The Association for Biodynamic Agriculture was chosen by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry to create an intervention plan to support the growth of the organic sector. Free training courses and seminars will be organized for agricultural companies, along with conversion support, communication and promotion actions. In this, the Association shows very high professional competence, even surpassing the projects of historic organic organisations. An expertise that comes from the tradition of the Biodynamic Association founded in Italy in 1947.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, through the Organic Agriculture Fund, supports project actions carried out by organic associations for organic agriculture.

Several Italian organic associations participated in the ministerial tender. The Association for Biodynamic Agriculture obtained, with its project, an allocation of over 400 thousand euros for the creation of “Innovazionebio”.

The knowledge and professionalism of biodynamics will thus be made available to Italian organic farmers. Hundreds of companies in the sector have already given their support and many more are on the way.

The Project, in its complex structure, will contribute to the growth of the organic sector through direct and indirect benefits to the companies that participate. The main objective is the development of replicable services for bio-agriculture with an ambitious objective: to build a general model of multifunctional services for small and medium-sized companies in the organic sector, which is transferable and exemplary. Innovazionebio therefore plans not only to provide but also to design and monitor a process application model and the definition of service protocols, with the support of the prestigious bodies involved in the provision of the project services. In order to benefit from the help, operators must be certified or in conversion to organic and will receive an offer of innovative services and a range of proposals.

Through the project, an offering model aimed at many players in the sector will be tested. With participatory continuous training actions, with personalized consultancy for the resolution of critical issues and the drafting of development plans, and with the promotion of BtoB and BtoC of both a commercial and scientific/cultural nature, the project intends to train and direct operators towards innovative technical and economic choices.

The project aims to contribute, thanks to the knowledge cultivated by biodynamics, to the objective of 25% of organic UAA by 2027, aiming at the stability of the system and the consolidation of the result post 2027, with particular attention to innovation.

The first innovation concerns the need to open the organic system to an active relationship with the wider Italian world of production of technical means and services. It therefore intends to introduce and make available to operators the technical-scientific innovations that other sectors such as research, industry, services and the third sector have implemented, or are implementing, in Italy. This is achieved through continuous training, also by the specialized organizations that were involved in the design phase and will be active in the project.

The project will therefore put operators in contact with the new centers of the Italian green chemistry industry (Bionet Green Chemistry Association), with innovation on the specific needs of agricultural genetics in bio-agriculture (Agrifound – “Giulia Maria Crespi” Research Grant), with the strengthening of the functions of agricultural entrepreneurship in the valorisation of the territory (Fai – Fondo Ambiente Italiano), with collaboration with the third sector for the promotion of the product (Legambiente – Concorso Vini Bio), and with bodies of the organic training (Apab, recognized training institute). A communication event aimed at the public will be organized by an accredited control body (Codex), in order to bring the public closer to understanding the organic control system.

For the construction of the models, and here lies the second innovation, the project aims to involve, in all its phases and with rigorous selection criteria, companies of different types in terms of territorial location, dimensional aspect, affiliation and production sector. In addition to agricultural companies, trade and processing operators will be present in the seminars and promotion, also with the aim of facilitating future relationships and exchanges. This is to contribute in a structural, technical and cultural way to overcoming the chronic technological gap in the sector and consolidate alliances with the world of services and agricultural and industrial production, in order to strengthen the Italian system in a systemic vision.

Another objective concerns the territories, to aim at rebalancing the diffusion of opportunities in the sector between the Italian regions and between the various types of territories, with particular attention to the valorisation of mountain and inland areas. Therefore, fill the regional gaps and those between internal and mountain territories with bioagriculture, thanks to an overall vision and a training and support offer spread equally across the national territory, preparing operators to integrate into territorial, supply chain and biodistrict projects.

The last objective of the Innovazionebio project is related to citizenship and consumption for the Italian organic farm system. The results obtained in the various project phases will be disseminated through effective communication activities to the specialized public and consumers. The objective is to promote the Italian organic product by aiming at the new generations to increase the resources capable of economically supporting the system and creating favorable conditions for subsequent supply chain projects. The project also plans to create a campaign aimed at the stable introduction of organic products in catering in collaboration with Bioadhoc srl and to create a standard exhibition model, with commercial and cultural proposals in an Italian trade fair in the sector, disseminating information on the organoleptic and nutraceutical qualities of the products to create familiarity with the national organic product among citizens, integrating the action of companies in the communication of the general press and in the communication of social networks. Particular attention will be paid to the technical and specialist agricultural press, primarily on Terra e Vita by Edagricole, as well as the biodinamica.org website.

Carlo Triarico is the president of the Association for Biodynamic Agriculture.

Innovazionebio, all the free offers provided:

• 10 training courses for biofarmers through 10 regional sections of the Biodynamic Association and in particular: 3 regions of the North (Piedmont, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia), 3 regions of the Center (Tuscany, Lazio and Abruzzo), 3 regions of the South (Puglia, Calabria, Campania) and 1 island region (Sicily)
• 10 in-depth seminars relocated to the regions
• 12 seminars on production sectors, through the thematic sections of the Biodynamic Association and partners
• 80 interventions throughout Italy to support company conversion
• Hundreds of communication and promotional actions through direct contacts, fairs, meetings, newspapers
• 18 months of activity

 

Progetto Innovazionebio finanziato dal MASAF – PQAI 01 – Prot. Uscita N.0580828 del 19/10/2023 CUP JB1523000560001