Entrepreneurial, Digital, and Sustainability Competences for Market Gardening: Training Needs Across Five EU Countries

Market gardening is increasingly discussed as a sustainability-oriented farming model with the potential to support resilient, locally embedded food systems and to contribute to food security through diversified fresh-produce supply, short value chains, and closer producer–consumer relations. However, limited empirical evidence exists on the competences and training needs required for its professional and agribusiness development. This study examines perceived competence confidence and training priorities for market gardening across Ireland, Greece, France, Germany, and Austria. The research draws on 53 interviews with education and training providers and a cross-sectional survey of 275 respondents, including practitioners, advisory actors, and institutional stakeholders. The survey was structured around EntreComp, DigComp, and GreenComp to assess entrepreneurial, digital, and sustainability competences. The findings show that practitioners reported relatively strong confidence in motivation, vision, ethical thinking, environmental responsibility, and local contextual awareness, but weaker confidence in market research, resource mobilisation, record-keeping, planning, digital farm management, online sales, technical troubleshooting, stakeholder engagement, and participatory sustainability action. Advisory and institutional respondents rated entrepreneurial and sustainability competences as highly important, while digital competences were also considered relevant but showed stronger cross-country variation. The study concludes that market gardening education should move beyond technical horticultural instruction and adopt an integrated, competence-based curriculum combining entrepreneurial, digital, green, and practice-oriented learning. The findings highlight competence-development priorities that may strengthen market gardening and its potential contribution to local food availability, resilient short value chains, and food security.