«VET Demonstration Partnership for Pistachio Farm in Armenia: Geospatial Approach» VETfarm project officially launched on December 11, 2024 in frame of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in the field of Vocational Education and Training (CB VET) programme. The main objective of the VETfarm project is to tackle the digital skills gap in the horticultural sector of Armenia by improving the level of integrated use of digital technologies through capacity-building development for agricultural VET.

For  this  project,  a  consortium  consisting  of  2  Armenian  partners  and  2  EU  partners  was formed,  of  which  3  partners  are  companies/research  organisations  and  1  partner  is  an agricultural VET provider.  In this project, we aim to develop skilled human resources and academic infrastructure for teaching and using the geospatial approach for precision farming in Armenia, based on the needs of local partners and the experience of the project team.

In recent years, a  good investment has been made by the private sector in  Armenia to develop  and  grow  large  pistachio  (hereafter  called  pista)  farms.  It  is  clear  that  the existence of (specialised) human resources for continuous monitoring and management of pista orchards and the use of modern technologies will play an important role in the success of  this  investment.  For  this  purpose,  there  is  a  need  to  train  future  VET  students  in  pista farming management.

On the 11th and 12th of December 2023, the VETfarm Kick-Off Meeting took place at the Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) and Under Sun LLC (UNDER SUN) in Yerevan, Armenia.   This  meeting  marked  the  official  start  of  the  project  and  brought  all  the  participating organisations together, initiate project startup activities and conduct a thorough review of the VETfarm project proposal. Subsequently, formulate an operational plan for effective communication with project partners. The participants also discussed the significance of digitalization  in  the  pista  sector  and  highlighted  the  potential  impact  of  the  project  on transforming farming practices in Armenia.

The meeting had six sessions, which included university and lab tours, field/farm visits, two group photos, and over 30 participants from participating organizations, delegates, and guests.  Among  the  guests  was  Ms.  Lana  Karlova,  Coordinator  of  the  National  Erasmus+ office in Armenia. In addition to the sessions, participants also visited the Water and Land Resources Center, ANAU Center for Precision Agriculture and Drone Lab, and the Farm/Soil Lab at Under Sun company. For more information about the KOM agenda, see Annex II.  The focus of the  meetings was  on  updating the  project  management structure and  the establishment  of  the  steering  committee,  financial  management,  presentation  and coordination  of  Work  Packages  (WPs),  expected  deliverables  and  millstones, communication, and dissemination of project activities.