PNRR: The Politecnico is a partner of the National Centre for the Development of New “Agritech” Technologies in Agriculture

So starts ‘Agritech’, the National Centre for the Development of New Technologies in Agriculture, funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), based on EU funds - NextGenerationEU. It is a project based on the use of enabling technologies for the sustainable development of agrifood production, with the aim of fostering adaptation to climate change, the reduction of environmental impact in agrifood, the development of marginal areas, safety, traceability, and the typicality of supply chains. A project worth around 350 million euros, 320 million of which from the PNRR: an unprecedented funding for agrifood research.

28 Universities, 5 research centres, 18 companies: a turnout of Italian excellences in the agrifood sector, which currently counts 51 players distributed throughout the country, and which has collected almost a thousand expressions of interest in the relevant industrial sector. The Politecnico di Torino, which will receive a contribution of more than 3.5 million euros, is a founding member and will take part directly as a Spoke affiliate in the two thematic areas “Management models to promote sustainability and resilience of agricultural production systems” and “New models of circular economy in agriculture through waste valorisation and recycling”.

The Agritech Centre was created with the ambition of combining the best scientific expertise to make the Italian agrifood industry more competitive and sustainable. It aims to connect nationally available research infrastructures in agriculture, use enabling technologies to improve productivity and sustainability, as well as to promote ecological and digital transition, collaborate with businesses to increase resilience and economic competitiveness in the agrifood sector, and train the next generation of scholars in the sector, ensuring the human capital and skills needed to meet future challenges.

The Federico II University is the promoting body of the National Agritech Centre and is responsible for the national HUB. The Centre will be structured according to the Hub&Spoke approach, with a coordination centre in Naples and 9 research nodes equally distributed between Northern, Southern and Central Italy, in line with the principle of gaps reduction that underlies the PNRR programme.

The subjects involved are: National Research Council (CNR), University of Bari, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, University of Milan, University of Naples Federico II, University of Padua, University of Siena, University of Turin, University of Tuscia, Euro-Med Centre on Climate Change, Council for Research in Agriculture and Analysis of Agricultural Economics, New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Found Edmund Mach, Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, University of Basilicata, University of Bolzano, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, University of Catania, University of Foggia, University of Florence, University of Genoa, University of Perugia, University of Pisa, University of Parma, University of Reggio Calabria, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Salerno, University of Sassari, University of Udine, University of 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 and Nestlé.

“The Politecnico will bring to the National Centre its now solid scientific experience in the study and implementation of solutions for sustainable and resilient agriculture, using all its skills in enabling technologies for the study of soils, water and crops, also using processes for regeneration, enabling sustainable use of resources and reducing environmental and economic impact – explains Professor Danilo Demarchi, lecturer at the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications-DET and the Politecnico’s contact person for the Agritech centre – The Politecnico’s contribution will also involve new products from various food/feedstuffs and agro-industrial waste, co-products and sustainable crop rotations, developing the circular economy and optimising both environmental and social impact.”