The FS Italiane group and Coldiretti have announced an agreement at the International Agriculture and Food Forum to join forces on projects aimed at sustainability and the bioeconomy. On the one hand, the agreement intends to strengthen "the role of the railway as an instrumental and functional logistic infrastructure for the sustainable development of the agri-food chain", explains a joint note; on the other, it focuses on the use of ecological substances from the circular bioeconomy along the tracks, on the regeneration of the real estate assets for the peasant markets of Campagna Amica but also on the use of land along the railways and roads for the production of energy from renewable sources at the place of the exploitation of agricultural land.
The agreement, signed by president of Coldiretti, Ettore Prandini, and Luigi Ferraris, Chief Executive Officer of the FS Italiane Group, provides for a series of projects across the board. Among these, we want to verify the possibility of using abandoned buildings to host, for example in small stations, markets dedicated to farmers as well as fairs and events. Furthermore, the two partners also intend to verify with other interested parties the possibility of using land for the construction of photovoltaic systems, thus avoiding taking space away from crops. We also want to study the implementation of innovative programs, continues the note, for the use of green chemical products in the soil, especially those near the tracks.
The declared objective "is to keep the 17 km of the railway network efficient in an ecological and safe way through the study and testing of totally green products, biodegradable in the soil that do not generate residues in the treated soil or plants".
The agreement reached between Coldiretti and FS is part of the commitments made to achieve the sustainability objectives indicated by the United Nations 2030 Agenda and with the European objectives outlined in the Green Deal and Farm to Fork programmes.
Lastly, the agreement provides for "the study of possible integrated logistics solutions for the agri-food supply chains, especially towards Germany" to facilitate the export of Made in Italy products as well as infrastructural solutions at the service of agri-food logistics within the scope of the National recovery and resilience as well as possible agreements to supply agri-food products for companies.
"The agreement is an example of the collaboration that the FS Italiane Group is implementing with various stakeholders who are protagonists, together with us, in the path towards the Group's sustainable development objectives for our country" he stated Luigi Ferraris, CEO of the FS Group.
"Not a single hectare of fertile land must be taken away from agriculture at a time of great tensions caused by the pandemic" echoed him the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini in emphasizing the need to reconcile renewable energy production with respect for the territory, the landscape and the food needs of the population."
