A model for multifunctional and sustainable development of marginal areas.
The case study is based on an integrated supply chain project funded under the EU’s rural development policy, which involved research centres, private companies, farmers and public administrations to promote sustainable rural development through new cropping systems and management innovations. The inland and hilly areas of the region of Tuscany are marginal areas characterised by conventional extensive agriculture, mainly based on cereals and of low agricultural value. Soil erosion, nutrient leaching and soil carbon depletion are undoubtedly the main critical issues in these areas. The key concept of the project was to transform the existing agricultural systems of the inland and hilly areas of Tuscany, mainly based on annual cereal crops, by introducing perennial medicinal and aromatic plants (such as lavender) and by converting from conventional to organic farming models. The combination of an innovative agro-ecological cropping system and the adoption of conservative agricultural practices reduces the impact of tillage on soil erosion and nutrient loss, contributes to improving soil structure and increasing soil organic matter, thus maximising soil fertility and health, productivity, resilience and landscape enhancement. At the same time, the project has made it possible to develop new supply chains with high added value of final products, supporting the territorial multifunctional development of the hilly area. In the NOVASOIL project, we will focus on learning from the experience of the project by studying the effectiveness of the actions taken in terms of improving soil fertility and health, increasing productivity, resilience and landscape enhancement. We will explore the possibility of developing business models aimed at adding value to agronomic management to maintain soil health with innovative plant products through certification and production standards.
Competition from lower-cost products from other countries,Market changesExtreme weather conditions (extreme rainfall, floods and droughts)
Local, organic certified organic and fully traceable final productsSocial awareness interested in high quality and healthy productExisting farmer networkHigher revenue for farmers compared to previous cropping system
Tuscany Region – Regional administrationPrivate companiesFarmersFarmer associationAccademia dei GeorgofiliNon-profit association (Chimica verde Bionet)CREA-ABP (Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria-centro di agrobiologia e pedologia)RE SOIL FOUNDATION (https://resoilfoundation.org/)
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Website
Remember Me
Lost your password?
If you would like to receive information about the NOVASOIL project and how you can improve the health of your soil, please leave us your contact details.
We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.
Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.
Suggested text: Our website address is: http://novasoil-project.eu.
Suggested text: When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Suggested text: If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Suggested text: If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select "Remember Me", your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
Suggested text: Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Suggested text: If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
Suggested text: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
Suggested text: If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Suggested text: Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.