Rome, 17 January 2025 14:42
Following the signing of an agreement, the "Smart Agriculture" project has been integrated into the Mattei Plan for Africa, further strengthening the partnership between Leonardo and BF Spa to drive agricultural and technological development, particularly across the African continent. Finalised today by Fabrizio Saggio, Mission Structure Coordinator for the implementation of the Mattei Plan for the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, together with Leonardo Chairman, Stefano Pontecorvo, and BF Spa CEO Federico Vecchioni.
This agreement stems from an operation within Italy’s national economic framework, strongly supported by the political intent to strengthen the country’s international presence through the promotion of its industrial excellence. The desire to collaborate in the agro-industrial sector aligns with the opportunities arising from the development of partnerships in the countries identified in 2024 through the incremental approach of the Mattei Plan. These include Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, and Tunisia, with the prospect of adding more countries identified by the government in 2025.
Funding opportunities identified under the Mattei Plan will support projects aimed at protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in these countries and will be implemented with the full involvement of local institutions.
In the spirit of the Mattei Plan, every stage of the planning and implementation of the agro-industrial development projects and the related training programmes will always be discussed with the countries involved, prioritising the growth of our African partners through targeted training initiatives focused on technical and management skills. This partnership between Leonardo and BF Spa reaffirms their shared commitment to innovation, sustainability, and the creation of shared value.
The Chairman of Leonardo Stefano Pontecorvo stated: “Leonardo’s - digital and satellite technologies, which monitor crops, soils, and water resources from space to improve land yield, can help address the challenges of food security in an ever-changing environmental landscape characterised by climate change, soil erosion, and inefficient resource management.
By leveraging Leonardo’s expertise in cyber security, and Telespazio and e-Geos’ specialisation in geo-information, the company combines advanced technological solutions such as Artificial Intelligence, big data collection and analysis, and cloud computing, providing the key enablers for managing critical aspects of 'smart agriculture' and climate transition.”
These skills will be integrated into the agricultural and agribusiness activities that drive BF Spa’s international expansion projects, a process managed through its subsidiary, BF International Best Fields Best Food Ltd. Active in four strategic geographical areas: Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Central Asia.
“BF Group’s goal - remarked Federico Vecchioni, CEO of BF Spa - is to replicate its agro-industrial infrastructure on a global scale, with control over the genome-to-food product supply chain. This infrastructure, developed by the company on over 11 thousand hectares of UAA in Italy, will be expanded through the creation of advanced Model Farms, such as the BFuture Farm. The BFuture Farm is an innovative, sustainable, and inclusive farming model that can be adapted to the needs of each country and community, and will represent the world’s biggest high-tech agricultural management network anywhere in the world.”
In both its current and future projects, training is a key component of the Group's presence in the various countries. In fact, BF Educational will be the company branch responsible for developing the agriculture and agribusiness training and research programmes for BF Spa's model farms, with the aim of training future professionals within the local communities.
