Page 20 - Environmental_Ecology

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3.4 Best practices

Italian Food Experience 1

If you want to know more about the quality of Italian food I suggest you to visit IFE
(www.italianfoodexperience.it) . IFE is an organization committed to promoting Italian territories,
products and producers through the world of food. IFE is committed to enhancing food as a tangible
culture, which inevitably passes through Italian gastronomy and culinary traditions, almost as much as the
tables of Italians. Not only gastronomy, but a history of quality products from North to South of Italy to
understand, know and explore the depths of Italian culture, full of colours and flavours. A tool to know and
enhance the food and the supply chains that make Quality their strong point, from production to the table.
On IFE courses you can learn more about Italian companies that have chosen quality and sustainability,
such as Rigoni di Asiago or Alcenero. 3
2

Orivárzea is a company and Association of rice producers. It also manages a production area of 959 ha and
4
carries out other activities such as the drying, storing, milling, blanching, packing and marketing and selling
of the rice (Oryza sativa L.). Before receiving Rural Development Programme (RDP) support Orivárzea used
an inadequate irrigation infrastructure that was over 30 years old. The old system was energy consuming,
leaked and therefore wasted water. To improve its production efficiency, while also protecting the

environment, Orivárzea upgraded its irrigation infrastructure in about two thirds of the production area
(661.9 hectares). This was done by replacing the pumping system and improving the water distribution
network to the seedbeds/rice fields. Investment in the pumping system has allowed an increase in the
efficiency of the water catchment capacity, i.e. with less powerful / energy consuming systems. The new
pipelines make it possible to maintain the same low, yet sufficient, water level across all the rice beds. In
terms of the efficiency of production the costs for water, energy, pesticides, fertilisers and labour
decreased while the production yield increased.

1 https://www.italianfoodexperience.it/
2 https://www.italianfoodexperience.it/storie/rigoni-di-asiago/
3 https://www.italianfoodexperience.it/storie/alce-nero/
4 https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/projects-practice/modernization-rice-growing-farm-portugal_en; http://www.orivarzea.pt/
pt