Italian agri-food companies pledge to promote organic farming at Expo Dubai 2020

Italy has the largest number of organic farming companies in Europe and is poised to raise the bar even higher, driven by concerted efforts to embrace green energy, innovation and advanced technology. 

Agri-food companies taking part in a panel discussion on 'Sustainable and Safe Food for a Sustainable Life' at the Italy Pavilion at the Dubai World Expo 2020 presented their individual sustainable agriculture success stories and outlined their plans to boost Italy's name on the global agri-food map. 

"Only five years after preparing a roadmap for the agri-food sector, Italy has managed to reduce agricultural CO2 emissions to 30 million tonnes, compared to 77 million tonnes in France and 60 million tonnes in Germany," said Luigi Scordamaglia, CEO of Inalca. "At the same time, we were able to achieve a 32% reduction in the use of pesticides, a 15% reduction in chemical fertilisers and a 30% reduction in antibiotics in our food chain," he said. 

"The current model is very simple, it produces more quality and quantity, but with less environmental resources and leaves the land more fertile than the previous year, mainly through innovation. We use advanced technology for precision farming. All this leads to more sustainable production. Italian companies are increasingly becoming world leaders and cutting-edge," Scordamaglia said.  

Italy's agri-food exports have exceeded €50 billion, and the country has set itself the target of doubling exports in two years. 

Paolo Zanetti, managing director of Zanetti SpA, said: "Our company adopted sustainable practices across the board and switched to 100% green energy. We have reduced the use of plastics. More than 88% of our milk suppliers grow and produce their own fodder and silage to feed the cattle. Our zootechnical waste is reused as fertiliser". 

Giuseppe Finocchiaro, Consul General of Italy in Dubai, said: "Italy is the fourth largest biogas producer in the world, and also the European country with the highest percentage of waste recycling. Italy is willing to share with partner countries its unique knowledge and experience in global food systems. We see huge opportunities for cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, as the government here enhances food security by increasing local food production through innovative and sustainable agricultural technologies". 

The panel discussion was also led by Paolo Glisenti, general commissioner of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai; Carlo Ferro, president of the Italian Trade Agency; Sara Roversi, president of the Future Food Institute; Sabrina Stoppato, CEO of Stoppato 1887; and Emil Moukarzel, managing director of the Agricultural Division of Elite Ago LLC. 

Text, photos and video: Expo Dubai 2020.