In the near future, the land next to the 17,000 kilometers of tracks of the Italian railway network could be used for the production of green and photovoltaic energy, thus avoiding to steal useful resources from the national agricultural sector. In those spaces at the service of transport, but often abandoned, innovative programs could be used on the use of ecological substances from the circular bioeconomy along the tracks. Even the roofs of disused stations or those in operation in small and medium Italian centers could serve not only for ” to produce “clean energy but also to host farmers’ markets or other fairs and events. These are the objectives of the framework collaboration agreement signed this morning by Luigi Ferraris, CEO of Italian FS, and Ettore Prandini, president of Coldiretti.
An agreement that certifies the mutual commitment to soil protection, to the integral sustainability of the development model in line with the Sustainable Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and with the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies. For Ferraris «in this way activities for the agri-food chain are strengthened. We share with Coldiretti a more ecological vision of land use, of the areas adjacent to railways and roads, demonstrating how we can move towards a new, more responsible and inclusive economic model “. Prandini sees it this way: “Not a single hectare of fertile land must be subtracted from agriculture at a time of great tensions caused by the pandemic”,
This, however, is the future. The short and medium-term objective, on the other hand, is to strengthen the role of the railway as an instrumental and functional logistical infrastructure for the sustainable development of the agri-food chain. “In a country like Italy where 85% of commercial transport takes place on the street, the record in fuel prices has a snowball effect on household spending and makes it urgent to implement a new national infrastructure plan”, urges Prandini. The agreement thus provides for the study of possible integrated logistic solutions for the agri-food supply chains, especially towards Germany, of infrastructural solutions at the service of agri-food logistics as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and possible agreements for the supply of agri-food products. for companies.