Success of the 1st Scientific Symposium PDO PGI supply chains with over 800 participants. Qualivita launches international scientific communication project to support Italian agribusiness.
“Investing in research means aiming to be increasingly competitive and sustainable. In the Budget Law we have earmarked 225 million euros for innovation, which we must make our ally in the enhancement of Italy’s great food and wine tradition. The spirit of collaboration, on which today’s event is based, is fundamental for sharing proposals and reasoning about an Italian system that is increasingly capable of competing on an international level and in large markets, which are craving for made in Italy.”, said Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida, speaking at the conclusion of “Italy Next DOP, 1st Scientific Symposium PDO PGI supply chains.”
Fondazione Qualivita successfully closes the first national initiative to disseminate scientific research in PDO PGI supply chains held in Rome yesterday, Feb. 22, organized in collaboration with founding members Origin Italia, CSQA Certificazioni, Agroqualità, and Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in the presence of Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida.
More than 800 stakeholders in the Italian quality agri-food sector participated in the 6 scientific sessions and the presentation of 90 research projects on Italian PDOs PGIs in the Agora of GI Research, a selection of the great agri-food scientific heritage on GIs traced by Qualivita that includes 200 active researches and 18,000 bibliographic entries.Le 50 relazioni presentate durante le sessioni scientifiche hanno offerto un’ampia fotografia del settore e dei suoi possibili sviluppi.
- The Quality session showed, in particular, the relevance of food with well-coded, welfare-oriented nutritional characteristics in contributing to increasing production quality.
- The Normative panel highlighted how quality agri-food systems evolve through rigorous, consistent and transparent legislation to guarantee consumers and producers.
- The Governance session, on the other hand, highlighted the importance of a coordinated production system that guarantees food safety and respect for the values of the supply chain, and the centrality of the Consorzi di tutela in intervening on numerous challenges: from markets, employment, training of operators and defense of the territory’s natural resources to the development of evolved forms of experiential tourism.
- The Sustainability panel testified to the growing awareness of supply chains on the implementation of all-round sustainable development processes, from environmental to social, resulting from a clearly recognizable ethical footprint.
- The studies outlined in Markets offered a new impetus for understanding market developments and identifying new business outlets for companies, thanks in part to analysis on product differentiation and internationalization strategies.
- The Marketing session showed in particular how through current technologies-so-called “Martech”-certifications can be enhanced and how quality communication processes must take on an increasingly deeper role than the traditional advertising message, conveying certainty and guarantee information in real time as well as clear and specific news about all elements of the supply chain.
“The Symposium demonstrates how Italy, a leader in Europe in the PDO PGI sector, has taken the lead in addressing the great challenges that lie ahead,” said Qualivita Scientific Committee Chairman Paolo De Castro. – Thanks to the specific consolidated expertise of the operators and the great ability of the Protection Consortia to coordinate development, the combination with the great national agrifood scientific heritage can be built quickly and prove to be the key to future success.”
The reports and projects on display offered an unprecedented overview of the challenges and evolution that the supply chains of the national quality agrifood system are facing.
“We are facing a moment of great evolution of the Italian agrifood system, which in addition to the challenge of transition has to face various international attacks,” stressed the Director General of the Qualivita Foundation, Mauro Rosati. – In this context, research has shown us today a new vision of quality and how Made in Italy supply chains will have to evolve to remain leaders in the markets.”
To raise awareness among those involved in research applied to PDO PGI supply chains and encourage effective dialogue with companies in the sector, Fondazione Qualivita, with the sponsorship of Banca MPS as part of the MPS Agroalimentare project, has also created the IG Research Award – Italy Next PDO. This is an award given by a jury of 15 experts to the best interpreter of scientific popularization among the 90 projects of Consorzi di tutela, Universities and Research Centers among those in the Agorà della Ricerca IG with the aim of funding further research activities. Winning the prize in this first edition was the LIFE GREEN SHEEP project presented by the Consortium for the Protection of Agnello di Sardegna PGI and AGRIS Sardegna, which responds to the keyword sustainability with the goal of reducing the carbon footprint of sheep meat and milk by 12 percent within 10 years.
The many contributions of Italia Next DOP take the form of the first step in a long-term strategy to help address new global challenges: from climate change, nutriscore, health warning labels, fake news, to the energy crisis and unfair competition in markets. A path that will be supported by Qualivita 2030, the Foundation’s new initiative launched in the wake of the Farm to Fork strategy and the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development to promote scientific knowledge about Geographical Indications. A project that envisages the creation of a modern scientific information system to be implemented through an international extension magazine, new digital communication tools, a biennial symposium and thematic training workshops.
“A project for the country,” highlighted Qualivita Foundation President Cesare Mazzetti, “that calls together the entire scientific community, supply chains, protection consortia and cultural institutions to face global challenges and consolidate the Italian agrifood quality system as a reference for Geographical Indications at the international level.
