Agricultural education more attractive for young people: More than 750 students from 15 high schools benefited from Agriculture 4.0 lessons, sustainable agriculture and study visits to agricultural farms 

The “Proud to be a Farmer” grants were offered by World Vision Romania and BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions in the second year of partnership 

Bucharest, December 22, 2023. More than 750 students and 30 teachers from 15 high schools in Romania benefited, this year, from the “Proud to be a Farmer” grants, offered by World Vision Romania and BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions. The main objective of the project is the innovation in the agricultural education, to make it more attractive for young people. 

The grants offered to the 15 high schools are worth €35,000 and the results are as follows: 

• More than 750 students benefited from lessons about Agriculture 4.0 and sustainable agriculture. 

• More than 30 teachers received interactive lesson plans. 

• 300 students participated in 26 study visits to 22 agricultural farms that use modern technologies (agricultural machines that do precision treatments, autonomous pivots that ensure automatic irrigation, weather stations coordinated by satellites, latest generation tractors, etc.). 

• All 15 high schools have purchased equipment for lessons and practical demonstrations. 

In addition, more than 50 students and teachers from 15 agricultural high schools from 11 counties participated in the Agriculture 4.0 Workshop, in Iași, to meet with experts from the agricultural field to learn about the new technologies used in the orchard, cow farm 4.0 and about Agriculture 4.0 tehnologies. The workshop ended with a study visit to the “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences Iasi where students and teachers visited the research center, the greenhouse and the mechanization and food industry laboratories. 

“I participated in a study visit to the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) in Cluj and to the Cojocna farm. I was deeply impressed by the university’s research laboratories, by the technological advance noted in agricultural practice, but also by the livestock on the farm. We discovered how to identify sick animals using state-of-the-art technology, how to treat them. We observed the mechanized process of milking cows, how milk is stored and the milk production of a cow.” – Nicu T., 9th grade student at an agricultural high school in Bistrita 

“I do not consider myself a teacher, but a mentor for students, a kind of older colleague who tries to inspire them. In a world increasingly suffocated by technology, industry and pollution, where nature is forced to adapt, where perhaps, it is important that through education, participation and civic mobilization, today’s young people become aware of the importance of protecting nature, the use of cutting-edge technologies – sensors, robots, satellites and drones – to generate and process a huge volume of data accessible through devices mobile and various platforms.” – Professor Ph.D. at USAMV Cluj Napoca 

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About the innovative educational package Sustainable Agriculture and Agriculture 4.0.  

World Vision Romania, within the Consortium ”Creștem prin Educație Agricolă” (We Grow through Agricultural Education), developed an innovative educational package on sustainable agriculture and Agriculture 4.0. Lesson plans, accompanied by films and presentations familiarize students with the most important concepts of sustainable agriculture. Students learn about how good agricultural management practices influence food production by reducing environmental impact and improving people’s quality of life.  

The educational package can be found on the website of the Program “Creștem prin Educație Agricolă” (We grow through Agricultural Education): https://educatieagricola.ro/programe-si-resurse/resurse/. 

About World Vision Romania 

World Vision Romania is an organization that carries out education programs, emergency humanitarian intervention, development and advocacy, putting the well-being of the child at the center of its activity. The organization focuses on working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. The foundation works with the most vulnerable people in the world, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. World Vision Romania is part of the World Vision International partnership, present in almost 100 countries around the world. In 32 years of presence in Romania, we have helped more than 800,000 children and adults, in almost 800 communities in 40 counties. 

About BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions 

At BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, we offer capital efficient business equipment financing solutions in key sectors including agriculture, construction, transportation, materials handling, ICT, healthcare and green tech. Drawing on our proud 70-year history, our partners and clients rely on our market expertise, asset know-how and advisory services to propel their growth, transformation and transition to a low carbon circular economy. We are present in 17 countries across Europe and Turkey, employing over 3,700 experts. We also offer vendor finance solutions in the USA and Canada in partnership with Bank of Montreal, and in China through Jiangsu Financial Leasing. In 2022, we advanced over €14 billion in asset finance and presently manage a €38 billion leased assets portfolio. BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions is fully owned by BNP Paribas and is positioned within the Group’s Commercial, Personal Banking & Services division. 

For more information, visit www.leasingsolutions.bnpparibas.ro/