LIFE HELPSOIL – (LIFE12 ENV/IT/000578)
Improving soils quality and strengthening the adaptation to climate change through sustainable techniques of Conservation Agriculture
LIFE HELPSOIL project seeks to achieve the testing and the demonstration of Conservation Agriculture techniques combined with innovative management practices of agricultural soils with the aim of:
- strengthening the ecological functions of the soils (carbon sequestration, increase of fertility and edaphic biodiversity, protection against erosion);
- encouraging efficiency in water use and irrigation practices;
- increasing the efficiency of fertilization, in particular in the usage of zootechnical effluents;
- reducing the use of pesticides for the control of plant pests and diseases.
LIFE HELPSOIL promotes the spread of techniques and solutions for improvements able to increase competitiveness and sustainability of the agricultural practices and at the same time – for the purpose of adaptation of territorial systems in respect of climate change impacts – to protect and assure the sustainable use of the soil, preserving its functions, preventing possible threats and mitigating the impacts of agricultural practices on the environment.
The project actions concern the Po plain and the nearby Alpine and Apennine foot-hills and are applied in 20 demonstrative farms.
Upon conclusion of the project, guidelines for the application and the dissemination of Conservation Agriculture practices will be defined, in order to find implementation in the context of the regional Rural Development Programs, identifying managing techniques considered as “Best Available Techniques” for durable agriculture, being able to produce larger ecosystem services for the whole Po plain and Veneto area.
Region Lombardia is the project’s leader.
Other partners are: Piemonte Region, Veneto Region, Emilia Romagna Region, Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region, Regional Agency for Services to Agriculture and Forestry (ERSAF), Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali (CRPA), Veneto Agricoltura.
Co-financing body: Kuhn- Italia srl.
On 4th July 2013, the European Commission has officially approved the LIFE HELPSOIL project.
