Research Projects

Farming for Climate is a 4-month long project (Sept – Dec 2022), funded by Climate KIC EduEx, that aims to test the effectiveness of novel participatory approaches for knowledge transfer in agriculture. It focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in cattle rearing by informing and changing attitudes of farmers towards climate-friendly farming practices. The project, led by researchers from Biotechnical faculty, uses cutting-edge scientific methods to assess the impact of the interactive trainings on farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions.

In order to reach climate neutrality by 2050, it is crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. While agriculture contributes around 10% of all GHG emissions in the EU, cattle rearing is the most problematic agricultural activity, causing 67% of all emissions in agriculture in Slovenia. Therefore, in order to meet the emissions targets, it is crucial for cattle farmers to adopt more climate-friendly farming practices. Education can be an important tool for eliciting such behavioural changes, as it provides novel information and can change farmers’ attitudes towards the topic. As most agricultural trainings in Slovenia are conducted linearly through lectures, we decided to test a participatory training approach that is becoming more established abroad.

In the project, we will determine the effectiveness of interactive workshops by using a randomized control trial. We will compare the results of a treatment group that received training with a control group that received no training at changing farmers’ knowledge, attitudes and intention to adopt climate-friendly practices. In addition, we will also conduct a cost-benefit analysis of such training approach to guide policy. We focus specifically on cattle farmers from two Slovenian regions as the potential for reducing GHG emissions is highest there.

The project will not only demonstrate the potential of impact evaluation methods by using randomized trial methodology, but will also focus on cattle farmers that are often excluded from climate change debate. By conducting the trainings and disseminating training materials to a wider group of 600 farmers and agricultural advisors we hope to evoke a change in farming practices that will reduce agricultural GHG emissions in Slovenia.

Handbook for participatory workshops in agriculture

Handbook on manure management on farm