The National Center for the Development of New Technologies in Agriculture (Agritech) is based on the use of enabling technologies for the sustainable development of agri-food production, with the aim of promoting adaptation to climate change, reducing the environmental impact in the agrifood sector, the development of marginal areas, and to guarantee safety, traceability and security of the supply chains. The project is worth around 350 million euros, of which 320 million to be paid by the PNRR and involves 28 universities, 5 research centers, and 18 companies.
The Center is structured in Hub&Spoke, with the University of Naples Federico II responsible for the national hub and 9 different spokes in the thematic areas:
- Plant, animal and microbial genetic resources and adaptation to climatic changes
- Crop Health: a multidisciplinary system approach to reduce the use of agrochemicals
- Enabling technologies and sustainable strategies for the smart management of agricultural systems and their environmental impact
- Multifunctional and resilient agriculture and forestry systems for the mitigation of climate change risks
- Sustainable productivity and mitigation of environmental impact in livestock systems
- Management models to promote sustainability and resilience of agricultural systems
- Integrated models for the development of marginal areas to promote multifunctional production systems enhancing agroecological and socio-economic sustainability
- New models of circular economy in agriculture through waste valorization and recycling
- New technologies and methodologies for traceability, quality, safety, measurements and certifications to enhance the value and protect the typical traits in agri-food chains.
36 months from 01/09/2022 to 31/08/2025
General aims
General objectives
Agritech is established to address the global need to counteract the effects of climatic change, reduce environmental impact of agriculture and improve productivity and sustainability. The Research Center will focus on the application of enabling technologies in the Agrifood sector.
Five general research objectives for Agritech Center are addressed:
- Resilience: Enhancing sustainable productivity and promoting resilience to climatic changes
- Low impact: Reducing wastage and environmental impact
- Circular: Development of circular economy strategies
- Recovery: Sustainable development of marginal areas
- Traceability: Promoting safety, traceability and typical traits in agri-food chains.
CMCC role – Affiliated partner
CMCC will contribute to the Spoke 7 “Integrated models for the development of marginal areas to promote multifunctional production systems enhancing agro-ecological and socio-economic sustainability”.
Activities
Across three tasks, CMCC will design, test and develop methods, models and tools to support land management, with focus on protecting soil by erosion and promoting agro-ecology, in the context of climate resilience and carbon neutrality.
Expected results
The Agritech NC has been specifically designed to promote innovation and technology transfer to territories, companies and public administrations, supporting the transition to a knowledge-based economy and strengthening the overall Italian agricultural chains and networks as well as improving their positioning in the global value chains.
Partners
Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Università degli Studi di Bari, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, Università degli Studi di Milano, Università di Napoli Federico II, Università di Padova, Università di Siena, Università degli Studi di Torino, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, CMCC – Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria, New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Found Edmund Mach, Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Università di Bolzano, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università di Catania, Università di Foggia, Università di Firenze, Università degli Studi di Genova, Università di Perugia, Università di Pisa, Università di Parma, Università di Reggio Calabria, Sapienza Università di Roma, Università di Salerno, Università di Sassari, Università di Udine, Università delle Marche, Antares Vision, Consorzi Agrari d’Italia, Casillo, CNH, De Matteis, Egeos, Enginnering, Eni, Graded, IBF, Irritech, Relatech, Società Sementi Italiana, Telespazio, Bonifiche Ferraresi, Fondazione Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Intesa San Paolo e Nestlé.