Agrinatura Veg

Ecological transition: the possible miracle of the closed, organic supply chain by Giancarlo Ceci

In 1819, Consalvo Ceci bought the estate on the slopes of Castel Del Monte. Over the centuries, his successors transformed an area devoted to grazing into land used for the cultivation of olive trees and grapevines for wine. In 1988, Giancarlo Ceci converted the entire production to organic and then in 2011 to biodynamic, thus founding Agrinatura Veg. The company exports its products to central and northern Europe, markets where EVO oil from the Coratina cultivar and preserves are particularly popular. Another leading product of Agrinatura Veg is wine, mainly sold to the catering trade. The farm covers 230 hectares in the Andria countryside and includes olive groves, vineyards, arable land and a herd of 40 Podolica cows. A 1.5 MW photovoltaic plant supplies energy to the 7,000 square metres of sheds used as a wine cellar, oil mill and product processing workshops.

Thanks to the support of RDP funds, Agrinatura Veg can improve the land and tools available to support its organic and biodynamic approach. The interventions allow Mr Ceci's business to cope with the increased risks resulting from a very demanding type of production and market. The planned activities allow the company to achieve excellent results in terms of quality and sustainability of production and competitiveness of its commercial offer. Thanks to RDP funding, the company can manage the entire supply chain in-house, from production to processing and the reuse of waste.