Italy
Technologies and Practical solutions developed here
- DSS for forage crop improvement
- Dynamic approach to Silvopastoral Systems
- Microbial-based solutions to increase soil health and fertility
- Virtual Fencing for Adaptive Multipaddock Grazing
- Virtual Fencing to preserve ecosystem services
Leader
Desertification Research Centre (NRD) – UNISS
Area
Profile
Altitude: 250-350 m a.s.l.
Coordinates: 40°49’N; 9°16’E
Size: 200 km² scalable to ≈3,000 km²
Mean annual temp: 14.2 °C
Mean annual prec.: 632 mm
Mean annual ETo: 1050 mm
Aridity index: 0.53
Local population: Gallura, 60,000
Main land uses, crops and animals: agro-
silvopastoral, vineyards, dairy sheep,
suckling cows, cork extraction
The Living Lab
The Italian Lacani Living Lab, located in Sardinia’s Berchidda-Monti observatory, promotes sustainable Mediterranean agro-silvopastoral systems. It engages stakeholders—including local farmers, youth, women, and institutions—through interviews, workshops, and practical experiments to tackle ecological, economic, and climate pressures threatening traditional agricultural practices.
Through extensive stakeholder interactions, the lab identified urgent challenges such as climate change, economic volatility, land abandonment, and limited generational turnover. Stakeholders expressed strong interest in innovative, practical solutions, including microbial-based techniques to improve soil fertility, advanced grazing management tools, and new business models supporting local enterprise and youth employment.
Achievements include the co-design and implementation of experiments in soil health and grazing efficiency, directly involving farmers to ensure relevance and adoption. Notably, collaborative projects like the “School for Shepherds” and dedicated youth events have fostered a dynamic innovation community and increased youth participation significantly, involving about 100 young people.
Strategic agreements with local institutions and GAL networks enhanced the lab’s capacity to scale innovations and stimulate local economies. Challenges such as governance sustainability, structured data collection, and consistent stakeholder engagement are being actively addressed.
Overall, the Lacani Living Lab successfully integrates scientific knowledge and local expertise, driving the resilience of silvopastoral ecosystems and creating enduring business opportunities, particularly for women and youth. The lab exemplifies an effective model of collaborative innovation, addressing both ecological restoration and socio-economic revitalization in the Mediterranean.
Last News from the Living Lab
This section aims to foster dialogue and exchange of information among key Living Lab stakeholders, continuously updating all participants on progress and news about activities carried out.
Làcani Living Lab
The next event of the Làcani Living Lab will illustrate the potential of amendments such as liming and biochar in improving soil fertility of Mediterranean rainfed grasslands.
Stakeholders
The Living Lab is based on the collaboration of different stakeholders, each of whom brings useful skills and resources to address the area’s challenges in an integrated way. Their active participation enables the development of effective and shared solutions. This section presents the main stakeholders and their contributions to the project.
Primo Principio S.c.a.r.l.
Primo Principio is an Italian SME with 10 years of experience in industrial research and development of software solutions, data analytics, predictive modeling applied to the world of agronomy, plant phytopathology and simulation of complex biological phenomena…
Abinsula S.r.l
Founded in 2012, Abinsula is one of the main Italian players in the field of embedded, web and mobile solutions. Its core business is represented by the automotive sector, a domain in which – thanks to a very high specialization – it has managed to pos …
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Technologies and Practical solutions developed in this Living Lab
Oak ecosystems are key structural components of MED silvopastoral systems. They correspond to contrasting land management practices resulting in a diversity of ground and surface water dynamics. Tree cover is a key feature of these ecosystems integrating large scale grazing, forestry and crop cultivation (Blondel, 2006). A wide range of provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services are associated to these agroforestry ecosystems (Bagella et al, 2020).
Click on the cards below to learn more about the individual technologies tested in the living lab.
DSS for forage crop improvement
Dynamic approach to Silvopastoral Systems
Microbial-based solutions to increase soil health and fertility
Virtual Fencing for Adaptive Multipaddock Grazing
Virtual Fencing to preserve ecosystem services
Stakeholders Signup
Primo Principio S.c.a.r.l.
Primo Principio is an Italian SME with 10 years of experience in industrial research and development of software solutions, data analytics, predictive modeling applied to the world of agronomy, plant phytopathology and simulation of complex biological phenomena. It has developed its own technological solution (www.wiforagri.com ) which it markets as Saas (Software as a Service).
It currently works in Italy, Slovenia and Greece and actively and continuously participates in regional, national and European research, development and innovation projects in its field. Thanks to this strong inclination towards research and continuous innovation, it has been able to integrate highly verticalized technologies and skills in the design and implementation of DSS for agricultural support, it has been a supplier to regional agencies for agricultural development in Sardinia, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Lazio and provides its technologies and consultancy to producer associations, agronomic studies (as well as small and large agricultural companies).
It has a multidisciplinary team that knows how to combine engineering, software development and data analysis skills with agronomic, biological and bioinformatics profiles.
Abinsula S.r.l.
Founded in 2012, Abinsula is one of the main Italian players in the field of embedded, web and mobile solutions. Its core business is represented by the automotive sector, a domain in which – thanks to a very high specialization – it has managed to position itself as a supplier of innovative ICT solutions at a global level. The company’s rapid growth has been supported by the development of ABILITY, a Linux distribution for embedded systems, which over time has found application in various fields, as well as being a central product in the automotive solutions domain.
For several years, the automotive sector has been accompanied by the development of solutions applied to the agritech and healthcare sectors. Abinsula also offers extensive experience in common embedded technologies, such as wired and wireless communication technologies, mobile applications for Android, iOS and other smart devices and the development of IoT platforms. Abinsula’s success is based on continuous research and development, inspired by the desire to introduce innovative solutions to the market that can provide answers to current or future problems and needs.