Young farmers from Tatarstan can present their agricultural projects at the all-Russian competition
Applications for the third season of the all-Russian "School AgroStartup" competition are now open. Schoolchildren can submit a business project idea in any of four categories by September 30. Project participants develop and present their idea using a methodology similar to how entrepreneurs pitch their startup ideas to investors.
Business projects are accepted for the competition in the following categories: Crop Production, Livestock Farming, Rural Tourism, and Freelance. Schoolchildren aged 14 to 18, regardless of their place of residence, are eligible to participate.
Schoolchildren will work in teams of 2 to 5 people under the guidance of mentors who have completed additional professional training. The students will also have access to a specialized educational course and remote consulting support from mentors provided by the organizers.
The authors of the best business projects will participate in the in-person finals from October 27 to 30 in Moscow at the Kapitsa Phystech Lyceum Technopark. Talented students from rural areas will gain valuable experience in project presentation and public speaking in a situation similar to attracting investors to a real startup.
Along with practical skills, the competition winners will receive gift sets—so-called "Agro-Class Portfolios"—containing equipment for testing the students' business hypotheses in practice: agricultural greenhouses, tools, hydroponic systems, and other equipment.
"The competition is being held for the third year now throughout the Russian Federation. Over a thousand schoolchildren participated in it. "Based on last year's results, 21 agricultural and rural schools won large infrastructure packages, which included equipment for agricultural classrooms, tools, fertilizers, and seeds, so that children could develop their passion for agricultural topics through hands-on experience," noted Lyubov Belesku, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Rosselkhozbank.
The creation of agricultural technology classes in the Republic of Tatarstan is being implemented as part of the federal project "Personnel in the Agro-Industrial Complex" of the national project "Technological Support for Food Security." The goal of these classes is to develop a system of continuous training for personnel for the agro-industrial complex through collaboration between general education institutions, specialized universities, specialized colleges, and employers.
Last year, the final round of the "School Agro-Startup" competition brought together over 100 young leaders from across Russia. The finalists presented their projects in key areas such as crop production, livestock farming, and rural tourism. Students from 21 schools shared the top three prizes. Projects that reached the finals included the commercial sale of flowers in rural areas, the promotion of herbal teas in Transbaikalia, the popularization of agro-classes through ethnotourism, modern viticulture solutions, and others.
The application deadline is September 30. You can apply for participation in the competition by filling out the form on the website molodyozsela.rf.
The "School Agrostartup" competition is jointly organized by the Russian Union of Rural Youth and Rosselkhozbank.