Milano, August 10, 2023 - Agricola Moderna, an innovative company among the first to launch vertically farmed products on the Italian market, has received funding of 10 million euros from Intesa Sanpaolo, assisted by the Green Guarantee of SACE. The availability of new capital will enable the technological implementation of the vertical farming facility under construction in Agnadello (CR), operational starting September 2024.
For Intesa Sanpaolo, the operation was structured by the IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division, led by Mauro Micillo.
The new facility will encompass the entire production chain over an area of approximately 9,000 m2, of which 2,000 are designated for cultivation, resulting in a total cultivation area of 11,000 m2 across multiple levels. The production will exceed 900 tons per year, averaging 2.5 tons per day, of leafy vegetables including teen leaf salads and ready-to-eat herbs.
The Agnadello facility will represent an example of innovation in the agritech sector where research and development will be essential tools to offer a quality product to consumers and optimize production processes while respecting the environment. The facility will be powered 100% by renewable sources and automated, with all operations conducted within the facility: from planting to packaging, to provide super fresh and uncontaminated foods.
“The consumer will be the first to touch the product - says Benjamin Franchetti, co-founder of Agricola Moderna - The new facility will have thousands of sensors and will be managed through AI systems we have been working on for these years. Our goal is to approach the agricultural world systematically: refining processes and eliminating waste and harmful chemicals for the environment and human health. In traditional agri-food systems, about 1/3 of food resources are wasted at different stages of the supply chain—production, processing, distribution, and consumption—with negative consequences for the environment. At Agricola Moderna, we are committed daily to minimizing waste throughout the entire production chain. We will save about 95% of water and land and make the process increasingly circular: for example, the water evaporated from the plants will not be wasted but analyzed, replenished with minerals, and reintroduced into the system.”
Agricola Moderna, founded in Milan in 2018 by the two founders Pierluigi Giuliani and Benjamin Franchetti, is one of the pioneering companies in the Italian vertical farming market. In 2019, the pilot facility in Melzo, on the outskirts of Milan, began experimentation. Since 2020, it has been distributing its products throughout Lombardy via GDO and specialized e-commerce.
“The funding from Intesa Sanpaolo with the support of SACE’s Green Guarantee is the final piece that will allow us to complete our vertical farming project in Agnadello. We are proud of the incredible interest surrounding Agricola Moderna, which today allows us to have strategic partners and shareholders for the development of our business with whom we share principles and objectives,” says Pierluigi Giuliani, co-founder of Agricola Moderna “The Agnadello farm is a new starting point to distribute our products throughout Italy. In the future, we want to expand into international markets with new facilities not only in Italy but also in Europe ” - concludes Giuliani.
“Supporting businesses that invest in sustainability and innovation represents the core of our mission, in line with the objectives of our Industrial Plan INSIEME 2025,” says Daniela Cataudella, Managing Director Business Corporate at SACE. “For this reason, we at SACE are proud to support a reality like Agricola Moderna, oriented towards the development of new technologies to successfully face the challenges of digital transformation and grow sustainably.”
Bruno Pacini, Head of Industry Food & Beverage and Distribution at the IMI CIB Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, emphasizes: “We are particularly pleased to support an excellence like Agricola Moderna. The Agnadello project is a concrete and innovative example of how agri-food companies can evolve by embracing circular models and using cutting-edge technologies, in line with the objectives of the PNRR related to the green revolution and ecological transition. The Intesa Sanpaolo Group has always been at the forefront in promoting energy efficiency and supports entrepreneurial realities that can combine growth and sustainable development, also accompanying them in their paths of internationalization.”
