“Restore Faith in Agro”: an Educational Project for Farmers to Presented in Kazakhstan
During the global conference on digital technologies in education, EdCrunch, Aitas Agro agricultural holding announced the launch of the Agrisen project, which aims to improve the quality of education in agriculture. The project brought together agribusiness, educational institutions and international experts to form, attract and “nurture” high-quality human capital in the agricultural sector of Kazakhstan.
The main goal of the project, according to Aliya Svanova, the Director of Strategy and Marketing at Aitas Agro, is to reduce the gap between real needs of farmers for qualified personnel and what young people are taught at agricultural universities and colleges.
“Modern agriculture is a high-tech industry, and children are often taught the old-fashioned way. For example, digital agriculture is not taught anywhere. We have found international partners, first of all, the French Ministry of Agriculture, the Polytechnic University in Saskatchewan, Canada, who are ready to share modern knowledge with young Kazakh agricultural personnel,” Aliya Svanova said during her speech.
First participants of the project were graduate students of Shemonaikha College (East Kazakhstan Region). Main modules of the training project include classes on digital agro - Farm Management System, IoT & Weather stations, precision farming and data management principles. The next module is dedicated to engineering - “smart” technology, the basics of maintenance of precision farming tools, autopilots and navigation.
“26 students, future machine operators, have already received information about the main digital devices in modern tractors and other equipment, and they had the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge in practice,” Svanova noted.
During the training, project participants will be told about universal skills (soft skills) that are necessary for successful work in the modern agro-industrial complex. A distinctive feature of the project is assistance with employment and internships in an existing business.
The Aitas Argo team believes that the Agrisen educational project will help to increase the efficiency of the agro-industrial sector and restore faith in domestic agriculture to all Kazakhstanis.