Overcoming the digital divide between cities and countryside by bringing ultra-broadband to companies and supporting the sector's great innovation potential with new technological solutions for the benefit of the country's economic recovery, accelerating the digital transition of Made in Italy agri-food. This is the objective of the agreement signed by Coldiretti, TIM and Bonifiche Ferraresi in the presence, respectively, of the Chairman Ettore Prandini and the Managing Directors Luigi Gubitosi and Federico Vecchioni. The coronavirus emergency has brought out the strategic nature of digitizing the country in support of the competitiveness of Made in Italy agri-food, from e-commerce to process optimization, to obtain an increase in productivity accompanied by cost reduction and in favor of environmental sustainability.
New resources also to enhance the great potential of the tourist and food and wine offer of the countryside with ben 92% of the typical national productions that are born right in the small villages Italians with less than five thousand inhabitants according to the Coldiretti-Symbola survey. The agreement will give a strong boost to the digitization process of inland and rural areas in order to encourage the adoption of innovative applications that take advantage of the potential of fiber and related services to support agri-food companies that produce, transform and market goods and services essential also thanks to the network of agricultural consortia. Agriculture 4.0 represents a strategic tool for the post covid economy, with the aim of involving 10% of the cultivated area in Italy within two years.
Furthermore, the agreement provides that TIM, through the Operation Risorgimento Digitale program - created together with leading partners - with the aim of spreading digital culture in the country, will organize seminars and professional training sessions for Coldiretti members to encourage learning industry digitization processes. Another example of collaboration is the Coldiretti Partner Portal with the creation of Demetra, the first integrated system for online management of the farm with real-time reading of the state of health of the crops, data on weather forecasts and temperatures, soil fertility and water stress which will be further enhanced thanks to the agreement with TIM.
The agreement also aims at enhancement of e-commerce through the Coldiretti Campagna Amica platform, the large direct sales network with over 1.300 markets scattered throughout the peninsula which is also extending its action to digital e-commerce platforms. The agreement will also contribute to developing new solutions to reduce the bureaucratic burden that weighs on companies and to strengthen the role of the blockchain in food traceability.
“Agriculture – Luigi Gubitosi, Chief Executive Officer of TIM – he commented is one of the many areas in which the use of new applied technologies will generate a significant leap in productivity and profitability in the sector. This is already demonstrated by those companies that in Italy and around the world have optimized their manufacturing systems thanks to the adoption of innovative processes. Our Group, as evidenced by the recent 5G trials on self-driving agricultural vehicles, has long been engaged in offering services to support the supply chain, with the aim of bringing innovation to rural areas as well. With this agreement, we want to enhance digitization and accelerate the transition towards an increasingly cutting-edge agricultural model".
