Animal welfare was another issue for SWEDA, fully adhering to Measure 14 on Animal Welfare and Support for Farmers Implementing Measures to Improve the Status of Farmed Animals, in addition to the mandatory minimum requirements laid down in Cross-Compliance ((EU) Reg. n. 1306/2013).
The (EU) Reg. n. 1306/2013, in support of rural development by the EAFRD, contributes to the art. 33 to achieving the objectives of Priority 3 – to promote the organisation of the food chain, including the processing and marketing of agricultural products, animal welfare and risk management in the agricultural sector.
The trend towards intensification and industrialization in agriculture and animal husbandry in restricted areas, in fact, raised new environmental issues. The considerations that emerged at the European level with regard to protection highlight how sustainability and welfare in the agricultural sector are factors that will increasingly have to be taken into account in the design and management of the production system.
The project was included in this context with the aim of promoting interventions of diversification of agricultural activities that preserve the welfare of rural areas from an economic, environmental and social point of view, using as a reference the principles of sustainable rural development and multifunctionality in a view included in the OSS, circular economy and bio-economy applied to the agricultural sector.
The first international workshop for higher education students enrolled in the blended course offered within the framework of the Erasmus+ project SWEDA, took place in Perugia (ITALY) from the 16th to the 21st of May 2022.
30 students – from the University of Perugia, Technical University of Riga and the University of Kassel-Witzenhausen, Germany – were involved in practical activities and technical visits related to the competences developed during the study of Module 1 – Sustainable agro-livestock farm and Animal welfare: method, technique and experiences, as well as s in-group, works for the further elaboration of the local projects’ implementation plans.
