Scientific research on geographical indications in support of Italian agri-food

From climate change to “nutriscore”, from labels with the “Health Warning” to fake news, from the energy crisis to unfair competition on the markets, to support Italian agri-food in facing these new global challenges arrive the research and international scientific communication on geographical indications, which, from food to wine, no longer represent only the high quality achieved by the DOP and IGP made in Italy productions, but a real economic and social “asset” for our country, which in this regard is a leader in the EU, and where the “DOP Economy”, according to the Ismea-Quallivita Observatory, in 2023 will produce a value close to 20 billion euros. It does so beginning today and with a long-term strategy, with the “Italy Next DOP - Primo Simposio Scientifico filiere DOP IGP” (First scientific symposium of DOP IGP) on stage today in Rome, promoted by the Qualivita Foundation in collaboration with founding members Origin Italia, CSQA Certifications, Agroquality, Polygraphic, and the state mint.
Over 800 stakeholders from the Italian quality agri-food sector participated in the symposium and the presentation of the 90 research projects on Italian IGP, a selection of the great agri-food scientific heritage on the IG traced by any which includes 200 active research and 18,000 bibliographic presences. “Investing in research means striving to become more competitive and sustainable. We have allocated 225 million euros in the budget law to innovation, which we must use to our advantage in enhancing the great Italian agri-food and wine tradition”, said the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida. “Italy, the leader in Europe in the IGP DOP sector, has first set in motion in facing the great challenges that are in front of us - underlined the president of the scientific committee of Qualivita, Paolo De Castro - thanks to the particular wealth of consolidated skills of operators and the great ability of the Consortiums to coordinate the development, the combination with the great national agri-food scientific heritage can be built quickly and be the key to future success”.
The 50 reports presented during the scientific sessions provided a comprehensive picture of the sector and its potential developments. The “quality” session demonstrated the importance of food with well-coded and well-oriented nutritional characteristics in contributing to increased production quality. The “Legislative” panel discussed how quality agro-food systems evolve as a result of strict, consistent, and transparent legislation to protect consumers and producers. The “Governance” session instead highlighted the importance of a coordinated production system that guarantees food safety and compliance with the values of the supply chain and the centrality of the Consortiums in intervening in numerous challenges: from markets to occupation, from the training of operators to the defense of the natural resources of the territory up to the development of forms of advanced experiential tourism. The “Sustainability” panel attested to the growing supply chain awareness of the need to implement all-around sustainable development processes, from the environment to the social, as a result of a well-recognizable ethical imprint. The studies illustrated in the “markets” fields have provided a new impetus for understanding market evolution and the identification of new commercial outlets for businesses, owing to the analysis of product and internationalization differentiation strategies. Finally, the “Marketing” session showed in particular how through current technologies - the so-called “Martech” - we can enhance the certifications and how the quality communication processes must take on an increasingly profound role than the traditional advertising message, conveying certainties and warranty information in real-time as well as clear and specific news on all elements of the supply chain. To finance further research activities, Qualivita Foundation, with the patronage of Banca Mps in the Mps Agri-Food Project, awarded the first prize “Ricerca Ig - Italia Next Dop” to the Life Green Sheep project of the Consortium of the IGP Agnello di Sardinia and Agris Sardegna to reduce the carbon imprint of the meat and ovine milk of 12% within 10 years, the best interpreter of scientific dissemination. But also launched the “Qualivita 2030” project, in the wake of the “Farm To Fork” strategy and the UN agenda for sustainable development to promote scientific knowledge on geographical indications.