This question “how do participants see themselves as advisors?” was asked to advisors and other participants in focus groups held in 10 different European countries, where the ClimateSmartAdvisors (CSA) project is active. The purpose of the focus groups was to gain an overview of the experience and the needs of the CSA in their respective contexts regarding their practice of advising Climate Smart Farming (CSF) strategies to the farmers. Here, we summarize the common views, the skills that advisors highlighted as relevant to fulfill their roles and the challenges they encounter in different contexts.
Across countries, farm advisors share a common role: they support farmers but face limited time and tools, and they all need strong communication and up-to-date climate knowledge.
See national differences in Additional information section.
Overall, countries differ mainly in how climate advice is delivered (integration vs persuasion vs collaboration) and whether the main barrier is knowledge, tools, time, or farmer engagement.
Common Perceptions Across Countries:
• Advisors see themselves primarily as supporters of farmers, not enforcers.
• All make emphasis on continuous learning and staying updated on climate-smart practices.
• The need for soft skills (empathy, trust-building) alongside technical expertise.
• Challenges include time constraints, lack of practical tools, and difficulty communicating climate benefits.
Overall, the focus groups show that farm advisors across Europe share a common understanding of their role as trusted supporters of farmers in the transition toward Climate Smart Farming. While national contexts differ in how climate advice is delivered and what barriers are most prominent, advisors consistently highlight the importance of combining technical climate knowledge with strong communication and relationship-building skills.
Focus group discussion is a qualitative research method where a small group of people discuss a topic, guided by a facilitator. This provides an added dimension of interaction, encouraging them to communicate with each other, exchanging ideas and comments on each other’s experiences or points of view. The aim is to obtain knowledge, perspectives, and attitudes from the participants and to understand their perspectives and dynamics. This approach helps researchers to tap in more spontaneous forms of communication, which often show dimensions of understanding inaccessible in other forms of data collection. In this case, the focus groups in each country gave an overview of the experience and the needs of the climate-smart advisors in their respective contexts regarding their practice of advising CSF strategies to the farmers.
Difference across countries:
• France & UK focus on understanding farmers’ goals first. Main challenge: keeping up with information and regulations, so listening skills and evidence-based advice are central.
• Italy highlights the challenge of farmer resistance to change. Advisors need psychological approaches and training in new tools to support adoption of practices.
• Denmark integrates climate advice into general farm guidance. The key issue is making the climate benefits of practice changes clearer.
• Estonia emphasizes trust-building with farmers but struggles with limited user-friendly information and tools.
• Germany centers on one-to-one consulting, with time pressure on public advisors as the main constraint. Methodological consulting skills are a priority.
• Spain frames advisors as “sustainability builders.” The challenge is explaining climate obligations clearly and integrating tools into advice.
• Croatia shows strong readiness for new challenges but reports a clear need for more training on climate transition.
• Ireland stands out for a team-based advisory approach, with collaboration across advisory roles needed to balance business and climate goals.
