The project
VITA – VITicoltura Armoniosa
The principles of sustainability in the Piedmonts wine-growing territory
Funded by the EAFSR – European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020
The project aims to propose a shared model of vineyard management oriented to “sustainability”, which concerns all aspects that determine an impact on water bodies, with particular attention to defense, carried out by partner farms in the following way:
- USE OF DECISION SUPPORT (DEFENCE) – DSS (Decision Support System) with consequent creation of a management manual for plant protection products;
- SUSTAINABILITY PATH ACCORDING TO THE VIVA – MINISTRY OF ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION that aims to measure the socio-environmental footprint of pilot companies and identify improvement plans to maximize the sustainability performance of the entire wine supply chain;
- SHARING the project WITH COMPANIES IN OTHER PRODUCTION SECTORS (Roero and Langhe);
- PREPARATION OF A TERRITORIAL SUSTAINABILITY PROTOCOL and publication of a Sustainability Protocol;
- PREPARATION OF GUIDELINES for the protection of water from point and diffuse pollution.
Innovative solutions
The VITA project aims to support n.11 “pilot” partners (wineries) in the implementation of the actions provided for by the project, aimed at the adoption of a shared model of vineyard management oriented towards sustainability. The aspects considered are those that determine an impact on water bodies, with particular attention to defense, carried out by the companies of the Operating Group using a Decision Support System (DSS): vite.net®. The commitment to sustainability is enhanced through the VIVA and SQNPI standards.
The “pilot” wine companies will be supported by the Operational Group consisting of technicians and academics from important Italian Universities: Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Piacenza with the European Observatory for Sustainable Agriculture, AgriNewTech (ANT) spin-off of the University of Turin and HORTA spin-off of the Catholic University. The fundamental role will be played by consultants who will lead companies on the sustainability path that will last n.3 seasons.
The planned activities, divided into Work Package (WP), coordinated by the technical partners Desam Ingegneria e ambiente Srl, Professione Consulenti Srl, ANADIAG ITALIA Srl, Vassallo&Delfino & P. Srl, AgriNewTech Srl and Horta Srl will cover:
WP |
Titolari WP |
|
| WP1 | Coordination | PP7 – Vassallo Delfino |
| WP2 | Monitoring of project implementation | PP7 – Vassallo Delfino |
| WP3 | Disclosure RNN – PEI AGRI | PP3 – Desam, PP2 – UNICAT |
| WP4 | Disclosure to other COMPANIES | PP13 – Arzanà |
| WP5.1 | VIVA certification | PP4 -Professione Consuelenti |
| WP5.2 | Territorial sustainability protocol | PP3 – Desam |
| WP5.3 | Weather data monitoring and decision support tools (DSS) | PP6 – AgriNewTech |
| WP5.4 | Web-app for the supplementary defence of the vineyard | PP20 – Horta |
| WP5.5 | “In situ” validation of the DSS vite.net on the native variety Timorasso | PP5 – ANADIAG |
| WP5.6 | Territorial analysis and implementation of guidelines of practices for the reduction of water pollution risks | PP2 – UNICATT |
| WP5.7 | Training activity | PP4 -Professione Consulenti |
Project area
The target companies of the project are mainly the member companies of the Consortium for the protection of wines of the Colli Tortonesi, including the Cantina Sociale di Tortona which in turn groups 180 winegrowers. Farms operating in other areas of the Piedmont Region (Roero and Langhe) are also an active part of the GO, to guarantee maximum representativeness of the needs of the productive fabric and maximum diffusion of innovations. The following map shows the distribution of the operational group partner farms.
Importance of networking
The Operational Group is recognized within the European Innovation Partnership “Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability” (PEI-Agri), the tool set up by the European Commission that networks the innovation experiences developed in Europe to transform them into technical solutions for farmers for the benefit of the whole community.
Financing operations
The project is funded by the EAFSR – EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT and developed under Operation 16.1.1, Action 2, of the 2014-2020 RDP of the Piedmont Region. The Focus area is the 4B: better management of water resources, including the management of fertilizers and pesticides.
The project will see the possibility of using resources made available by other types of RDP assistance, not linked to focus area 4b, and by other Community programs including the LIFE program and the H2020 program.
The total cost of the project is € 705,811.74 of which FEASR share 43.12%.