WP4 Increasing Access Through Virtual Demonstration

NAAS will lead a review (with LEAF, HUT and FiBL) of current audio-visual material on commercial farming available on-line, using an internet search, key informant interviews and assessment of the preliminary information available through the pilot tests of the inventory in WP3. Analysis will show potential barriers and opportunities. NAAS will then develop protocols for recruiting and supporting commercial farmers in the three countries to undertake virtual demonstration activities.

LEAF will lead in the recruitment of 14 farms (4 in England, 4 in Bulgaria, 4 in Switzerland, 2 in Scotland) as 'virtual demonstration farms'. Recruitment and training of the individual farmers will be the responsibility of the participating consortium members. Initial training will include national workshops and one-to-one meetings to film introductory videos of the participating farms. Videos and supporting materials will be posted on the PLAID website and made available through the PLAID You-Tube Channel. Participating farmers in England and Scotland will experiment with a combination of virtual and in person demonstration activities.

FiBL will provide overall technical expertise on video production and editing. Each participating consortium member will provide ongoing support to the selected farmers in their countries, to encourage and further develop farmers' skills in virtual demonstration. This will lead to videos demonstrating particular innovations they have developed or used on their farms. Videos will be "proofed" by consortium members to ensure they are of appropriate quality, before being uploaded onto the project website and made available through the PLAID You-Tube Channel.

Targeted activities will be undertaken to spread the lessons learned and outputs of the virtual demonstration farms. Initial lessons learned and videos will be presented and discussed at the 3 Supra-Regional Workshops held to validate and disseminate the inventories in WP3, where reps from the virtual demonstration farms in each country will attend. Training will be given to case study participants at their pan European meeting [M20] to encourage them to undertake their own virtual demonstrations. PLAID videos identified as internationally relevant will be reformatted (e.g. subtitles or dubbing) by FiBL. Videos will be linked to the LEAF You-Tube channel to increase the viewer audience. Videos will be presented at the PLAID midterm meeting to the IAB and at the Final Conference. The PLAID You Tube channel will be transferred to RUR-12-2017 at project close.

HUT will review the evidence collected in the WP3 inventory and compile findings on use of audio-visual materials (e.g. prevalence, topics, commissioning) in on-farm demonstration. HUT, NAAS, LEAF and FiBL will compile best practices and lessons learned regarding: recruiting and establishing virtual demonstration farms; enabling farmers to produce high quality audio-visual material and disseminating these on-line; overcoming barriers (e.g. financing, skill development, confidence, data protection, internet and equipment access). Training materials will be developed and used at the pan European case study meeting and further refined for review at the recommendations meeting. They will be developed into videos by FiBL. Training in farmer support for virtual demonstration will be offered to RUR-12-2017 consortium members