ANDRIANI AND ITS FELICIA BRAND WIN BETTER FUTURE “ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY” AWARD 2021 FOR THE ESFAI SUSTAINABLE CHAIN PROJECT THAT PROMOTES TEFF CULTIVATION IN ETHIOPIA.
Organised by GDOWEEK and MARKUP in collaboration with TUTTOFOOD and dedicated to the best food companies at the event, the AWARD was assigned in three categories: innovation, ethics and sustainability, and packaging. On Sunday 24 October, the Better Future Award 2021 ceremony was held in Pavilion 6 at Fiera di Milano Rho, at 14:00, during the eighth edition of Tuttofood, the international B2B food & beverage exhibition for the entire agri-food system, which ends tomorrow. The award, at its first edition, was organized by GDOWEEK and MARKUP, in collaboration with Tuttofood, to recognise the achievements of the best food enterprises present at the kermess in three specific categories: innovation, ethics and sustainability, and packaging. Andriani SpA Società Benefit stepped on the podium of the Innovation Plaza Arena at Fiera di Milano to receive the Better Future 2021 Award in the Ethics and Sustainability category for the Esfai-Ethiopian Sustainable Farming & Agriculture Initiative. The award was received by Raffaele Raso, CSR and Sustainability Manager, who directly oversaw the project from the early stages. Aiming to safeguard land and environment, ensure food safety and quality, and contribute directly to protecting biodiversity, in 2017 Andriani S.p.A started an all-Italian controlled pulse production chain, which includes 5,000 hectares of land, mostly in Puglia and Basilicata. The production chain, dedicated to peas, red, green, and black lentils, chickpeas, and experimental fields of chickling peas, allows participating farmers to optimize cultivation, in both integrated and organic production, meeting sustainable criteria by using information technology tools and services to trace and support cultivation techniques and monitoring all production processes taking a precision farming approach. “Supported by this experience and with the aim of promoting good practices for sustainable agriculture beyond Italian borders, as a broader global approach, Andriani S.p.A. launched the ESFAI Sustainable Production Chain Project for the cultivation of Teff in Ethiopia” – explained Raffaele Raso. “Teff is Ethiopia’s traditional staple grain. Today it is grown in local farming communities organised as simple cooperatives using millennia-old traditional methods that, unfortunately, are not conducive to yielding great results in terms of quantity and economic return for farmers.” Andriani’s challenging initiative aims to increase productivity intervening on agricultural techniques – while respecting the complex balance between innovation and tradition – by introducing the tools for an initial simple work mechanization and optimizing the following logistic and analytical steps that have an impact on the quality of the final product. The project was born from the idea that, using sustainable techniques, farming can offer nutritious food for everyone and at the same time generate adequate incomes, supporting rural development while respecting the environment and focusing on people.
