The appointment is for Saturday, March 29, at 3 pm, at the Botanical Garden of Rome.
The climate crisis is one of the most serious and urgent challenges of our time. Ever-increasing temperatures, prolonged droughts and sudden floods are putting biodiversity and food security at risk. There are various causes, mostly of anthropogenic origin. But there are also solutions that start from the land itself. Organic farming can play a crucial role in the fight against climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions typical of intensive agriculture and improving the quality of the soil, which thus becomes precious carbon sinks.
The ability to react to extreme weather events has become essential to ensure the survival of many crops. Being a farmer today means protecting soil fertility and biodiversity, facing the challenges of an increasingly unpredictable climate every day. Organic farmers are therefore the custodians of an approach that enhances the territory, resilience and innovation. These and other stories are told by the protagonists of the talk scheduled for Saturday 29 March at 3 pm at Festa del BIO and MontagnaMadre , the two-day event organized by FederBio and Slow Food Italia, with the contribution of the FAO Mountain Partnership and the Orto Botanico-La Sapienza . There are therefore many opportunities to experience organic and sustainable food at the Orto Botanico in Rome , which will be open to free admission on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March, in show cooking, tastings and in the Mercato della Terra with around thirty producers from different mountain areas of Lazio, Abruzzo, Calabria, Emilia-Romagna and Sicily. Discover the entire program on www.festadelbio.it.
Among the producers who will participate in the talk on Saturday 29th, Anselmo Filesi of the Azienda Agricola Biologica Parano , which has been producing hazelnuts for three generations, mainly the Tonda Gentile Romana, in the heart of Tuscia, an area rich in ancient traditions. The choice of organic comes from the desire to respect biodiversity and promote a natural balance between plants and soil, transforming the company into a real open-air laboratory, where tradition and innovation merge. To deal with climate stress, it adopts sustainable agricultural practices that respect the environment and promote crop resilience, diversifying the varieties and choosing resistant hazelnuts such as the Giffona, which adapts well to climate challenges.
Graziano Poggioli of the Santa Rita Bio company, founded over 60 years ago in Serramazzoni (Mo), is one of the pioneers of organic. In his company, he continuously seeks innovative solutions that respect the environment and the values of the territory and traditions, which are essential today to address the vulnerabilities generated by climate events. In particular, Santa Rita Bio stands out for the breeding of endangered bovine breeds, such as the Vacca Bianca Modenese. This native breed, with a genetic heritage that allows for balanced growth times, represents a fundamental resource for sustainable agriculture and is the only Slow Food Presidium for the production of organic Parmigiano Reggiano and the prized mountain variety, of which only one wheel per day is produced at Santa Rita Bio. The final link in a closed supply chain composed of eight farms, Santa Rita Bio promotes biodiversity and sustainable agriculture as fundamental principles underlying its business.
The passion for this land of olive trees among the Lepini Mountains has been passed down from generation to generation in the Orsini Company of Priverno (Lt), which has long been committed to the care of ten thousand olive trees of the Itrana cultivar, a Slow Food Presidium of centuries-old olive trees, respecting the natural fertility of the soil and the rhythms of the seasons: Paola Orsini maintains that good agricultural practice is made of patience and responsibility. Adopting organic agriculture, in addition to protecting the landscape and enhancing the organoleptic properties in an oil rich in aromas and flavors, means defending the future of the planet. For this reason, each phase of the production process is controlled and certified, from cultivation to the milling of the olives, up to the extraction of the oil.
In Saracena, Calabria, a passito wine known throughout the world is produced: Moscato di Saracena (Cs), a historic Slow Food Presidium and a source of pride for the young people who over the years have decided to return to work the vineyards. An ancient story, for which today Claudio Viola thanks the foresight of his father Luigi, an elementary school teacher by profession, who unexpectedly inherited a vineyard in 1975 and recognized its incredible potential, saving the vine from extinction. Cantine Viola have also preserved the traditional and organic production process, transforming this heritage of practices transmitted orally into a true passito production Protocol.
After dedicating 15 years to the fashion industry, today Giulia Mattei runs Tenuta La Castelluzza together with her family, an organic farm located within the Tuscania Reserve, in Tuscia. Giulia's parents fell in love with this land and - after traveling the world for work - decided to settle in the province of Viterbo. Initially just a country house, the estate has now become a company that has 40 hectares of land, 700 olive trees and other varieties cultivated to preserve its biodiversity. The Mattei family's goal is to experiment with innovative and alternative techniques, outside of traditional schemes, always maintaining an approach that favors the protection of biodiversity and care of the land.
The appointment is Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March at the Festa del BIO and MontagnaMadre, the event organized by FederBio and Slow Food Italia, at the Botanical Garden of Rome, which for the occasion will be open to free admission.
The talk “ La parola ai testi: come rivolgeamo la crisi climatico con tirano organico ” is promoted within the project Being Organic in EU, managed by FederBio in collaboration with Naturland and co-financed by the European Union.
