Women in Agriculture is a free training program of Piraeus Bank for all women who have a business or intend to start their own business in the agri-food sector, over a period of 6 months.

The program consists of two parts:

1. Training 4 educational modules and experiential learning, total duration 20 hours.

2. Mentoring and skill development, through communication and networking with qualified professionals.

The participants after the end of the program:

✔They will have received knowledge, skills and supplies, necessary to start implementing their business idea or to develop an already existing business in the field of agri-food.

✔They will get knowledge about the new trends/needs of the agricultural sector in the 21st century.

✔They will be connected with established industry professionals and scientists to whom they will be able to ask their questions about their crops and business plans.

The training modules have been specially designed by the American Farm School and the Alba Hub for Entrepreneurship and Development, the entrepreneurship center of the Alba Graduate Business School, The American College of Greece with an emphasis on the practical dimension of the training of the participants.

https://kaem.gr/wp-content/themes/kaem/assets/images/kaem-logo.png

Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation

€ 80.000

2016 annually indefinite

"The American Farm School is responsible for:

(1) the realization of experiential seminars

(2) the provision of consulting services on the field and in business planning affairs

(3) the implementation of actions that enhance the digital transformation of agri-food entrepreneurship."

https://kaem.gr/to-kaem/

https://www.facebook.com/KentroAgrodiatrofikisEpixeirimatikotitas/

KAEM was founded in 2016, by the Captain Vassilis & Carmen Konstantakopoulos Foundation and the American Farm School - Perrotis College with the support of the Peloponnese & Ionian Islands Development and Progress Association and the Municipality of Kalamata. The Center's aspiration is the fortification of the agri-food entrepreneurship of Messinia. The services offered to the local community by KAEM are based on scientific data on the application of productive processes and services, as well as on the cumulative experience of the American Farm School in the field of experiential adult education. KAEM also offers consulting for starting a new and developing an existing business. The first cohort of actions of the Center focuses on the implementation of experiential seminars. The seminars are addressed to those who wish to develop their knowledge on key issues in the agri-food sector. The second cohort of actions concerns consulting services. KAEM offers consulting services focused on both starting a new business and developing prospects for an existing business. Consulting is provided both on business planning and marketing issues as well as on technical issues related to agricultural holdings, food processing, and the organization of production facilities. The third pillar of actions concerns the enhancement of digital transformation of agri-food entrepreneurship in Messinia.

Municipality of Voio

€ 24.000 (+VAT)

12 months

"The American Farm School undertakes the preparation of the dossier for the registration of the following product names in EU's PDO-PGI Register:

∙ Voio honey

∙ Voio mpatzios

∙ Kaloneri peppers

∙ Sisanion beans

and the education - consulting in the following fields:

∙ application of precision agriculture (smart farming) to crops

∙ cultivation of beans and peppers

∙ beekeeping

∙ cheese-making good practices."

The American Farm School undertakes the preparation of the dossier and the collection of all the necessary evidence with the aid of local bodies (i.e., local authorities, cultural associations, producer organizations, cooperatives and local businesses) and the education - consulting in the application of precision agriculture (smart farming) on the field, in bean and pepper cultivation, beekeeping and cheese-making good practices.

Society for the Protection of Prespa  - Stavros Niarchos Foundation

https://www.snf.org/el/grafeio-typou/lista-neon/2020/12/spernontas-ena-kalytero-mellon-gia-paragogous-fasoliou-stis-prespes/

€ 31.200

7 months  05/2021   12/2021

The American Farm School will set up a wireless telecommunications network, consisting of a central signal receiving antenna and scattered ground sensors, to monitor humidity and signal the need for irrigation. At the same time, the American Farm School will carry out personalized trainings and actions to increase the efficiency of cultivation practices and the added value of the Prespa organic bean sector.

https://www.snf.org/el/grafeio-typou/lista-neon/2020/12/spernontas-ena-kalytero-mellon-gia-paragogous-fasoliou-stis-prespes/

The program is part of the initiatives undertaken by the "Poliprespa" sustainable development program, implemented by local organizations in Prespa and donated from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the program places emphasis on environmental, societal and economic aspects. Bean growers in Prespa will have at their disposal technology that enables them to monitor from their mobile phone, at any time, the conditions of their field, such as soil and air temperature, and accordingly adapt the cultivation methods to the real needs of their field. Qualified professionals from the American Farm School will advise them on best crop management practices and offer them personalized training in the use of state-of-the-art technologies.

