Changing the agrifood chain to make it more sustainable with hydroponic crops and new modern technological systems is the objective of the Intesa project. Now, their first studies have recently been presented. It's a true model of sustainable greenhouses that employs the Agriponic system without substrates and with a closed cycle.
A moment during the presentation of the first results
The project is co-financed by the Italian-Tunisian cross-border cooperation program, which aims at promoting and supporting research and innovation to create cross-border networks for the agrifood sector.
Hydroponic greenhouse
The project is coordinated by Sosvi with the technical-scientific collaboration of CREA, the Ministry for Agricultural Policy, and the experience of a Sicilian company that is hosting the Agriponic pilot greenhouse.
"The Intesa project takes into account environmental sustainability and the production of healthy food for all. We set up a pilot greenhouse with the agronomic method and we hope we can share our experience with producers, growers, and consumers," explains Giovanni Iacono, CEO at So.Svi.
"In the Sicilian coastal area between Pachino and Agrigento, there are over 9000 hectares of greenhouses, 200 of which of the soilless type. The area boasts the highest concentration of greenhouses in Europe after Almeria. We need to take note of this and act accordingly. Tunisia has already envisaged activities connected to the Italian ones, while scientific activities will be conducted by CREA."
On the Tunisian side, the partnership is made up of the National Union for Agriculture and Fishery (Utap), Enis - the National School for Computer Engineering - and IiT - the International Institute for Technology in Sfax. Associated partners are the Scicli Municipality, the Ispica Municipality, the Order of Agronomists and Foresters of the Ragusa province, the CTPTA Research Centre on horticulture in Tunis and Manouba's Urap.
For further information:
Giovanni Iacono
So.Svi.
sosvisrl@gmail.com