Farming for Future Foundation presented in Milan

The Farming for Future Foundation was officially launched in Milan, at the Intesa Sanpaolo Conference Hall. Created to give continuity and impetus to the project of the same name launched by the CIB-Consorzio Italiano Biogas in October 2020, it aims to bring agriculture to the centre of European policies for the energy and agroecological transition through the 10 actions of the Farming for Future manifesto.
The Foundation was promoted during the appointment with ‘Farming Matters: there is no transition without agriculture’, moderated by Tgr Rai Lombardia journalist Chiara Rancati, which saw the participation of experts and researchers, representatives of the institutional world, Italian and European, and companies in the sector, to discuss the contribution of the primary sector to guaranteeing food security in Europe and, with effective policies and good practices, to face the challenges of the ecological and energy transition.
During the initiative, a preview of the research initiated by Invernizzi AGRI Lab SDA Bocconi and commissioned by the Farming for Future Foundation, on the management of digestate as an organic fertiliser instead of chemical fertiliser, was discussed. Starting from the data provided by the CIB on the production of digestate in Italy in 2023, the analysis illustrated by Prof. Vitaliano Fiorillo, Director of Invernizzi AGRI Lab SDA Bocconi School of Management, analysed the positive effects that could be achieved if the limit imposed by the Nitrates Directive for nitrogen of zootechnical origin were to be exceeded. Initial indications lead us to state that the digestate produced in 2023 could fertilise, through the most advanced spreading techniques, about 100% of the UAA cultivated with maize in Italy, almost completely replacing synthetic fertilisers. Environmental benefits, therefore, but also economic ones thanks to the reduction of Italy’s dependence on urea imports.
“We are facing an epochal challenge, which requires ambition and farsightedness. The Foundation, set up in March, embodies precisely these values. We are here today thanks to the vision of the CIB, which has recognised not only the technical and scientific value of the Farming for Future project, but also a new strategic approach, based on synergies, complementarity and pragmatism. With the Foundation’s action, we intend to demonstrate the economic, social and environmental value of a pragmatic, feasible and scalable agricultural sustainability model. We want to promote and support business models capable of combining profitability and sustainability, and enhance production processes that allow agriculture to play a key role in the fight against climate change,’ says Diana Lenzi, President of the Farming for Future Foundation.