the advisory services as well as the HAZI Foundation, the ITERRA project has met the local farmers’ needs for innovation by

  • maintaining the added value of the agricultural production and develop “differentiated” products for the market,
  • bringing the offer and the supply closer to the territorial needs,
  • starting with the needs of the farmers when building up training and paths for assistance, thus making existing resources more affordable.

Lursail has participated in this project because the organization considers this type of advice to be a key tool “to promote innovation and cooperation, improve the competitiveness of the primary products and boost the development of the knowledge base in rural areas”.

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