TRUSTFARM activities were presented by Cataldo Pulvento at the 50th National Conference of the Italian Society of Agronomy

06 October 2021

15-17 September 2021 took place the 50th National Conference of the Italian Society of Agronomy named "Evolution of agronomic systems in response to global challenges " in Polo Umanistico – University of Udine Via Monsignor Pasquale Margreth, 3 - 33100 Udine.  Cataldo Pulvento and Giuseppe De Mastro from University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy presented "Climate-smart farming practices in south Italy within TRUSTFARM project". The project main objective is to design integrated agro-ecosystems based on the conservation principles of using natural resources and the circular economy in order to make production systems more resilient to climate change and improve the food value chain in south Italy as well as in Egypt, Morocco, France, and Senegal, other case study Countries considered in the project. Activities and expected results In close cooperation with stakeholders, the main challenges in the different countries will be identified case studies. Multi-stakeholder innovation platforms will then be developed to prioritize and select the most suitable innovative CSFPs for each case study. An innovative pathway toolbox will be developed which will contain the following: 1) Identification and promotion of heat and disease resistant high-yielding germplasm food crops; 2) Conservation of soil and water to improve production capacity; 3) Adoption of best practices in ruminant breeding. The Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science (DISAAT) of the University of Bari will be responsible for the Italian case study focusing on South Italy which characterized by the Mediterranean climate is the area of the peninsula most subject to these problems related to climate change. In particular, DISAAT will be responsible to coordinate the activities related to the introduction of new grain varieties and crop choice strategy. Also, DISAAT will be heavily involved in the activities related to that managing water and efficient irrigation systems for sustainable agriculture by using irrigation strategies (Deficit irrigation strategies, use of marginal quality (saline water) and abiotic stress tolerant crops. Download poster.