New multi-year project launched to identify the most effective techniques for protecting and restoring agricultural land, one of the first in Italy for the apple sector.

Trento, 31 January 2024 - A multi-year project aimed at implementing regenerative practices to ensure greater resilience of farms to climate change, with a positive impact on environmental and economic sustainability, has been launched by Melinda, a consortium of apple producers in northern Italy, xFarm Technologies, a leading company in the digitalisation of the agri-food sector with headquarters in Switzerland, and dss+, a consultancy specialising in sustainability and more specifically in regenerative agriculture.

The project will run for a minimum of four years. During this time, Melinda and its partners will work with a selected group of farms to implement regenerative practices in the field. The xFarm platform will enable the collection and processing of large amounts of data that will allow the economic, agronomic and environmental impacts to be monitored over time, with the aim of perfecting techniques, increasing efficiency and reducing resource waste and associated costs. This will lead to the validation of practices and the development of a protocol for farms.

Data for sustainability

Regenerative agriculture is based on the use of farming practices designed to protect and restore soil health. Once its fertility is restored, soil can provide a wide range of ecosystem services that benefit both the environment and farmers. Regenerative farming techniques also increase the soil's ability to sequester carbon, thereby reducing climate-changing emissions.

"Using a monitoring system developed by xFarm together with dss+, and with the support of a group of specialised agronomists, we will evaluate the performance of the farming practices each year by analysing the data on sustainability, costs and benefits," says Jasmine Chini, an expert from Melinda's Research and Development division. "The main objective is to draw up a protocol to reduce the environmental impact of agricultural production, while at the same time allowing for adequate yields and thus maintaining the economic sustainability of the farming activity."

Matteo Peyron, Sustainability Manager at dss+, says: "With this project we want to provide targeted support to the farmers and the working group by offering specialised advice on the most efficient regenerative practices. Using our soil carbon dynamics simulation tool, developed in collaboration with xFarm, we aim to optimise organic matter sequestration and other sustainability parameters, thus helping to establish the best environmental and economic practices to develop the resilient agriculture of the future."

Direct supply chain involvement

Companies will play a key role in the project, thanks to the direct involvement of farmers. The programme includes several moments of dialogue between operators and experts, with training and evaluation of practices in place or already tested. Soil sampling and analysis will be particularly important because they will allow monitoring and final validation of the techniques being used. Evaluation of costs incurred will also be crucial, as will calculation of environmental impact and quantification of yields.

"We are very pleased to support an iconic company like Melinda in this journey towards a more sustainable and digital agriculture," says Matteo Vanotti, CEO of xFarm Technologies. "We strongly believe that, through projects aimed at implementing regenerative practices, we can drive the world of agriculture in this direction, involving more and more companies and bringing tangible benefits to farmers. Our project is in fact one of the first of its kind to be carried out on fruit in Italy, and we are confident that its development will accelerate the adoption of such practices and that many other companies will follow suit."