DUBAI, 9 November 2021 – Italy has the highest number of organic farming companies in Europe and is set to raise the bar even further, driven by concerted efforts towards adopting green energy, innovation and advanced technology.
Agri-food companies participating in a roundtable on ‘Sustainable and Secure Food for a Sustainable Life’ at the Italy Pavilion presented their individual success stories on sustainable farming and outlined their plans to boost Italy’s name on the global agri-food map.
“Just five years after preparing a roadmap for the agri-food sector, Italy has managed to reduce the agricultural CO2 emissions to 30 million tonnes, compared to 77 million tonnes in France and 60 million tonnes in Germany,” said Luigi Scordamaglia, CEO, Inalca. “At the same time, we were able to achieve a 32 per cent reduction in the use of pesticides, 15 per cent in chemical fertilisers and 30 per cent in antibiotics in our food chain.
“The current model is very simple, producing more quality and quantity, but with less environmental resources and leaving the land more fertile than the year before, mainly through innovation. We use advanced technology for precision farming. All these lead us to more sustainable production. Italian companies are becoming more and more the state-of-the-art and global leaders.”
Italy’s agri-food exports have crossed EUR 50 billion, and the country has set a goal of doubling the exports in two years.
Paolo Zanetti, Managing Director, Zanetti SpA, said: “Our company adopted sustainable practices across the board and switched to 100 per cent green energy. We have reduced the use of plastics. Over 88 per cent of our milk suppliers grow and produce their own fodder and silage to feed livestock. Our zootechnical waste is reused as fertiliser.”
Guiseppe Finocchiaro, Consul General of Italy in Dubai, said: “Italy is the fourth largest biogas producer in the world, and also the European country with the highest percentage of waste recycling. Italy is keen to share with partner countries its unique knowledge and expertise in food systems globally. We see huge cooperation opportunities with the UAE, as the government here escalates food security by increasing the local food production through novelty and sustainable agricultural technologies.”
The roundtable was also addressed by Paolo Glisenti, Commissioner General of Italy Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai; Carlo Ferro, President, Italian Trade Agency; Sara Roversi, President of Future Food Institute; Sabrina Stoppato, CEO, Stoppato 1887; and Emil Moukarzel, Managing Director of Agricultural Division of Elite Ago LLC.
