Developing the Competitiveness and Management Skills of Agri Businesses
active 18 hours, 15 minutes agoBackground and Rationale
Southwest Finland is one of Finland’s most important agricultural and agri-food production regions, the “grain basket” of Finland. At the same time, the operating environment of primary production is changing rapidly due to:
-increasing cost pressure and price volatility
-challenges related to labour availability and wellbeing
-market concentration and new trading models
-growing need for more strategic business management on farms
Many farmers possess strong production expertise but:
-have limited time and structured support for systematic business and management development
-need practical tools and peer support
-benefit significantly from learning from other farmers and international peers
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Target Groups
Primary target group
Farmers and farm entrepreneurs in Southwest Finland and in partner region
Especially:
-development oriented farms
-farms undergoing or having recently completed generational change
-diversified farms
-farms actively engaged in trading (raw materials, contract production, direct sales)
Secondary target group
-Agricultural advisors and experts
-Development organisations
-Rural business and innovation networks
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Overall Objective
To strengthen the competitiveness and profitability of farm enterprises in partner areas by developing farmers’ business, management and market competencies through peer learning and international exchange of experiences and best practices.
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Specific Objectives
-To enhance farmers’ strategic thinking and business leadership skills
-To improve market understanding and trading competence, including pricing and negotiations
-To strengthen financial management and decision making capabilities
-To support human resource management, wellbeing at work and farmers’ personal resilience
-To create a Finland–Sweden farmer network for the exchange of best practices
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Implementation Approach and Learning Methodology
The project is based on a learning by doing approach:
-practical examples and farm visits
-farmer to farmer learning
-small group work and dialogue
-international benchmarking
-experts acting as facilitators rather than traditional lecturers
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Key Results and Outputs
-improved business, management and leadership skills among participating farmers
-concrete, farm level development actions implemented during the project
-long term peer networks across Finland and Sweden
-practical “Best Practices in Farm Business Management” toolkit
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Expected Impact
-enhanced farm profitability and competitiveness
-improved wellbeing, resilience and continuity of farm enterprises
-stronger ability to respond to market and structural changes
-increased vitality of agriculture and rural business in partner countries
Project Idea Admins
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Developing the Competitiveness and Management Skills of Agri Businesses 18 hours, 12 minutes ago