From 11th to 13th October, the UNIMONT Centre of the University of Milan hosted Visiting Professor Audrey Vincent, Associate Professor – ISARA, AgroSchool for Life – Laboratory of Rural Studies Research, Université Lyon 2, to deal with the themes of mountain agriculture and sustainable development.
On 11th October Professor Vincent held a seminar, open to students and the public, entitled “Local strategies to bring added value to mountain products” during which she analyzed how local stakeholders can exploit the various protection brands (for example, PDO, PGI, organic agriculture) to build a strategy to differentiate and bring added value to their products.
On 12th October, UNIMONT, the Centre of Excellence of the University of Milan, involved its students and the Visiting Professor in a field trip in the mountains to meet some stakeholders of the Vallecamonica to closely observe the strategies and projects and the initiatives implemented to develop the role of agricultural activities in mountain areas.
During the morning, the Agronomist Guido Calvi, manager of the Adamello Park and environmental protection service – Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica, presented the projects of the Comunità Montana in favor of small mountain farms and their food products. The group then moved to Cerveno to visit the old mill and the Silter DOP Museum under the guidance of Oliviero Sisti, director of the “Consorzio di tutela del formaggio DOP Silter” and Bazzoni Giancarlo, municipal councilor of Cerveno.
During the lunch break the students were involved in brainstorming, led by Professor Audrey Vincent, to reflect on what they had learned during the morning.
In the afternoon, the group had the opportunity to meet Paolo Erba, mayor of Malegno and president of the Unione dei Comuni degli Antichi Borghi di Valle Camonica, who presented the innovative projects implemented by the small municipality in favor of sustainable and innovative management of the mountain territory. The day ended with a visit to Esine at the Tognali Mill, in the company of the representatives of the “Associazione mais nero spinoso di Valle Camonica” who presented the production chain of the Nero spinoso corn of Valle Camonica and the production strategies they created.
On 13th October, during the seminar entitled “Innovative agri-environmental approaches for mountain farming systems“, Professor Vincent highlighted the role played by farmers in biodiversity management, presenting the “result-based” agri-environmental measures that have been implemented in France.
