This paper set out to explore the precision agriculture (PA)-training needs of students studying in agricultural universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain). SPARKLE is a Knowledge Alliance Project, funded by the European Union (EU), and one of its main goals is to narrow the innovation divide between entrepreneurship and the effective application of sustainable PA. During the project, the research conducted in all countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region revealed differences in the PA-training needs of university students. Additionally, this paper set out to explore the socioeconomic characteristics of students that affect their interest and knowledge towards PA. Finally, this paper aimed to understand the scope, present status and strategies for improving PA training in agricultural universities in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The following descriptive statistics and two multivariate analysis techniques were used: Two-Step Cluster Analysis (TSCA) and Categorical Regression (CATREG). Results support the notion that the lack of “PA knowledge/interest” adds to the technological gap amongst university students, slow adoption of PA and lower levels of overall rural economic development. These findings will be used as the fundamental cognition for the development of a joint action plan and several other national plans in the selected regions.

Over the last couple of decades, the livestock production systems of the agri-food sector increase meat production in order to meet the demand and adapt to satisfy the food preferences of the continuously increasingly world population. This fact, along with the promotion of sustainable production, has brought to light the topic of bioeconomy. The rapid increase in publications on the research area of bioeconomy has become the motivation for this study in order to analyze its relation with livestock production. This study provides a thorough review of the scientific literature on the bioeconomy of livestock production. The bibliometric network analysis (i.e., software VOSviewer) were performed over the time frame of 2004–2021. The results identified 624 documents bioeconomy of livestock production by 160 research organizations from 83 countries. This paper visualizes the strongest links about livestock production bioeconomy, main research topics, most influential countries, authors, and organizations, as well as high-frequency keywords. Therefore, this study contributes to building global bioeconomy policies and encouraging the livestock sector to implement bioeconomy practices. The research gap identified in many countries should be the trigger for future research in this subject.

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Action 2 of the European Union’s Updated Bioeconomy Strategy, i.e., “Deploy local bioeconomies rapidly across Europe”, promotes education and training in all member states. It is a fact that Greece has not yet adopted a national bioeconomy strategy, so stakeholders and farmers cannot benefit from its potential. The adoption of bioeconomy practices is now a prerequisite for receiving funding under the Common Agricultural Policy 2023–2027. Farmers unknowingly use some bioeconomy practices on their farms, and in this study, an attempt was made to investigate how farmers in the region of Western Macedonia would like to be trained in respect of the bioeconomy, knowing the opportunities it offers. The research was conducted through a structured questionnaire answered by 412 farmers from the region. The findings from the subsequent k-means cluster analysis show that farmers can be classified into three clusters: engaged, restricted, and partially engaged. The perceptions that predominate in each cluster are influenced by age, income, and the regional unit in which the farmers reside. In addition, the decarbonization of the Western Macedonia region influences their views and how they would like to be informed about opportunities arising from the bioeconomy. Limitations in this study include the fact that the sample consists only of farmers living and operating in a particular region. In addition, there is an urgent need for political will to establish a national strategy for the bioeconomy. The importance of the present study lies in the fact that few studies have addressed the training of farmers on bioeconomy issues either in Greece or internationally.

Within the framework of the European project named 'SPARKLE', an online course was created after studying educational needs on precision agriculture (PA), state of the art of technologies and a prospective study of the commercial sector. Five educational and research institutions, high-tech farms and enterprises specializing in technology transfer created the syllabus of the course and the platform contents. The course was designed to provide 30 h of student dedication, via online presentations, documents and videos for each topic. A free pilot course started in April 2020 and 385 students from Italy, Portugal, Greece & Spain enrolled. To trace performance and acquisition of competences, questionnaires were completed by students for each topic and a final overall test. Students' opinions about the course were also registered using anonymous polls, and results evaluated, to be able to enhance the Sparkle course for subsequent editions. Students also took part in a business model competition, to solve real challenges proposed by farms, related to the use of these technologies.