The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), through ETSIAAB, has developed the Service-Learning project ‘Service learning through the transfer of knowledge on horticultural production in the municipality of Villa del Prado’, whose main objective has been to systematically analyse the information collected in 2024 on tomato and cucumber production systems and make these results available to the municipality’s agricultural advisory services.
The project developed by professors Laura Gálvez, Daniel Palmero, Esther Hernández, Rubén Moratiel, and Rubén Linares was carried out in close collaboration with Madrid Agroasesor (IMIDRA) and the Villa del Prado Horticulturalists Association. This coordination between technical and academic teams has made it possible to integrate the available information with specialised knowledge of the sector, resulting in an up-to-date and well-founded diagnosis of the situation and needs of local horticulture.
The work has focused on analysing management practices, pests and diseases, control strategies, the use of soilless systems, the use of rootstocks and other aspects relevant to sustainability and production efficiency. The results obtained provide accurate information to guide the advice that technicians give to farmers in the municipality and to facilitate adaptation to the guidelines of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy.
From an academic point of view, the project has enabled students to participate in activities related to data analysis, technical report writing and visits to horticultural farms in the area. In addition, the scholarship student has taken on specific tasks involving summarising, communicating and presenting results in the classroom.
The final report, prepared within the framework of the project, contains a detailed analysis of the information and presents technical recommendations aimed at supporting decision-making in the field of agricultural advisory services.
See the full report here: Knowledge Transfer Report (ApS): Informe Transferencia de Conocimiento (ApS)
This project is an example of the application of the Service-Learning methodology in agricultural contexts, facilitating the transfer of scientific and technical knowledge and contributing to the strengthening of relations between the UPM, advisory services and the productive sector.
