AKIS and advisory services in Italy Report for the AKIS inventory (WP3) of the PRO AKIS project May 2014 Author Monica Caggiano French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) Contact:
[email protected] This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 311994. Please reference this report as follows: Caggiano, M. (2014): AKIS and advisory services in Italy. Report for the AKIS inventory (WP3) of the PRO AKIS project. Online resource: www.proakis.eu/publicationsandevents/pubs 2 Executive summary The main aim of the report is to provide a comprehensive description of the Agricultural Knowledge and Information System (AKIS) in Italy, with a particular focus on agricultural advisory services. The description includes history, policy, funding, advisory methods and a section on how the Farm Advisory System (FAS) was implemented. This report represents an output of the PRO AKIS project (Prospects for Farmers’ Support: Advisory Services in the European Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems’). It is one of 27 country reports that were produced in 2013 by project partners and subcontractors for compiling an inventory of Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems. AKIS describe the exchange of knowledge and supporting services between many diverse actors from the first, second or third sector in rural areas. AKIS provide farmers with relevant knowledge and networks around innovations in agriculture. Findings from the 27 country reports were presented at three regional workshops across Europe in February and March 2014, discussed with stakeholders and experts, and subsequent feedback was integrated into the reports.