Research, experimentation and sustainable innovation for the Italian potato supply chain. These issues are at the centre of the meeting promoted by Romagnoli F.lli S.p.A. on the first day of Macfrut 2021.
The participants in this round table included Gabriele Chilosi, Tuscia University Professor - Laboratory of Plant Protection, Silvia Rita Stazi, Ferrara University Professor - Land & Water Tech Laboratory, Luisa Pasti, Ferrara University Professor - Land & Water Tech Laboratory, Guglielmo Donadello, Legambiente, Matteo Todeschini, agricultural entrepreneur, and Giulio Romagnoli, Romagnoli F.lli S.p.A. CEO.
Protecting the environment is a crucial topic of interest for citizens, companies and institutions. This is because the effects of climate change are there for all to see, with major consequences on purchasing decisions and consumer models too. One person in five around the world has stopped buying certain products and/or services due to their negative impact on the environment or on society. In Italy, Eco Active consumers, i.e. people heavily involved with environmental issues, who feel responsible themselves for the environment and are changing their buying habits, account for 23% of the total. This segment of consumers is expected to account for 40% of the total around the world by 2025 (source: GfK, research #WhoCaresWhoDoes).
“The primary sector needs to play an active role in the shift towards developing and spreading sustainable supply chains and production models, and growing potatoes is no exception”, explained Romagnoli F.lli S.p.A. CEO Giulio Romagnoli. “We need to produce more and better products and to protect natural resources, primarily water and soil, as well as biodiversity, while also ensuring economic sustainability for all people involved in the supply chain. Our company is committed to achieving these ambitious goals through innovation into varieties, the development of more efficient growing and irrigation techniques and their roll-out along the entire potato supply chain starting from the field, by providing constant support to producers”.
This vision and these goals have led to various sustainable potato-growing projects which, after a pilot phase, have been effectively transferred to all areas of Italy. These sustainable innovations aim to be models which the entire supply chain can benefit from, including, of course, consumers and distributors, provided that they pay the people involved properly, with farms first and foremost.
These innovations include the Patata di Campo-Amica dell’ambiente and Residue-Free Potatoes projects. The first one, resulting from the collaboration between Romagnoli F.lli S.p.A. and Legambiente for High-Quality Italian Agriculture, has helped create a supply chain of high-quality potatoes grown using low-pressure and high-efficiency irrigation systems, capable of reducing water consumption by 30%, controlling the energy consumption required for irrigation and limiting the use of synthetic chemicals.
While the second one, run under the scientific guidance of the Department of Innovation in Biology, Agri-food and Forest Systems (DIBAF) of Tuscia University together with Legambiente, starting from a new generation of potato variety resistant to downy mildew, the main fungal disease that affects the crop, has helped create an end product free from any pesticide residues and grown using coded and repeatable farming practices in all areas of Italy. The Romagnoli F.lli Residue-Free Potatoes project earned a special mention at the sixth edition of the Responsible Innovators Awards, an initiative by the Region of Emilia-Romagna that rewards projects which help implement the 17 Agenda 2030 goals for sustainable development.
