Proceedings of the International Symposium on

Sustainable Systems and Technologies, v2 (2014)

Cereal rotation and the use of a Decision Support System to improve
the sustainability of durum wheat cultivation

Luca Ruini, Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A., Parma (Italy), luca.ruini@barilla.com
Emilio Ferrari, Barilla G. e R. Fratelli S.p.A., Parma (Italy), emilio.ferrari@barilla.com
Pierluigi Meriggi, Horta Srl, Piacenza (Italy), p.meriggi@horta-srl.com
Massimo Marino, StudioLCE, Turin (Italy), marino@studiolce.it
Filippo Sessa, StudioLCE, Turin (Italy), sessa@studiolce.it
Ludovica Principato, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy), ludovica.principato@uniroma1.it

Extended Abstract.
Using Life Cycle Assessment methodology, Barilla found that in the pasta production process
durum wheat cultivation is responsible for more than 80% of the ecological footprint and it has a
similar carbon footprint impact of the home cooking phase. Due to this reason, the company put
forth a multi-year project that promotes more efficient cropping systems in order to obtain safe
and high quality agricultural products protecting and improving the environment and the social
and economic conditions of farmers, increasing, at the same time, their awareness on
sustainable farming.

The project, using an holistic approach that takes into consideration economic, agronomic, food
safety and environmental indicators, focused on identifying potential improvements of the most
diffused cropping systems for the cultivation of Durum wheat, while maintaining high levels of
quality and health standards. It started in 2009 and it has developed in different phases. In the
first years the Company put in place theoretical studies on durum wheat cultivation in several
production areas in Italy and evaluated environmental impacts and overall agriculture efficiency
different sustainability indicators. Results show that a more efficient input management and
correct agronomic practices are environmental friendly (up to - 30% GHG) and economically
advantageous for farmers (up to +30% of net income). In 2010-2011 Barilla analysed a sample
of farm to compare real data from farms with optimal values to obtain sustainable productions.
Results show that rotation of durum wheat with dicotyledons (a favourable rotation) is more
sustainable than rotations with cereals or simply monoculture. Thanks to these favourable
rotations, the farmers performed also a reduction in production costs and a better efficiency in
the use of inputs. The results of this study were published in the Handbook for sustainable
cultivation of quality durum wheat in Italy, which serves as a source of practical suggestions for
farmers and strategic guideline. One of the partner of this project, the University spin off Horta
S.r.l, has subsequently developed a decision support system (DSS) granoduro.net which is a
web based service that integrates information on weather patterns, soil conditions and varietal
characteristics to provide famers decision support related to seeding, weeds control, nitrogen
fertilization and information about risk for fungal diseases. In 2011-2012 the project was
extended to about 13 farms to demonstrate that an accurate planning of crop rotations and the
use of a DSS could help in being more sustainable. In this part of the project the DSS was given
to the farmers to help them following the suggestions of the Handbook for the sustainable
If applicable, page number will go here after aggregating all papers
Cereal rotation and the use of a Decision Support System to improve the sustainability of durum
wheat cultivation
cultivation of quality durum wheat in Italy. In 2012-2013 the sample involved in the previous crop
year was supplemented with new farms (around 100) and it is still continuing in 2014 increasing
the number of farms involved. From an economical point of view the use of granoduro.net
allowed an average reduction of direct costs up to 15% in the years 2011/2012 and 2012/2013
thanks to a better management of fertilizers and treatments. At the environmental level, the
improvement has been very positive for both years. As for the Carbon Footprint we have saved
an average of 0.16 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per hectare (equivalent to 10% of the total issued).
In terms of product obtained we have saved about 0.45 tons of CO2 equivalent (corresponding
to 25% of the total issued).

Last important step of the project is the integration with the whole agricultural food chain in order
to stimulate a proper crop rotation. That is why Barilla, in parallel with its integrated supply chain
of durum wheat, aims to promote the development of joint activities and synergies with other
sectors of crops by developing collaborations with horizontal reliable reality of the Italian agro-
food system that have started a similar path of environmental sustainability, economic and
social development. Therefore, the Company is supporting farmers in the development of a
system of multi-annual sustainable cultivation, ensuring outlets to all crops in rotation. Barilla
intends to expand the program to as many sectors, cultures and possible partners, creating a
competitive advantage for the Italian agro-food system.
The main innovation of the project lies in having joined the combination of two complementary
approaches that have led to synergistic results. The first has ancient roots (the correct and good
rotation between crops), while the second represents a breakthrough (a decision support
system). In this project it has been shown how sustainable agriculture can be pursued not only
through the use of innovative technological systems, but also catching some ancient agricultural
practices.


References

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Ruini, L., Ferrari, E., Meriggi, P., Marino, M., Boeri, F., Ruggeri, M. 2011. Sostenibilit dei sistemi
colturali con frumento duro. Filiera grano duro news 18. April 2011
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Tilman, D., Cassman, KG., Matson, P.A., Naylor, R., Polasky, S., 2002. Agricultural sustainability
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Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies (ISSN 2329-9169) is
published annually by the Sustainable Conoscente Network. Melissa Bilec and J un-Ki Choi, co-editors.
ISSSTNetwork@gmail.com.

Copyright 2014 by Ruini, L., Ferrari, E., Meriggi, P., Marino, M., Sessa, F., and Principato, L. Licensed under CC-
BY 3.0.
Cite as:
Cereal rotation and the use of a Decision Support System to improve the sustainability of durum wheat cultivation,
Proc. ISSST, Ruini, L., Ferrari, E., Meriggi, P., Marino, M., Sessa, F., and Principato, L.. Doi information v2 (2014)

If applicable, page number will go here after aggregating all papers