Awareness raising, the use of new technologies, and the general aging of farmers were some of the points discussed when the consortium analysed the four Basque innovation cases.

At the final seminar at the HAZI headquarters in October 2015, the AgriSpin partners met with the regional stakeholders to have a mutual exchange of lessons learned. The discussion dealt with the four innovation cases in general and underlined the fact that the Cross Visit had made some important lessons known:

Awareness raising and training

In the Basque Country, the effort and energy which has been put into raising the awareness and training for the use of new technologies in the primary sector has been substantial. And the work that is done is very important.

The aging of the farmers

It is a challenge for the primary sector that so many of the farmers are advanced in years. Some participants suggested that this could be solved by linking experienced farmers with young entrepreneurs in order to ease the generation renewal and boost the level of innovation. Other participants agreed that, in general, there is a need of exchange from farmer to farmer.

Complex Basque structure

It is difficult for outsiders to understand the complex structure of the different organisations which comprise the Basque agricultural innovation system. However, it was also highlighted that the different organisations involved have good mutual relations and cooperate on a regular basis.

Strengthening the cooperation

The importance of strengthening the cooperation at the national as well as the European level was stressed. The Agrispin partners were under the impression that there is a lack of cooperation at the European and national levels. The regional stakeholders strongly disagreed that there is a lack of cooperation at the European level since they are involved in several European networks and projects. However, they did agree on the fact that cooperation at the national level could be strengthened.

More info

Read more about the Basque Cross Visit and watch the video.