It is probable that the next (or the next) head of the Ministry of Agriculture will find himself examining a truly innovative proposal for large-scale agriculture: le vertical farms. Cutting-edge sustainable structures that can change the face of companies and agricultural producers. The news these days is that an association – VISIONARI No Profit – and the Ethics4growth organization are working on a project that would allow a part of Italian agriculture to use less water.
Assuming that the quality of the products remains unchanged, with the right incentive policies, vertical farms would emerge from the limbo of refinement, from a limited segment of the market, to enter the global agri-food system .
The reason why the Ministry of Agriculture could examine the project lies mainly in the desire to enrich the offer of vegetables obtained with new techniques in the distribution chain.
Ethics4growth deals with training and social innovation with particular attention to food sustainability. The post-COVID period has brought about savings ideas natural resources starting with water. In Italy - they explain - too many resources are spent to move food and they are certainly more energy than we get from eating it.
The technical starting point states that with the 90% less water it is possible to obtain an agricultural productivity even 350 times higher than with traditional methods. A game that is perhaps worth playing in Italy, in a dynamic context where there is a competition for who is more eco-progressive.
Outside of Italy the activism of the patron of Amazon Jeff Bezos for the creation of your own smart farming with branches all over the world must make you think.
The development of these realities is already strongly present in North Western European countries such as the Netherlands – says Mauro Manfredi, co-founder of Ethics4growth. In fact, agriculture is at the center of all environmental sustainability projects. It is clear that profits can be made along the entire agri-food chain, also by thinking better about environmental protection.
The great advantage of the new farms also lies in the practicality of raising metal floors with the seedlings, in sheds, farmhouses, cottages. For traditional agriculture it is an epochal leap with the transition to hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic cultivation.
The raised shelves need to be illuminated, but not with water or pesticides. The sprout is ensured by pure aqueous solutions, without additives. There are no problems of time and seasons. The places that house the boxes with the seedlings are, so to speak, in constant order. To help those who want to get closer to the topic, while the non-profit Visionari project finds its way, there is also Enea which has developed its own system. Post COVID as an opportunity for change.
