The partnership
The Operative Group of the SICARIB project consists of
8 partners in the fields of agriculture, research and consultancy.
Organic Farms
Damiano Società Agricola s.r.l.
(project leader)
The farm is located in the Sicilian hinterland and specifically in the municipalities of Mazzarino and Butera, in the province of Caltanissetta. The company, with a purely hilly morphology, has a total extension of approximately 300 ha and is made up of two main blocks falling in two different districts, c/d Ficari and c/d Rigiulfo which, although separated by a couple of kilometers, differ considerably in terms of soil characteristics (sometimes loose and sandy; sometimes heavy and clayey) and the presence or absence of irrigation water. The company has a fruit cultivation system and is specialized in the production, processing and marketing of almonds. The tree systems are uneven-aged and have different varieties and rootstocks depending on the pedoclimatic conditions of the land on which they stand. The company is run according to organic farming methods and is equipped with all the means necessary to carry out ordinary cultivation operations and nutrition and defense treatments. Attentive to economic and social sustainability, the company is increasingly oriented towards ecological aspects and the defense of biodiversity. The immediate objectives of the company, which falls within an oriented nature reserve managed by Lipu, are in fact to create an agro-ecological company model based on the principles of the circular economy and carbon farming as well as to create a bio- district aimed at enhancing the company product and the territorial area in which the company is located.
www.damianorganic.it
Dara Guccione Biofarm
Simple Agricultural Society
The company is located in Alia, in the province of Palermo. It carries out the production, storage and packaging of organic extra virgin olive oil. It also produces cereals and grain legumes. For the past three years, it has been producing durum wheat (Perciasacchi) and soft wheat (Maiorca) wholemeal flours using only the company's raw material. The company is a direct partner in The Heart of Sicily project managed by an Operational Group formed between local companies (of which Dara Guccione Biofarm is a direct partner) aimed at promoting tourist-cultural itineraries in the Madonie area (www.theheartofsicily.it).
I Locandieri
Society Social Cooperative
I Locandieri is a social cooperative under Law No. 381/91 type A and B, established in Marsala on 12 May 2005. The social cooperative I Locandieri cultivates land confiscated from the Mafia in Castelvetrano in the Province of Trapani. It is experimenting with how the encounter between the pragmatic solidarity of agriculture and the desire for redemption of an area where the mafia has taken root can help promote legality and foster new modes of welfare. People coming from experiences of disability and disadvantage, young people gravitating in the penal circuit, MSNA, adult immigrants find employment in the organic cultivation of fruit and vegetables and ancient grains (for therapeutic and/or training purposes).
Balsi
Organic Farm of Crapanzano Agata
The Balsi bio farm is located in the Sicilian hinterland, covering an area of about 30 hectares on a hilly plateau that overlooks the Braemi Valley to the north, while to the south it is oriented towards the state-owned areas of Monte Schinoso and Monte Alzacuda. The morphology of the land, which is typically hilly at an altitude of 450 metres above sea level, allows for the cultivation of various tree crops, mainly characterised by fruit trees, almond trees, olive trees, cereals and wooded areas within which the biodiversity of the Mediterranean maquis is preserved intact. The cultivation practices conducted by the farm observe the organic farming regime with a focus on environmental protection, the preservation of biodiversity, the maintenance of local varieties and the reintroduction of native ecotypes in the establishment of new tree plantations.
Cusenza Salvatore Fabio
The Cusenza Salvatore Fabio farm started its activity in 1985. It is a one-man business with a predominantly almond cultivation focus. Located in the territory of Mazzarino (CL), it covers about 25 ha. The farm is highly mechanised and is run according to organic farming methods. Since 2018, it has been replanting new varieties of almond tree that are more responsive to the needs of the agro-processing industry. In 2022, it developed cooperation projects aimed at enhancing the Sicilian dried fruit supply chain. In fact, the company participated in the 2014-2022 RDP with the 'Integrated supply chain projects' (PIF).
Research
partners: FIRAB
FIRAB (Italian Foundation for Research in Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture): FIRAB is based in Rome and operates in the framework of research and innovation initiatives aimed at qualifying the action of operators adopting organic and agroecological farming systems. In this context, it has contributed to the realisation of the following projects of particular relevance to the topic in question in the SIC.A.RI.B project, such as the EU Horizon2020 DIVINFOOD project on the use of neglected and under-exploited species from the breeding phase to their valorisation in the food system (2022-2027) or the Euro-Mediterranean ALL Organic project (Core Organic funding) aimed at spatial, temporal, genetic and practice diversification in organic farming systems (2021-2024).
Consultancy
partners: Arca s.r.l. Benefit
Arca Srl Benefit: The company ARCA Srl is headquartered in Castelplanio (AN) and since its foundation has gained experience in organic conservation cultivation, promoting the simultaneous application of the principles of crop diversification, reduced tillage and soil cover. This experience has been gained and is still being consolidated through various research and innovation projects financed at both local and European level. The experience is particularly strong in the cultivation of arable crops for the livestock sector, such as soft wheat, sorghum and field beans. In particular, with the aim of preserving and increasing soil fertility, ARCA works closely with the organic farm Fileni by testing and promoting the intercropping of cereals and legumes. Finally, ARCA has consolidated experience in the field of dissemination and knowledge transfer, as it is a leading partner in the communication action of several research projects.
www.arca.bio
Innovation broker
partners: Società Cooperativa Speha Fresia
Speha Fresia is headquartered in Rome and has been operating since 1983 on the national territory in the areas of Active Labour Policies, vocational, continuous and individualised training, local development, social research, business promotion, innovation and technology transfer. Since 2009 it has been the reference training body of Legacoop Sicilia. Since 2020 it has been accredited by the Lazio Region as a Qualified Agency for the Services of identification and validation and certification of competences matured by people both in formal and informal and non-formal contexts, as provided for by European and national regulations and D.G.R. 122/2016 of the Lazio Region. Speha Fresia is a qualified subject for the provision of innovation consulting services as it is registered in the list of consulting companies approved by MISE Directoral Decree of 6 November 2019 - ``List of qualified managers and consulting companies``. Speha Fresia operates a proprietary digital collaborative learning platform ``Accademia.network`` capable of ``hosting`` all the main activities related to training such as vocational training and refresher courses.
