SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
Lisa runs Seggio, an organic family farm situated in the unspoiled hills of the Tosco-Togmagnolo Appeninnes, in the province of Forli-Cesena, Italy. After having graduated as a veterinary surgeon, she started becoming interested in local zootechnical problems and decided to better her work with other farmers, and improve the quality of their finished products. In order to do just that, Lisa created the Bio Valbidente consortium, which is a sales point for organic farmers, and began using mycorrhiza for symbiotic agricultural production. Lisa’s farm produces cereals, feed and livestock, and everything is minutely controlled. Lisa has also written a product specification, contributing to improving the local economy with good, clean, fair and innovative products.
INNOVATION
In 2014, after several experiments, Lisa developed an innovative symbiotic agriculture project using mycorrhiza at sowing. Mycorrhiza is a fungus that colonises the roots of the cereals, feed crops, trees and vegetables, and helps the crops capture more nutrients. This process maintains and develops the microbiological sustainability of the soil and plants, and also gives the final product better organoleptic and nutritional characteristics. For instance, they contain natural biota, which is a good bacteria that betters human health. These results were confirmed by national research institutes and have been published in specialist magazines. At the same time, Lisa wanted to control the quality of the meat produced by the farm and so created a fully controlled system. The meat now contains more elements, such as lycopene, carotene, phenols and antioxidants. What’s more, the higher percentage of polyphenols and enzymes in the meat facilitates human digestion. Lisa also found that this approach reduced nitrate residues in fruits and vegetables. Lisa’s aim was to improve the health of the population when she began the Bio Valbidente consortium. With her symbiotic method, she hopes to reduce the incidence of certain diseases, such as gastro-intestinal disorders, obesity, hepatic steatosis and diabetes. Lisa brought other farms, local schools, oncological institutes, public administrators and associations in Romagna on board too, and the local economy is more dynamic, food production is cheaper and the methods used are more sustainable.
