No one is excluded from the 2030 Agenda drawn up by the UN to unite 169 targets to the 17 common goals for man and 193 signatory states. The analysis of Daniele Cermelli discovers the activity of Merlanetta farm and the affinity to the action plan, inaugurated in 2016 and extending over the 15-year cycle, to promote sustainable development on Earth.
Goal 2.4: agricultural practices to conserve the ecosystem
”The farm (60 hectares of cultivated land surrounded by paths and woods) set up in the old farmhouse closed court is spread on the left coast to the Orba stream on the unspoilt countryside melted to the Natura 2000 network established by the European Union to protect the biodiversity of flora and fauna. The 100% organic production extended by the types cereal and fodder to the orchard (50 ancient varieties registered in the lower Piedmont) defines the activity at the farm purchased (1976) by his grandfather to free the heirs from the rent paid for 375 years by the ancestors of the family”.
Goal 3.9: reduce deaths and diseases resulting from air, water and soil pollution
“The perennial forest of three hectares encompasses over 2500 trees optimal for the local climate: from hornbeam to blackthorn, from cherry to hackberry, from euonymus to dogwood, from ash to poplar (black and white). Planting is effective in capturing more carbon and enhancing the landscape: every virtuous agricultural and forestry procedure restores, protects and increases natural and agricultural biodiversity”.
Goal 5: Gender equality
”The company – as stated by the owner Daniele – is run only by the family: gender equality is guaranteed by the work done together with his wife Memma and the children Selvaggia and Mirko”.
Goal 6: Ensure clean water and increase water efficiency
”The deadly metal laid on the sifted sand is removed from the bed: the lead scale on the plate discovers the hunting activity prohibited on the protected natural areas of Italy (EU Regulation 2021/57) to prohibit lead munitions and reduce lead to aquatic birdlife. The 90-meter agricultural artesian well created by the ancestors of the early twentieth century was replaced by excavation reduced to the harmless depth to the water table and irrigation by sliding (very expensive) was interrupted. The saving (70%) of water is attributed to the sub-irrigation (innovative on the provincial soil of Alessandria) on the lawn of 3.5 hectares”.
Goal 7.2: clean energy
”The structure to regenerate energy is essential, however, the idea of meeting the company’s needs has been deferred by the urgency of replacing the tractor or the opportunity to buy the areas adjacent to the company”.
Goal 8.9: sustainable tourism to expose culture and local products
”Merlanetta farm produces the cabbage of San Giovanni. The most appetizing variety of cabbage is registered at the Arca Slow Food and awarded the municipal designation of origin (deco). The seed, out of trade, grows on the remaining stubble from the wheat harvest already ended around the anniversary of Saint John the Baptist (24 June). Tourists can also admire the collection ”Porti d’i barlafìs”: 500 tools belonged to the local rural civilization of two centuries (XIX and XX)”. Goal 10: reducing inequalities
“Each service facility (bathroom, kitchen, laundry), air-conditioned and barrier-free, is incorporated into the hospitality area. The corner for handling food and drinks is attached to the meeting room of 60 seats. The farm shed has been renovated to set up trade fairs. Each parking area for ten campers is trimmed to distribute water and electricity, download the gray and black waters. Wi-Fi connection to surf the web is extended to the picnic area, parking for cars, the garden outside. The rustic apartment obtained from the restyling at the stable for horses increases the courtesy”.
Goal 11.4: protecting the world’s cultural and natural heritage
”The experiential tourism promoted at Merlanetta farm is extended to animal watching: the tour is proposed at dawn and at night to see the fauna (more lively at dusk and dark) from the telescope for daytime vision and from the thermal imaging camera to peer in the dark. Tourists can peer from the safe distance the minor common game of feathers and fur, wild animals (roe deer, wild boar, hares, wolves, porcupines, foxes) and waterfowl (herons, cormorants, egrets, night herons). The habitat free from human activities has also been chosen by the mottled feathered bee-eater for nesting on the banks eroded to the Orba stream. The florid flora prevents the exploration of summer”.
Goal 12.5: reduce waste production
”The separate collection of household waste (paper, glass, plastic and aluminium) is extended to the private dwelling and the agriturismo. The product extracted from the compost bin is intended to fertilize the vegetable garden”.