Region of Western Greece

University of Patras (Lifelong Learning Center - University of Patras)

Municipality of Ilida

Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation

60 months 02/2022  01/2027

"The American Farm School is responsible for the:

∙ scoping study

∙ planning and preparation of training activities

∙ provision of standard, short-term training programs

∙ provision of all training and lifelong learning services

∙ provision of standard, post-secondary education"

Objective of the foresaid educational cooperation is the offering of integrated post-secondary education, training and lifelong learning programs to all those involved in the agri-food chain of the Region of Western Greece with the main participants being farmers and geotechnical scientists. Aiming at the penetration of new technologies and acquisition of business education for the transition to an environmentally friendly and climate-friendly agriculture, the training programs address educational needs and specific learning objectives and at the same time optimize the available resources in terms of human resources and logistical infrastructure.

Captain Vassilis & Carmen Constantakopoulos Foundation

Folloe Foundation

€ 6200

12 months  2020  2021

The American Farm School will conduct research on the potential and challenges of the agricultural sector in Milies and the surrounding region

http://www.folloefoundation.com/afs-research-2020/

Folloe project is a holistic approach to the revival of Agrifood sector in the rural area around Milies village and the assistance to local population regarding their active professional involvement in that sector.

Polar Fruit Europa S.L.

Macedonian Vineyards

The American Farm School and Macedonian Vineyards undertake to carry out a survey/report with the purpose of establishing the current situation of any blanc seedless infringements and alleged illegal plantation in Greece. The American Farm School as the party responsible for monitoring all plantations of the variety carried out by Macedonian Vineyards.

The project is with the notion that the modernization and future prosperity of the Greek table grape sector require the adoption by Greek farmers of proprietary plant varieties in a lawful manner.

Sani Resort / Ikos Resorts via Bossodakis Foundation

€ 19.998,50

12 months 09/2019 - 08/2020

https://www.bodossaki.gr/donation/sani-resort-2/

"The American Farm School will cater for:

∙ personalized training, information on the latest developments in their respective productive sectors, the mapping of the production process of participating producers, business management and the provision of improvement proposals

· the familiarization of participants with the basic principles of organizing an agritourism unit and the techniques of promoting and saling their products in the local tourist market, directly from the place of production, and information on how to harmonize their production with environmentally friendly production methods, such as the application of biostimulants

· installation of sensors, antennas and data transmission systems of soil and meteorological parameters in the facilities and fields of the beneficiaries."

"Agri-food training of farmers in Chalkidiki was the goal of the ""Thought for Food"" program, implemented by the American Farm School with the support of the Sani Resort / Ikos Resorts Group and the management of the Bodosakis Foundation.

In the program, lasting one year, four producers took part, who attended individualized trainings and were informed about the latest developments in their productive sectors (cultivation and production of olives, ""tsipouro"", honey and livestock products). In the program, the American Farm School offered a mapping of the production process of the participating producers and of the organization of their business and provided improvement proposals.

In addition, the participants were introduced to the basic principles of organizing an agritourism unit and techniques for promoting and selling their products in the local tourist market, directly from their place of production. They were also informed about the ways of harmonizing their production with environmentally friendly production methods, such as the application of biostimulants that serve in the gradual detoxification from the use of chemical inputs.

An important part of the program was the installation of sensors, antennas and data transmission systems of soil and meteorological parameters in the facilities and crops of the beneficiaries. Thus, the beneficiaries gained real-time access to extremely useful data and information about their plants and crops through smart devices. The purpose of modern technological systems is to enable producers to make informed decisions based on important meteorological and soil parameters and at the same time optimize the use of natural resources (i.e. water, plant protection products, fertilizers) and reduce the environmental footprint of each crop."

