Soil regeneration and promotion of agrobiodiversity for a sustainable wheat supply chain – Whe@sustain
WHE@SUSTAIN is a project led by Barilla, co-funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region, involving the collaboration of Open Fields Srl, CNR – Institute for BioEconomy (IBE), DISAFA (Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences of the University of Turin), and xFarm Technologies Italia srl.
In a context of increasing focus on environmental and socio-economic aspects, the agricultural system is also required to actively contribute through the adoption of innovative processes and technologies that reduce emissions, promote carbon sequestration in the soil, enhance biodiversity, optimise and regenerate resources, while ensuring productivity. The WHE@SUSTAIN project aims to develop digital tools to support the transition towards a more diversified agricultural model that is resilient to the impacts of climate change, with more efficient management of natural resources.
Project activities are structured into three specific actions: i) Implementation of a soil organic carbon monitoring system using satellite data and the creation of a ‘SOC Analytics Dashboard’ within AgroSat and Barilla Farming; ii) Development of a platform to collect data on biodiversity across habitats, species and territory, in order to calculate an index representative of the entire farm, serving as a basis for defining improvement actions; iii) Implementation of sustainable practices and evaluation of regenerative practices within a pilot farm.
These are complemented by cross-cutting actions such as: iv) Cooperation among partners; and v) Dissemination activities.
The main expected outcomes include the development and validation of an integrated, user-friendly digital platform for decision support, capable of processing farm, climatic, soil, agronomic and contextual data to provide real-time operational recommendations, with a scalable and extensible approach.
Emilia-Romagna, with its long-standing agricultural tradition, the presence of a well-structured cereal supply chain such as the “Carta del Mulino”, and a strong focus on innovation in the agro-environmental sector, represents an ideal environment for testing and consolidating approaches that integrate productivity, sustainability and resilience.
WEBSITE: https://www.barillagroup.com/it/whe-sustain/
BENEFICIARY: Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A
PROJECT ORGANISATIONAL MANAGER: Open Fields srl
SCIENTIFIC COORDINATOR: CNR IBE
DURATION: 30 months (from 01/10/2025 to 01/04/2028)
TOTAL PROJECT COST: €399,856.40
TOTAL FUNDING: €279,899.50
FUNDING PROGRAM: Intervention SRG08 Support for pilot and innovation testing actions – Co PSR Emilia-Romagna Region 2023-2027
