Innovative Practices and Climate Solutions: Farms4Climate partners meet in Italy

The fourth Farms4Climate Roundtable between Living Labs brought together Italian and Tunisian experts to exchange knowledge on sustainable farming practices, climate resilience, and innovative agricultural techniques.  

The fourth and last Roundtable between Farms4Climate Living Labs (LLs) took place last November in Southern Italy, where UNIBAS and Agreenment received the partners from the Tunisian LL (INRGREF). The visit was a great opportunity to exchange expertise concerning the working methods and farming systems employed, with a special focus on kiwi fruit production and sustainable practices.

In particular, the host LL shared their experience in efficient irrigation methods, which are based on a preliminary study done at the UNIBAS laboratory. This system is designed according to the water quantity requested by the kiwi tree, based on its root system and the soil's texture and water retention capacity. Moreover, methods such as minimum tillage, compost use, and wind energy were also explored.

In addition, the Roundtable enabled visiting partners to tour a plant production company, where significant efforts are made to create favourable conditions for the successful cultivation of high yield crops in a short time while preserving nature. In this context, discussions covered soil preparation using machinery, seed treatment to ensure healthy plants, and plant grafting to develop varieties resistant to climatic hazards. The visit also included a phenomics platform where advanced tools are used to assess plant behaviour (phenotype) in response to specific treatments (e.g. drought), highlighting the role of different genetic resources (i.e. varieties, rootstocks) in improving crop resilience.

Overall, the exchange was a great opportunity for Farms4Climate partners to discuss problems associated to climate change and its impact on the Mediterranean basin, as well as the LLs challenges and the role of carbon farming as a prime solution to combat climate change. The Roundtable also helped participants develop networks to keep on working in finding solutions for sustainable agriculture.