IICCI Project IL FRUTTETO - The Italian Orchard to Increase Domestic Yield & Quality Benefiting Indian Farmers

The IICCI project IL FRUTTETO - the Italian orchard was officially launched in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh on 19 and 21, June 2019 with an objective to promote High Density Plantation and orchard system in order to increase productivity and quality of horticultural crops in India. 

2,500 square meters of orchards will be exclusively dedicated to the Italian high-density plantations, materials, products & technologies. IICCI will conduct and support skill development and training activities, knowledge exchange, technology transfer and facilitate market penetration in India. 

The Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI) - (Mr. Claudio Maffioletti, CEO & Secretary General) signed a MoU with Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) - Prof. Nazeer Ahmed, Vice Chancellor and H N Agri Serve (Farm2u - Mr. Mir Khurram) and with Progressive Growers Association (PGA) in Himachal Pradesh for establishing the Il Frutteto - The Italian Orchard in Kashmir (Shalimar Campus, Srinagar) and Shimla (Jubbal).

The project expects to increase domestic yield & quality benefiting Indian farmers and at the same time helping Italian companies with their internationalization.

The IICCI has signed two collaboration agreements to establish two Fruttetos (Orchard in Italian) , 2,500 sqmt of orchards exclusively dedicated to Italian high-density plantations, materials, products and technologies.

On the occasion, 20 of 200,000 high-density plants supplied by Italy’s prime nursery, Vivai F.lli Zanzi , where planted during the inauguration of the Orchard in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. Along with it, Mr. Giovanni Zanzi held two masterclasses on new fruit plants varieties for local growers and academicians.

Through the Frutteto, the two partnerships aim at supporting business, institutional and academic collaborations between Indian and Italian stakeholders in the entire agro-industry value chain: from agricultural products to farm mechanization, from post-harvest technologies to cold-storage, food processing and packaging.