More than 2.500 hectares of land and with 12 member farms, these are the numbers of young Agrì cooperatives, started up in Lamezia Terme in September 2016 and already in partnership with ATS Biotecnomed.
The goal of the cooperative is to promote local products, offering the market – and then to the consumer – the quality regional products which are the foundation of the Mediterranean diet. The idea behind the creation of the cooperative is to pool farms, fruits and vegetables, processing and nurseries in Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia, to allow smaller operators real access to large retailers, while maintaining the quality of products, mainly organic, respect for the environment and ethical work principles. One month after its establishment, Agrì has become a member of APOC, an ON (Producers’ Organization) which follows companies from every perspective and works to strengthen and enhance fruit and vegetable production within the guidelines of both the national and the European Union economies.
Agrì has two important innovation projects in store: on the one hand it wants to focus on increasing the shelf-life of some fresh products or semi-finished products to up to 6-7 months in order to make them available for most of the year and to be exported distances which were previously unimaginable. On the other hand, with the scientific and technological support of Biotecnomed, Agrì wants to create a series of functional foods, derived from local food products, starting with a derivative of goji berries grown in the Corigliano area.
