In late 2008, Green Hectares finished a strong business case that highlighted the need for rural and agricultural communities to develop opportunities to connect, collaborate and learn. It became apparent through the course of the research that there are many effective rural resources and programs already in existence but highly underutilized.
“Out of 37 common rural and agriculture programs, in the case of 35 of these programs over 75% (or more) of respondents indicated that they had not used the program and/or were not aware of the program”.
- Green Hectares Business Case
Learning styles and learning needs can change depending on the subject matter and the needs of the individual in a given stage of their education. Without understanding the needs of the learner and the gaps in the supply, the programs developed have a much lower chance of being relevant to the participant. Without relevant programming, the programs that are developed go underutilized. Rather than recreating, reinventing and rebranding stand alone programming, Green Hectares believes that the most effective next step for rural Alberta is to develop resources that enable the existing infrastructure to work more effectively and sustainably.
Our RoleMany organizations have great programs however they have no distribution model to get them beyond their immediate circles of influence so that they can build a critical mass. Without this key piece, the agriculture resource base is fragmented and resources are funnelled to creating and recreating programs. Green Hectares believes that a nation-wide initiative that maintains not only existing programs but also furthers the agriculture-sector to a deeper level of knowledge, is the next logical step.
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When it comes to rural, there are many issues to tackle. Green Hectares is regularly analyzing the information and continually working on these issues because we feel that by working in these areas, we will improve opportunities for those living in rural areas. We work with many other organizations and individuals who have solutions overlap on the same issues. If you have a program, solution or information that supports one of these areas, we want to connect with you. We care about creating lasting, positive impact in rural areas across Canada, and we want to have the best information possible. It doesn't matter if you are one person or a large organization, you have value in our process. If you have another issue that you think we should be looking at and is fundamental to rural and agricultural areas, please contact us so we can discuss with you more.