"After last year's table tomato season, which ended with prices as low as €0.30-0.40/kg (at least between April and May) for cherry tomatoes, we opted to increase crop diversification," reports Adriana Lo Monaco from Agroenergie Srl.
Adriana Lo Monaco inside a photovoltaic greenhouse
"The next autumn/winter season will in fact see us dealing with yellow and red bell peppers and dark green zucchini. The latter crop grows in a photovoltaic greenhouse, as is the case with all our high quality produce. The added value of these greenhouses lies in the technological content that allows us to achieve an improved production performance."
Zucchini greenhouse 'under' a photovoltaic system
"Tomatoes reached a very high level during the summer. Thanks to the partial covering of our greenhouses, the shade mitigates the stress caused by the heat and direct sunlight. This resulted in a more controlled growth of the plants and fruits. But, since market quotations have not been brilliant, the choice of diversifying the species was a forced one."
"With these new choices, we want to avoid ending up with an unprofitable single crop. What is more, we are still a very young company and we are constantly looking for new crops and varieties that are better suited to our production processes. We have already harvested the very first dark green courgettes and, with all due caution, we are happy with the choice we have made. Prices currently exceed €2/kg, but these are not reliable quotations, because there is very little produce. The season will liven up in about ten days' time and that is when we will see how the market behaves."
Sustainability increases appeal for foreign retailers
"In our case, we are talking about highly-sustainable productions, as production costs are strongly mitigated by eco-friendly processes. The combination of agricultural and energy production sums up the meaning of environmental sustainability, because it takes place on the same areas. Our way of producing energy, among other things, is perfectly in tune with our respect for the environment and eco-sustainability."
"The goal is to create a greenhouse that will become a model for the future, designed to have zero impact on CO2 emissions and a positive impact on oxygen production. We can achieve that by producing clean energy such as solar power. The microclimate inside our greenhouses is also optimal for our employees working inside the facilities on a daily basis, thus contributing to work sustainability. To further highlight these principles, we created a garden of around one hectare at the entrance of our company that we have called 'Bobò's garden', which is accessible to schools and where fruit trees alternate with ornamental plants growing in the shade of photovoltaic panels."
For more information:
Matteo Baglieri 
Agroenergie Soc. Agr. Srl
Toll-free number (Italy) 800 588888
Overseas +39 348 3839418
[email protected]
[email protected]