DINAMIC- DANUBE: Developing INnovative Alliances for Management, Innovation, and Collaboration in European BioEconomy

The DINAMIC DANUBE project represents a strategic partnership of 17 organizations that combine academic expertise and supporting business capabilities to jointly address the complex socio-economic challenges of rural areas in the Danube region. The main goal is to mitigate the depopulation trend, which threatens the economic backbone of the region – small family farms, which are the central target group of this project. This will be achieved by strengthening their capabilities through lifelong learning, mentorship, and the introduction of technologies. The modern challenges faced by small family farms, particularly in the southeastern part of the Danube, require targeted actions to increase their sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience. Key barriers, such as the outmigration of skilled labor, population aging, lack of modern technologies, and weak supportive business ecosystems, are addressed by the DINAMIC DANUBE project through a holistic approach that integrates education, technological integration, and capacity-building, with a special focus on empowering women in agriculture. This methodology not only strengthens local economies but also contributes to the overall sustainable development of the region. The project will directly involve 500 small family farms from the Danube region, providing them with lifelong learning, peer mentoring programs, and the introduction of innovative technologies in less developed and marginalized areas. Additionally, a strong Danube network will be established in the sectors of bioeconomy and precision agriculture, bringing together key stakeholders. These stakeholders will ensure the dissemination of the project's results to other support institutions, thus reaching a broader base of family farms within the program area. The findings of the project will be proposed as policy recommendations to national institutions, enabling them to monitor tangible results from the implemented solutions. The consortium plans to continue its efforts through the further development of joint studies and action plans, facilitating the development of future initiatives over the next four years.