Modelio "Nuo ūkio iki mokyklos" kūrimo prielaidos Klaipėdos regione: ūkininkų įtraukimo perspektyva

LTStraipsnyje analizuojamos smulkių ir vidutinių ūkių perspektyvos, susijusios su modelio „Nuo ūkio iki mokyklos“ kūrimu Klaipėdos regione. Tyrimu siekta atskleisti Klaipėdos regiono ūkininkų įtraukimo į bendradarbiavimo su švietimo įstaigomis proceso galimybes, siekiant teikti joms ūkių produkciją / paslaugas. Diskusijų grupei diskutuojant su Klaipėdos regiono smulkių ir vidutinių ūkių atstovais aptarti tyrimui aktualūs klausimai: ar ūkininkus domina produkcijos tiekimas ir paslaugų teikimas švietimo įstaigoms; kaip jie vertina viešųjų pirkimų sistemą; kokios galimos bendradarbiavimo galimybės ir kliūtys, kt. Rezultatai atskleidė, kad Klaipėdos regiono ūkininkų, savivaldybės darbuotojų ir švietimo įstaigų, kaip paslaugų pirkėjų, poreikiai bei bendradarbiavimo lūkesčiai iš esmės sutampa. Tyrimo dalyviai sutiko, kad vietos augintojų maistas yra geras, norėtų, kad vaikai mokyklose būtų maitinami kokybišku maistu iš vietinių ūkių. Visgi tyrimo rezultatai suponavo prielaidą dėl nepakankamo smulkių ir vidutinių ūkininkų raštingumo, siekiant veiksmingai plėtoti bendradarbiavimą su švietimo įstaigomis. Todėl straipsniu siekiama didinti smulkių ir vidutinių ūkių atstovų bei visų suinteresuotųjų grupių informuotumą apie modelį „Nuo ūkio iki mokyklos“, kuris galėtų lemti didesnį ūkininkų įtraukimą ir stiprintų vietos ūkininkų bei švietimo įstaigų bendruomenių tarpusavio ryšį.Geresnis informuotumas galėtų padėti plėtoti kryptingus suinteresuotų šalių veiksmus, siekiant trumpinti maisto tiekimo grandines, gerinti mokinių maisto kokybę, skatinti smulkių ir vidutinių ūkių produktų tiekimą švietimo įstaigoms Klaipėdos regione. Be to, tyrimu siekta prisidėti prie nacionalinės Darnaus vystymosi strategijos tikslų įgyvendinimo, kaip galima smulkių ir vidutinių ūkių veikla ir paslaugomis išsaugoti ar atkurti natūralias ekosistemas. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: „Nuo ūkio iki mokyklos“, ūkininkų įtraukimas, ūkininkų ir švietimo įstaigų bendradarbiavimas. [Iš leidinio]

ENAn analysis of the experience of foreign countries implementing ‘From Farm to School’ and similar programmes suggests that a distinctive feature of these programmes is their multi-component nature. The programmes involve schools and farms, and many other social actors, such as nutrition services, hygiene services, public health centres, and food manufacturers. These social actors traditionally have different goals and objectives, not necessarily focusing on school meals. Therefore, the need to participate together in creating new school food markets poses certain challenges to local producers. Countries seeking to initiate similar programmes should start with the development of a theoretical model. The theoretical model is an effective tool that allows you to quickly formulate the overall vision of a programme, aligning it with the goals and objectives of the social stakeholders. The theoretical model helps to combine and explain complex, fundamentally different programme components and results, which in turn can increase the effectiveness of the participation of relevant social actors in the development and integration of programme components, and increase the likelihood of achieving the desired results. Within the framework of the project ‘BSR Food Coalition’ (No #S002, 2021– 2024) financed by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme, it has been specifically sought to create conditions for the ‘From Farm to School’ model to appear in the Baltic countries, including Lithuania. The aim of this project is to find out the existing cooperation between farmers, educational institutions and municipalities, identifying challenges and problem areas, and discussing possible options for solving them. The initial research included farmers, municipalities and schools in the Klaipėda region.The article discusses the prospects for small and mediumsize farms relating to the development of the ‘From Farm to School’ model in the Klaipėda region. In recent years, the possibility of improving school meals by including locally grown products has been increasingly emphasised, thus contributing to the development of local economic systems. This model has acquired the name ‘From Farm to School’ in the practice of some countries. The ‘From Farm to School’ model would enrich the relations of educational institutions with local small farms, which are the main producers of organic and local food in the Klaipėda region. The model emphasises the public procurement of locally grown food as a key market opportunity for farmers. In addition, small and medium-size farms play an important role in providing food to local communities, and their owners contribute significantly to the vitality of the community by developing ecosystem services, economic health, and social well-being. The research methodology of farmer participation in the ‘From Farm to School’ model is based on the idea of ‘engagement’, which is defined as the creation of social connections, reciprocity, and a sense of trust. The most important goal of schools’ cooperation with local agriculture is to facilitate a paradigm shift, the transition from the school food supply culture, otherwise known as ‘value for money’, to a culture based on the concept of ‘society and nature’. The research aimed to reveal the possibilities for involving farmers in the Klaipėda region in cooperation with educational institutions by providing them with farm products/services. A focus group discussion was held in order to find out the current concept of cooperation between farmers, educational institutions and municipalities, to identify existing challenges and problem areas, and to discuss possible options for their solution.The focus group discussion was attended by both representatives of arable farms (grain, horticulture) and pastoral farms (poultry, cattle). Almost half the participating farmers represented organic farms. Some farmers who took part in the discussion represented biodynamic farms. The focus group discussion was also attended by representatives of the agricultural departments of the Klaipėda and Skuodas district administrations, as well as representatives of the Education and Sports Department of Klaipėda district. The participation of these representatives was crucial in order to define procedures regulated by legislation, etc. Representatives of educational institutions in the Skuodas district also participated in the discussion, and presented the good experience of cooperation with local farms. This composition of focus group participants was considered suitable for discussing the problem. In analysing the transcribed statements of the focus group participants, the following main themes emerged: the quality of products/services provided by farms, cooperation with educational institutions (the current situation, expectations and challenges), issues of public procurement organisation and execution, the education provided by farms, the role of the local authority, and good examples of cooperation between farmers and educational institutions. The overall results showed that the needs and expectations for cooperation between Klaipėda region farmers, local authority employees and educational institutions as buyers of services basically coincide. The participants in the research agreed that the food from local growers is good, and they would like children to be fed quality food from local farms in schools. [...] Keywords: ‘From Farm to School’, involvement of farmers, cooperation between farmers and educational institutions. [From the publication]

• Preconditions for the "farm-to-school" model from stakeholders' perspective: the case of Klaipeda region / Julija Melnikova, Simona Grigaliuniene, Inga Dailidiene, Jennifer Avci. Vadyba 2023, Nr. 2 (39), p. 55-61.
• Prerequisites for the creation of the "from farm to school" model in the Klaipeda region: the study of target groups’ expectations and perceptions / Julija Melnikova, Inga Dailidienė, Simona Graigaliūnienė, Eglė Stonkė. Environment. Technology. Resources. 2023, 1, p. 128-175.