In recent years, the issue of environmental sustainability has become increasingly visible and urgent, triggering a sea-change that involves both consumers and companies; the former are being urged to make more conscious choices, the latter to rethink themselves and their production methods.
Sustainable agriculture
Let's talk about our world: agriculture. What do we mean when we talk about sustainable agriculture? The concept of sustainable agriculture is very broad and complex. From an environmental perspective, it means farming that respects natural resources such as water, soil fertility and biodiversity. It is a less expensive approach for farmers and improves quality of life for all. The processes are natural and do not involve the use of chemicals, the ultimate aim being to avoid overexploiting, damaging and polluting the soil. This type of farming is also called integrated or eco-compatible farming, and in Italy, the best-known and most widespread models that follow these principles are organic and biodynamic farming. The first type involves the use of insects or bacteria to control parasites, rather than artificial products such as pesticides. In addition, organic farming favours so-called “traditional” techniques such as crop rotation, which enriches the soil and prevents it from losing its fertility. The biodynamic approach, on the other hand, was created with the intention of enriching the environment and improving the quality of human nutrition. Generally speaking, the idea behind it is to preserve the soil, the substances it contains, and plant biodiversity.
Is sustainable technological innovation possible?
Technological innovation also plays a crucial role in the success of sustainable agriculture: the challenge is to create a better world, in which technological development is not an end in itself, but a means of improving the wellbeing of people and of the environment. This challenge has been wholeheartedly embraced by Nibbi, which has been working towards this goal for years: each of our machines is non-polluting, with a Euro5 engine that generates minimal emissions. Furthermore, the first investment we made was to re-evaluate and establish our new research centre, to design and build the farming machinery of tomorrow.
Therefore, sustainability brings together time-honoured knowledge and the most innovative technologies, with a view to protecting the environment and people’s health.
