NEWBIE project is a European project funded by the H2020 program that was born to focus on finding solutions and proposals for the problem of rural depopulation, with special focus on young people and new entrants to agriculture.

The NEWBIE network has been designed to address the important challenge of allowing new participants to successfully establish sustainable agricultural businesses in Europe. NEWBIE will facilitate the development and dissemination of new business models, including new entry models, to the full range of new participants, from successors to newcomers to the agricultural sector.

This will be achieved through a transdisciplinary network of agricultural organizations, educators, consultants, researchers and industry stakeholders, who will gather, evaluate and exchange the state of the art in new incoming agricultural enterprises, and establish national and European support networks for new entrants. . NEWBIE will focus especially on allowing innovative business models developed by new participants to be integrated into academic research and the educational curriculum, and widely disseminated to new participants throughout Europe.

To develop policies and resources that promote the arrival of new inhabitants in rural areas and encourage young people to settle in these areas is one of the objectives of RURALIZATION, so it is of special interest to be aware of the results and activities of this project.

Ruralization and Newbie projects met last February 6th in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at the Newbie event focused on research. Maura Farrell, our project member from NUI Galway Rural Studies, presented Ruralization project. It was an opportunity to make synergies and have an intensive dialogue on our shared topic: new entrants into farming.

To get additional information you can check the NEWBIE project website