Bio2 participated to the EIP-AGRI Workshop “Organic is Operational: linking EIP-AGRI Operational Groups in organic farming” (Hamburg 13-15 june 2017. The workshop was an opportunity to present the project at EU level, to get to know the work of other Operational Groups and to establish contacts.
On June 12th, the experimental fields of the Innovation project BIO2, have been shown to all interested people. The visits took place at Bismantova (Castelnovo Monti, RE) and Angus (Compiano, PR) farms.
In the morning, at Bismantova farm, Senator Leana Pignedoli, Prof. Salvatore Ceccarelli, Dr. Silvio Grassi and The Regional Minister for Agriculture, Hunting and Fishing Simona Caselli participated with their introductions.
Open Fields introduced the project mission and activities. Then, agronomists of the Azienda Agraria Sperimentale Stuard guided visitors through the experimental fields. The Triticum ancient species and historical varieties sown in purity and mixes have been described.
For more details, photos and documents, click on this link.
Open Fields participated at the conference “The Agri-Food System in Emilia Romagna – Presentation of the 2016 Report” and the panel discussion “Towards the new common Agricultural Policy”, which was held on the 6th of June in Bologna. The Report annually allows to point out and discuss the agricultural situation of Emilia – Romagna region. Roberto Ranieri as invited speaker, reported on Open Fields’ experience in the management of Operational Groups.
Here the schedule of the event and below the speakers’ presentations:
– Presentation of 2016 Report, Roberto Fanfani (Università di Bologna);
– CAP and the support to demand, Filippo Arfini (Università degli Studi di Parma);
– Support to internationalization, Guido Caselli (Unioncamere Emilia-Romagna);
– E-commerce prospects, Roberto Ferretti (KPMG Advisory);
– E-commerce of fresh product, Claudio Mazzini (Coop Italia);
– CAP support to innovation, Roberto Ranieri (Open Fields).
Today a conference was held in Bari at the end of the Contest “Ideas for innovation in South Italian agriculture” promoted by MIPAAF within the National Rural Network 2014-2020 selecting the most useful ideas to solve emerging problems of southern agriculture.
The conference has offered the opportunity to discuss the actions of Rural Development Programs and MIPAAF in Europe and Italy, supporting the dissemination of knowledge with particular reference to the European Innovation Partnership “Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability” (EIP-AGRI).
Participants had the opportunity to discuss the advantages and drawbacks related to the organization of Operational Groups for the development and dissemination of innovative solutions in rural areas. Roberto Ranieri, as invited speaker, reported Open Fields’ experience in the organization and management of Operational Groups in Emilia Romagna.
You may find the program here.
An interesting paper by scientists from Tuscia University and Ferrara University was lately published on “Journal of Plant Disease and Protection” (A. Rossetti et al., 2017).
The paper, titled “Microparticles containing gallic and ellagic acids for the biological control of bacterial diseases of kiwifruit plants” studied new biological methods to control bacterial pathogens of kiwifruit.
On December 7th, at the Auditorium of University of Parma, there will be held a meeting dedicated to precision farming and to the successful experiences in the academic community, in public and private sectors. Roberto Ranieri will talk about the needs of the agro-food business related to the precision farming.
You can read the conference schedule here (in Italian only): programma 7 dic 16
On Nov 10th, Open Fields participated to the conference “PSR e PEI, new opportunities for agricultural enterprises and agribusiness in the innovation process”, organised by Edagricole – Terra e Vita during EIMA 2016.
Roberto Ranieri has focused his speech on the innovation brokerage in the agro-industry.
You can download his presentation (in Italian only) in “Documents”.
The kick off meeting of SOiLUTION was held on September 5th, 2016, at Open Fields offices in Collecchio (PR). Partners of the project are the Department of Sustainable Crop Production of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Consorzio Futuro In Ricerca, Azienda Agraria Sperimentale Stuard S.c.r.l, Azienda Sperimentale Vittorio Tadini, Agriform and three farms from Parma and Piacenza provinces.
The SOiLUTION Plan aims to develop the best conservative cropping system in marginal rural areas to reduce the erosion and the consequent decrease of fertility.
The objectives of the project are the identification and dissemination of competitive agro-systems, more sustainable and cost-effective than the conventional ones for the farms and the operators in marginal areas, through the reduction of the erosion, the increased soil fertility, the adoption of innovative technological tools.
Visit the project website www.soilution.it
October 1st 2016: Open Fields officially started Bio2, the two-year project which also involves the University of Parma (UNIPR), Agriform Scarl (training organization), Molino Grassi Spa, Azienda Agraria Sperimentale Stuard and five farming companies in mountain or high hill areas in Parma and Reggio Emilia provinces.
This working group aims to enhance the competitiveness of traditionally marginal areas focusing on organic farming and on the extraordinary biodiversity of our ancient grains.
During these two years the study group will test and identify the combinations of ancient genotypes, organically grown and mixed in the same plot, that will be able to better perform in terms of yield and will show the better predisposition to the primary and secondary processing.
With respect to technical capabilities, the mixed grains and the pure varieties will be characterized, the possible presence of contaminants mycotoxins will be detected, and finally the content of micro and macro elements (B vitamins, phenolic acids, fiber) will be analyzed.
From the flours, the working group aims to develop healthy and functional end-products, following the evaluation of their nutritional value and their health effects (such as the accessibility of in vitro nutrients, blood glucose curve, insulin).
For more info, the dedicated website will be soon available at www.bioalquadrato.it
On the occasion of the monthly conferences dedicated to food topics organized by the National Academy of Agriculture, Roberto Ranieri will be the speaker of the talk “The achievements of Food Technology between Quality and Price”. Intro by Giorgio Cantelli Forti, President of the Academy.
Thursday October 20th at 5 pm, Sala conferenze, Ordine dei Farmacisti, via Garibaldi 3, Bologna