VIDEO| Environment, Anbi-Ulund-Unibo-Cer develop the 'Farmwise' project

Research and innovation to improve the management of water resources, as well as environmental sustainability

ROME – The first webinar entitled 'The FARMWISE project for irrigated agriculture and environmental sustainability', which offered the opportunity to discover the latest frontiers of research and innovation aimed at improving the management of water resources, as well as environmental sustainability in agriculture.The event was attended by, among others, Francesco Vincenzi, president of ANBI, Ronny Berndtsson, professor Ulund and deputy director of Cmes, Attilio Toscano, professor of Unibo, Elisa Michelini, professor of Unibo, Raffaella Zucaro, general director of C.E.R., Francesco Battistoni, vice-president of 'VIII Permanent Commission of the Chamber of Deputies (Environment, territory and public works), Alessandro Monteleone, CREA research director Policies and Bioeconomy.
The FARMWISE project, led by the Swedish University of Lund (Ulund) and funded by the European Commission, develops tools based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), biochar and biosensors for the protection of irrigation resources. Specifically, low-cost 'green' biosensors are developed by the University of Bologna (Unibo) for the detection of organophosphate pollutants, microbial contamination and mercury in water.These biosensors are based on bioluminescence, a technology that exploits the ability of some organisms to emit light.The biosensors developed by Unibo use this technology to detect the presence of contaminants quickly, economically and reliably, signaling their presence through light emission, similar to that of fireflies.

Biochar is a soil and water improvement system, based on the use of a material derived from charcoal and obtained through biomass pyrolysis.Biochar has demonstrated absorption properties of pollutants, such as nitrates and phosphates, through tests conducted at the Acqua Campus C.E.R.-ANBI, recording a nitrogen reduction of up to 80%.Thanks to the use of satellite data, databases and Artificial Intelligence it is possible to develop indicators for the impact of fertilization, on water quality and on the risk of pollution from leaching.This way it will be possible make search results easily accessible to farmers, public bodies and relevant authorities.The University of Bologna (UNIBO) and the Reclamation Consortium for the Emiliano Romagnolo Canal (C.E.R.) are partners in the project;will work together to develop and test the innovations proposed at the Acqua Campus, the technical-scientific laboratory of C.E.R.- ANBI.The FARMWISE project represents a significant step forward towards sustainable and efficient management of water resources in agriculture, integrating advanced technologies and Artificial Intelligence to face the environmental challenges of the future.Use the properties of fireflies to detect contaminants in water.This is the exceptional result of the research, developed in the 'Giacomo Ciamician' Department of Chemistry of the University of Bologna, scientific partner of the C.E.R.-Canale Emiliano Romagnolo Consortium.Fireflies, in fact, emit light through a chemical reaction;their gene is taken and transferred into a bacterial or yeast or mammalian cell and these cells can be reprogrammed, through synthetic biology, lighting up with different colors in the presence of the same number of pollutants (PFAS, heavy metals, pesticides, toxins, interfering endocrines, etc.).

“The importance of this research for public health is evident, especially now that the use of waste water in agriculture is on the agenda.In Italy, a brake on the use of this resource is in fact the inability of the majority of purifiers to intercept microplastics, pollutants which are rapidly increasing and harmful to food safety:an alert system, together with the indispensable certification of a third party, would significantly increase the guarantees for consumers", comments Francesco Vincenzi, President of the National Association of Consortia for the Management and Protection of the Territory and Irrigation Waters (ANBI).

The cells that are the subject of ongoing research are, however, GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism) and therefore, in our country, can only be used in laboratories;they can, however, be replaced in the environment by naturally bioluminescent marine bacteria for toxicity analysis or they can be reproduced through in vitro transcription and translation systems for field analysis, using low-cost and sustainable paper supports, which can be interfaced with smartphones for data analysis and reading.

“The research of the University of Bologna opens up new scenarios to further guarantee the quality of Italian food, because it could put the farmer himself in a position to constantly monitor the state of the water resource used.This would enrich ANBI's proposal to make the use of water for irrigation increasingly sustainable and which today, alongside the constant search for efficiency of the water network, sees in the best irrigation advice of 'Irriframe' and in the 'Goccia' certification Green', two tools, the object of international interest”, concludes Massimo Gargano, General Director of ANBI.
For the vice-president of the VIII Permanent Commission of the Chamber of Deputies (Environment, territory and public works) Francesco Battistoni "this year we are talking about drought in the south and floods in the north, last year it was the opposite.We should move from emergency governance to planning and that is what we are carrying out.We must support research as ANBI is doing with this project and we must move forward in this direction, because water has an irrigation but above all a social aspect. Water is a primary good and we must do our best to implement resources and projects“.