Trans-Adriatic Natural Gas Pipeline (TAP) - Bodossakis Foundation

https://www.tap-ag.gr/viosimhoteta/prhogramma-koinonikhon-kai-perivallontikhon-ependhuseon/koinonikhes-kai-perivallontikhes-ependhuseis-sten-ellhada/agrotikho-prhogramma-eydokime-ge  

https://www.bodossaki.gr/draseis-synergasias/me-etaireies/agogos-tap-eydokimi-gi/eydokimi-gi/"

budget: € 728.070 €

36 months   2017 - 2020

American Farm School  &  Institute of Applied Biosciences (INAB) of the National Centre for Research and Technological Development (CERTH)

American Farm School implements educational and consultancy activities targeted to farmers, small enterprises and collaborative business forms which are interested in showing off their products. This specific kind of education covers a broad range of agrifood sector activities, from the stage of sowing to the stages of marketing and sales or even to products exports. Within the framework of the project, 300 farmers in total are educated, in specific and preselected products, which are cultivated in the geographical area from where the pipeline TAP passes and also in those communities which are affected by the construction of TAP in all the three regions of Northern Greece. American Farm School installed state-of-the-art, LoRa technology, telemetry systems in primary production facilities located in the areas traversed by the TAP pipeline, offering capabilities for digital interconnection and remote monitoring of primary production, standardisation and processing facilities, as well as transport activities. This network provides producers, free of charge, with real-time information on soil and meteorological parameters of their cultivated areas, thus making a decisive contribution to the digital transformation of the Greek countryside. With a capacity to support more than 30,000 producers, this new technological infrastructure represents an important step forward and a legacy to all those involved in the agri-food and supply chain.

The Trans-Adriatic Natural Gas Pipeline (TAP) initiative "Thriving Land - Supporting Agri-Food Education", was developed in partnership with Bodossaki Foundation, which also undertook the management of the programme. The other participants in the programme are the American Farm School (AFS) and the Institute of Applied Biosciences (INAB) of the National Centre for Research and Technological Development (CERTH). The initiative is part of TAP's broader Social and Environmental Investment programme and is implemented in the three Regions of Northern Greece through which the pipeline runs - Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Central Macedonia, Western Macedonia. Its purpose is to support agriculture and livestock farming, two key sectors for the Greek economy, especially in Northern Greece. The programme's implementation was based on the combination of modern cultivation approaches, scientific methods of genetic identification, and marketing techniques. The "Thriving Land" programme focuses on 8 types of locally produced products selected due to their distinctive characteristics and potential: honey and apiculture products, olives and olive oil, aromatic and medicinal plants, beans, fruit trees, "petimezi" (sugar cane molasses), peppers, and livestock products. A key aspiration of all participants is for these products to function, upon the programme's completion, as "ambassadors" of the areas where they come from. This in turn makes the TAP project a unique and innovative example of the development of peripheral regions of the agricultural sector in Greece.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation- Rutgers University

American Farm School & Agricultural University of Athens

https://www.generationag.org/

https://el-gr.facebook.com/generationaggreece/

60 months   2016 - 2021

The American Farm School - Perrotis College, along with Rutgers University and the Agricultural University of Athens were chosen as strategic partners for the design and implementation of projects under the umbrella of  the "Recharging the Youth: New Agriculture for a New Generation" program. The contribution of AFS consists of the completion of sectoral studies and the undertaking of training and consultancy activities in the fields of agriculture, animal farming, food processing and alternative tourism. 

"The ""New Agriculture for the New Generation"" program is implemented with the initiative and founding donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and is part of the ""Recharging the Youth"" program, which aims to create opportunities for the new generation of Greece. The Program is a non-profit initiative that aims to create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people in Greece and to support the development and revitalization of the agri-food sector. Rutgers University leads this multi-year and innovative program, in collaboration with the Agricultural University of Athens and the American Farm School. The program throughout its implementation, focuses on the following actions:

· human resources development

· training of adult trainers

· paid employment and professional development

· mentoring and consulting

· infrastructure creation

· supporting innovation and entrepreneurship

· information and networking

· supporting regional development."