Modelli innovativi di gestione e patrimonializzazione degli ecosistemi del riso in Italia

Rice represents the staple food for more than half of the world’s population, and Italy is the major rice producer in Europe. Rice has been cultivated in Italy for a long time, thus representing an extremely important crop from very different points of vie w, ranging from socio cultural, economical, agronomical, and varietal renewal. In the last years this cultivation is facing several problems that are hindering its sustainability. The INNOVARISI project aims to provide rice cultivation in Italy with new op portunities through the valorization of different aspects of its heritages: by ensuring farmers and breeders have access to new tools designed to select the suitable varieties in relation to diverse management systems, by considering the biodiversity as a component of the sustainability, and through the application of digital models to rice cultivation practices. Results of the project will provide the Italian rice system with new avenues for improving its sustainability.