Monday October, 2023 in Corno di Rosazzo (UD), at the headquarters of the Consortium for the protection of Friuli Colli Orientali and Ramandolo wines, the six partners of the INTERREG VI-A Italy-Slovenia project met for the first time, capitalization call 01/2022 with the title "IRRIGAVIT - Rational irrigation and soil management in cross-border viticulture".
The project, launched on 1 October 2023, is coordinated by the University of Udine - Di4A and unites the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Kmetijski Inštitut Slovenije and Geodetski Inštitut Slovenije, which had previously collaborated on the “ACQUAVITIS project - Innovative solutions for efficient use of water in cross-border viticulture”, and the two new partners RRA SEVERNE PRIMORSKE d.o.o Nova Gorica and the Consortium for the protection of Friuli Colli Orientali and Ramandolo wines.
«The project aims to optimize, promote and transfer irrigation strategies in cross-border viticulture and share a model of irrigation and soil management protocols for vineyards thanks to the use of innovative green technologies«, explains the Project Manager of the project, prof. Paolo Sivilotti of the Department of Agri-Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, of University of Udine.
Prof. Sivilotti explains that during the first technical meeting the partners confirmed the roles and began to prepare the operational activity plan, together with the communication and public relations and events plan. In addition to experimental and demonstration tests, the partners want to involve the main sectoral policy makers of both countries to support the model of protocols and green technologies as guidelines and operational techniques to be used in cross-border viticulture.
»The project experimentation covers the large cross-border wine-growing areas (Friuli Basso, Colli Orientali, Collio, Brda, Vipavska Dolina, Kras) with the desire to transfer these protocols also to other Italian and Slovenian areas outside the Program,” confirms the director of the Consortium Mariano Paladin and the Communication Manager and adds “To reach the greatest number of interested stakeholders we are organizing the opening conference between the end of November and the beginning of December with a particular invitation to policy representatives, operators and viniculturists, journalists and the eleven associated partners.”