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RDP 2014-2020 (Rural Development Programme)

Integrated Supply Chain “Logistics and eco-sustainable conservation for Tuscan horticulture “

Call Measure 16.2 “LECOSFLO“

Project presentation

Objectives of the project

to obtain an innovative methodology for the conservation and transport of horticultural products, especially cut foliage, so as to offer the various categories of the production chain, in particular primary producers, the means and techniques capable of preserving the quality of their product and thus provide an economic / competitive advantage.

170.000

Total cost of the project – Sub-measure 16.2

153.000

Contribution requested (absolute value) Sub-measure 16.2

Actions

Ten actions are foreseen that will include the coordination of the project and the establishment of the partnership, the optimization of the preconditioning practices of the products with the use of low environmental impact substances, the optimization of innovative methods of vacuum packaging, the application of non-destructive methods of evaluation of the quality of products, the realization of a real overseas shipment of flower products, in particular of cut foliages, according to the new methodology developed with an LCA analysis aimed at evaluating the reduction of the environmental impact of the entire transport process.

Expected economic and environmental results and effects

Innovative formulations will be introduced for the preservative treatments for flower and foliages that are respectful of both the environment and health; the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will be verified in the commercial distribution phases, orienting  transport  by ship with a specific vacuum packed packaging for cut foliages.

reduction of the environmental impact of the entire transport process

– Lecosflo –

Partners

Flora Toscana

Flora Toscana is a cooperative of growers with a 50 year experience in the horticultural supply chain. With its 230 partners, 130 collaborators and 5 operational sites, Flora Toscana has as its main mission to be the most direct link between demand and production by operating through two business divisions: the MARKETING of FLOWERS, FOLIAGES & POT PLANTS in all markets and the SUPPLY OF TECHNICAL FACILITIES  to production companies of the agriculture and horticulture sector, supplying them from seeds and cuttings, to soils, pottery and irrigation systems and  to nutrition and defense products.

Flora Toscana also provides to its members the best market opportunities at competitive costs, providing qualified technical assistance, development of new projects, cultivations, packagings, market analysis.

The Flower, Foliage and Pot Plant sector has its own operational warehouse in Pescia (PT), in via Caravaggio. The production is marketed through the following channels: Italian and foreign wholesale sales (also through its web shop), sales to the main Italian supermarket chains, a dedicated Cash and Carry for florists. The Cash & Carry purchases flowers and potted plants at least 3-4 times a week from the major flower auctions.

The Technical Facilities sector has 3 points of sale, in Pescia (PT), Viareggio (LU) and Latina. The customers in this sector are not only growing farms, but also garden centers and resellers of agricultural products, that is all the actors involved in agricultural production from flowers to plants, from fruit to vegetables to wine production.

Since March 2010 Flora Toscana has installed a solar panel roof on the via Caravaggio based warehouse, dedicated to the flower & plants marketing.

The solar power system is capable of producing 286,000 kWh annually (power capacity of 247 kWp), consisting of 1376 panels positioned on the roof surface equal to 1940 square meters. Flora Toscana’s energy needs are covered for 30% during the winter and 50% during the summer.

The production can meet the average energy need of about 100 families, thus contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions, avoiding the release of about 165 tons /year of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and thus participating actively in the fight against overheating of the earth.

Since 2006 Flora Toscana is licensee and importer of FAIRTRADE flowers, while in 2010 it became licensee for the marketing of organic products.

Since 2013, all Flora Toscana’s members’ potted plant production has been certified Global Gap (Good Agricultural Practice).

Since 2016 Flora Toscana is registered to the Italian Quality Agricultural Work Network, EX ART. 6, CO.1,D.L.N.91/2014 a network set up by INPS ( the Italian National Social Security Institute) for farms that stand out for their compliance with labor regulations, social legislation, income and VAT taxes.

Since 2018 Flora Toscana has obtained the Legality Rating. The legality rating is a summary indicator of the level of compliance of a company to high standards of legality, which is able to reveal the level of attention paid by the company to the proper management of its business.

In 2019 Flora Toscana has become licensee of the FSC brand by choosing to adopt only FSC-certified cardboard packaging, thus contributing to the responsible management of the world’s forests.

Flora Toscana holds the majority of the shares in Agrivivai, a company based in Pistoia and specialized in the nursery supplies sector and 100% of CLORI FIORI SRL, a company in charge of managing our retail stores, one of which is  “La Serra di Flora Toscana” based in Fico (Fabbrica Italiana Contadina), the largest agri-food park in the world based in Bologna.

Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA)

Head of UO Prof. Anna Mensuali.

The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies is a public university education institution with a special organization which aims to promote, at national and international level, the development of culture, scientific and technological research.

The Horticulture and Floriculture teachers who belong to the Institute of Life Sciences. In the field of agricultural sciences and biotechnology, research activities can be grouped into two main areas:

plant sciences and agronomy which concern various aspects of plant biology, energy and food production, agro-biodiversity and agroecosystems.

The participating group has gained numerous experiences as leader of an operational research unit of research projects of national importance (CNR, PRIN, MIPA), and projects of regional interest (Tuscany Region).

The Sant’Anna School has always carried out research activities in the field of the quality of horticultural products with particular interest in the analysis of the factors involved in the conservation of the quality of cut flowers and potted plants, deepening both physiological and technical-practical issues in collaboration with companies of the sector including Flora Toscana.

Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of Milan (DISAAUNIMI)

Head of UO Prof. Antonio Ferrante

The Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Territory, Agroenergy develops its activities with a view to advancing, through scientific research, knowledge concerning 9 agricultural, forestry, livestock, environmental and energy systems based on a multidisciplinary approach aimed at promoting effective and efficient management of complex agricultural systems.

Professor Ferrante is a professor of Horticulture and Floriculture at the Department of Agronomy, the fields of interest concern aspects relating to the growth and differentiation of plants, their interaction with the environment (including mountain ones and subject to adversities such as reduced availability water, mineral nutrient imbalance and the presence of toxic elements), and therefore to agri-food and non-food production in its qualitative and quantitative aspects.

In particular, Professor Ferrante’s group deals with the study of leaf senescence in cut flowers and foliage; evaluation of post-harvest treatments to delay the appearance of yellowing and extend pot life; isolation and gene expression during the development and senescence of the hibiscus flower and gene expression in the different organs of the flower of the genes involved in the biosynthesis and reception of ethylene.

Azienda floricola Conforti Ugo

The Azienda Floricola Conforti Ugo was born in 1985 in Marlia (LU) with the cultivation of bulbous plants: gladioli in summer and tulips, irises and freesias in winter and spring. In the 1990s, the production trend changed towards perennial foliage plants.

Currently the farm area consists of 5 ha divided between 1.5 ha of Ruscus under cover, 0.17 ha of greenhouse where hydrangeas are grown as cut flowers and 3.33 ha of Ilex verticillata.

Since the start the has always been a member of the cooperative Geo-Flor Toscana,  which currently, following the merger with Toscoflora, has taken the name of Flora Toscana.

innovative methods of vacuum packaging

– Lecosflo –

Contacts

Flora Toscana Soc. Agr. Coop.

Telephone

+39 0572 44731

Address

Via di Montecarlo 81- 51017 – Pescia – PT- Italy