TRADITION AND INNOVATION
TRADITION AND INNOVATION: Three days in Liguria to learn from the field about agricultural excellence
On the last week of June 2024, Liguria hosted a delegation of representatives from both Albanian and Kosovar institutions: the Don Bosko Center, the Albanian Network for Rural Development, the Network of Organisation of Rural Development of Kosova, and Shmat Abdyl Frasheri. FILSE organized a three-day long visit, within the framework of the CultiVETing project, to showcase the uniqueness of the region's agricultural industry as well as to foster cross-border collaboration.
To provide an overview, Liguria is an Italian mountainous region on the sea characterized by no lowlands. It distinguishes itself for its long-established tradition of agricultural innovation to make the best of its steep landscapes.
On the first day, the guests took part in a morning workshop with the purpose of providing a detailed overview of Liguria's associative realities and cooperative efforts in the agro-food sector. Later in the afternoon, the guests embarked on an educational tour of Genoa, beginning with exploring the green areas at the Arena Albaro, then moving on to the labs at the SIIT, a research and innovation center adjacent to the BIC Incubator in Genova Campi, owned by FILSE. These two destinations were intended to showcase two layers of the research project Orti Sperimentali which were thoroughly explained by scholars from the Università degli Studi di Milano and the IT industry Gruppo FOS.
The second day, the delegation moved away from Genoa to meet in Borghetto Santo Spirito, a small municipality near Savona. They were warmly welcomed by the inspiring farmers at La Fattoria di Pol, cherished for its aeroponic agricultural application to basil, combined with regenerative and synergic agricultural methodologies tracing back to the past. Afterwards the party visited “I Formaggi del Boschetto” cheese farm in Albenga, recognised as a Slow Food Presidium in 2003 by a renowned Italian association that aims to identify and protect both the quality and diversity of gastronomic products. The following stop was the Istituto Regionale di Floricultura in Sanremo which provided valuable information on flower cultivation as well as the preservation techniques that crown Liguria as the unchallenged leader within the flower industry at a national level.
On the third and final day, the participants travelled to the inland area of Imperia to meet with masterminds behind PURO Yogurt, Interra Agricola and Cornus, agro-tourism factory. The common denominator between the three case studies on modern farming is their awareness in relation to the inherent value of their products. The high quality of their production cycle as well as the great care with which they safeguard both their animals and surrounding land have a very positive impact on their marketing positioning.
The Genova study visit was evaluated as very effective among all participants, especially because of the passionate interest of our renowned guests.
