The indicator shows the educational level of farmers of agricultural holdings in Slovenia based on the achieved agricultural education. Their favourable age and educational structure is one of the important factors which can contribute to the more efficient management of the agricultural holdings, as only well-educated, innovative and aware farmers can more easily adapt to contemporary economic, environmental and social conditions. The number of participants in the trainings under the Rural Development Programme does not provide a direct link between the achieved level of education and the environmental effectiveness of agricultural policy measures, but shows the willingness of decision-makers on farms to educate and introduce environmentally friendly farming methods. The share of the adults involved in lifelong learning and training programs in rural areas is also shown. Lifelong learning is a good instrument for acquiring the knowledge and skills of people in rural areas and contributes to improving the economic situation.

The educational structure of farmers on Slovenian agricultural holdings is quite unfavourable. According to the data from agricultural census in the year 2000, there were 86,336 farmers in Slovenia. As many as 72,440 (85.8%) had no formal agricultural education and only had practical experience with agriculture, a further 7,045 (8.3%) completed basic courses in agriculture, and 4,982 (5.9%) had formal agricultural education. In the year 2016, when the last sample survey of the structure of agricultural holdings was carried out, the number of holders decreased to 69,671, and their educational structure improved significantly. The share of farmers with only practical experience in agriculture decreased to 50.2%.

According to the data from the sample survey from 2016, the educational structure of farmers between different age groups is improving. Compared to the data from 2005, the number of farmers with only practical experience in agriculture in the age group up to 35 years decreased by more than a third (37.1%), while the number of farmers with basic and complete agricultural education increased by 43,1 %. The situation is similar in the age group over 65, where the number of those who have only practical experience in agriculture decreased by more than a third (33.9%), while the number of farmers with basic and complete agricultural education increased by as much as 66.7 %.

Under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 for Slovenia, the sub-measure Support for Vocational Training and Skills Acquisition Activities is being implemented. This sub-measure is intended for training courses required at the time of entry or at the time measure-related obligations are fulfilled for different sub-measures, such as: agri-environment-climate payment, organic farming and animal welfare. Training is also provided in the field of marketing and processing of agricultural products and occupational safety in forests. Trainings are also provided for young farmers, who are a specific target group. In the period 2015-2020, 68,476 participants attended education and training. The majority of participants attended training in the field of organic farming (26.7%) and animal welfare (26.4%), followed by young farmers, with 18.4%.

In the year 2016, 42.8% of the rural population was included in lifelong learning programs, which is a good 3 percentage points more than in 2007. This is slightly better than the average in the EU-28 countries, where lifelong learning programs are included and training in rural areas involved 39.0% of the rural population. In Romania and Greece, this share was less than 10 %, while in Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden, almost 60% of the rural population was involved in lifelong learning programs.