Qual è stata la sfida/problema affrontato?
Leitrim is a very rural part of Ireland with lots of small drystock farms who are elderly and /or working off farm. They traditionally farm sheep and beef cows at low stocking rates. The land is relatively poor in quality and suffers from high rainfall, so short grazing season and longer winters. As a consequence big areas of the farmland have been planted over the last 40 years with commercial forestry and this has impacted on the viability and sustainably of rural communities. Advisors and farmers have improved the quality and productivity of the remaining drystock farms but are keen to adopt new enterprises or systems that are more economically viable and fit better with elderly or part farm operators. One advisor (Tom Coll) has worked with these farmers and helped them to set up a contract rearing service group. This group is facilitated by the advisor who helps them to take in young calves form larger dairy farms and rear them to an agreed age where they are taken back to their farm of origin. There were many reservations a first by the farmers, but as a group the farmers worked with the advisor and others to ensure that the service was of high quality and offered a fair and valued option to both the dairy farmer and the contract rearing farm. The group works as a discussion group and promotes its service through the advisory service network. Contract rearing groups have been setup by other advisors in other regions and are supported by a wider pool of Teagasc research and specialist staff. https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2020/contract-heifer-rearing.php
Quali sono i fattori di successo nella risoluzione del problema?
Interest of the farmers in changing
Trust in the advisor
Group peer to peer support
Support from the wider advisory and research community
Quali sono state le principali sfide durante il processo di innovazione?
At this stage the demand for the service from dairy farms is not growing fast enough.
Che ruolo gioca il consulente o il servizio di consulenza nel caso pratico??
Knowledge awareness and exchange, Consultivo, Consulenza e backstoping volto a risolvere problemi complessi, da fornire durante il processo di innovazione e sulla base delle esigenze degli attori e della co-costruzione di soluzioni, Domanda di articolazione, per consentire agli attori di avere accesso a nuove idee, identificare le loro esigenze, Definisci i loro obiettivi ed esprimi chiare richieste ad altri attori, Facilitazione e intermediazione di networking, Per aiutare a organizzare o rafforzare le reti, migliorare le relazioni tra attori chiave e per allineare i servizi per essere in grado di completarsi a vicenda, Costruzione di capacità, Mirato ad aumentare le capacità degli attori dell'innovazione al fine di svolgere i loro ruoli nel processo di innovazione, Facilitare l'accesso a nuove reti e attori, Ridimensionamento dell'innovazione per aumentare l'assorbimento da parte di un gruppo più ampio
Per condividere l'esperienza del caso pratico, Per qualsiasi domanda e richiesta sulle prossime classi di eccellenza
Tom Coll
tom.coll@teagasc.ie