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INSIST-VAT and EduSAF, two Erasmus+ projects to strengthen education in agriculture and food in Albania and South America
CIHEAM > AGENDAS > INSIST-VAT and EduSAF, two Erasmus+ projects to strengthen education in agriculture and food in Albania and South America
  • CIHEAM Zaragoza has launched two projects, for a duration of three years, financed by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, together with institutions from several countries

Zaragoza, 4 February 2025.- CIHEAM Zaragoza reinforces its commitment with international cooperation in agriculture and food by engaging in two new projects: INSIST-VAT and EduSAF. These Erasmus+ initiatives focus on capacity building and lie within the framework of the EU Erasmus+ programme. Both projects will run for three years.

In the words of Alun Jones, head of the Projects Unit at CIHEAM Zaragoza, “These projects reflect our commitment with training in agriculture and food as a means of cooperation. Through these initiatives we can strengthen capacity-building in vocational training and higher education, facilitating the transition towards more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems ".

The INSIST-VAT project (Institutional, Sustainable and Innovative Strengthening of Vocational Agricultural Training in Albania), lies within the scope of vocational training. It seeks to improve the employability and resilience of crop farmers in Albania - one of CIHEAM’s member countries. The project will facilitate the creation of a "training academy for producers" in the Agricultural University of Tirana and the development of innovative training initiatives adapted to the needs of the sector and the demands of the job market.

INSIST-VAT has eight partners, from Albania, France, Kosovo and Spain (Agricultural University of Tirana, Center of Agricultural Technology Transfer Fushë Krujë and Agricultural Technology Transfer Center of Korça, Albania; CIHEAM Montpellier, Agricultural Technical Coordination Association-ACTA and Association for Quality in Research and Higher Education, France; University of Prishtina, Kosovo, and CIHEAM Zaragoza, Spain).

The EduSAF project (Education for the transition to Sustainable AgriFood systems in South America) is in the framework of higher education. The project will give rise to training courses, modernisation of laboratories and updating of curricula to promote capacity building in agrifood topics in five universities in Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay, focusing on the incorporation of skills in sustainability and resilience to climate change.

Coordinated by CIHEAM Zaragoza, EduSAF has nine partners from Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay (Universidad Nacional del Sur and Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina; Université Libre de Bruxelles and Universiteit Gent, Belgium; Universidad Mayor de San Simón and Universidad Técnica de Oruro, Bolivia; Universidade do Porto, Portugal; CIHEAM Zaragoza, Spain; and Universidad de la República, Uruguay).

Raúl Compés, director of CIHEAM Zaragoza describes the project, “EduSAF is an example of CIHEAM Zaragoza’s capacity to bring the Mediterranean closer to the countries of Latin America, one of the founding objectives of our Institutes”. Compés also points out, “The new projects highlight the importance of Erasmus+ programmes in carrying out our mission of cooperation”.

CIHEAM Zaragoza is the Spanish headquarters of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, an intergovernmental organisation working in multilateral cooperation in agriculture and food, management of natural resources and coastal and rural development in the Mediterranean.