Training the Trainers: Advocacy and Smart Farming Courses in Ankara

The project ran two training-of-trainers courses in Ankara in spring 2026. The shared goal was to prepare participants to pass on what they learned within their own organisations and regions.

Advocacy: 10-12 April 2026

The sustainable precision farming advocacy course was completed in Ankara on 10-12 April 2026 with 25 participants. According to the announcement, it was held at the Demora Hotel, with priority given to agriculture students. Day one covered the concepts of advocacy, campaigning and policy dialogue and the rights-based approach. The course material links the three in a chain: a campaign raises our voice, advocacy makes sure it is heard, and policy dialogue turns it into a lasting solution. The following days dealt with indicators, digital advocacy and campaign design, from data to message. Participants developed their own indicators for monitoring planning, production and marketing, and practised observation, interviews, document review and digital data collection.

Climate, water and smart farming: 8-12 May 2026

The training of trainers on smart and precision farming under climate change and water scarcity was held at the Ankara International Akar Hotel on 8-12 May 2026. Candidates were asked to complete the project's LMS modules before the face-to-face sessions. The five-day programme covered the water-energy-food nexus, satellite and drone-based monitoring, GIS-based sensor networks for smart irrigation, IoT and artificial intelligence, farmers' vulnerability under climate change, and the social dynamics of technology adoption. On day four, participants visited a walnut orchard in Polatlı to examine sensor systems, irrigation, data collection and the use of pH meters in the field. On the final day, working groups drafted policy proposals for the needs of different regions, a session covered rural development support, and the course closed with a certificate ceremony.

Materials open to all

The 30 presentations and documents used in the training of trainers, the advocacy course and local farmer training are available on the Training Materials page of the project website. Two activity videos from the training-of-trainers programme (Precision and Sustainable Farming; Advocacy) can be watched on the Activity Videos page.