The University of Palermo Hosts IFAMA on the workshop “Blockchain and digitainability across food supply chains”

On 20th of February, 2025 the University of Palermo hosted IFAMA and supported to bring together academic experts from different countries and institutions to discuss trends and innovations in agrifood supply chains. The event was supported by the projects W.E. B.E.S.T. PRIN, InSTraDaRE, and AgriTech Spoke 9.

The workshop was organized by Professor Antonino Galati from the University of Palermo, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Forest Sciences, who also served as the chair. Following his opening remarks, Professor Massimo Iovino, coordinator of the PhD program and Professor Baldassare Portolano, Head of the Department delivered an institutional greeting to the participants.

The event featured insightful presentations from esteemed academics across Europe: Professor Loïc Sauvée (Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle, France) and Professor Mariantonietta Fiore (University of Foggia, Italy), both members of IFAMA Europe, initiated the discussion. Professor Sauvée highlighted trends in Blockchain and digitainability across agrifood chains, while Professor Fiore presented the University of Foggia’s contributions to the W.E. B.E.S.T. Project illustrating the platform created for wine and olive oil producers to increase their awareness regarding this topic. Professors Angel Peiró Signes and Marival Segarra-Oña (University of Valencia, Spain) addressed the measurement of circularity and the role of food waste in sustainable supply chains. Dr. Giulia Chiaraluce (Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy) shared W.E. B.E.S.T. Project findings on the willingness and challenges faced by Italian wine and olive oil producers in adopting Blockchain Technology. Dr. Nino Adamashvili (a researcher at the University of Palermo, Italy; and an invited lecturer at the Georgian Technical University, Georgia) presented case studies of Italian wine and olive oil producers who have already implemented BCT, analyzing the main drivers and barriers from the perspective of the open innovation model. Professor Roberto Tonelli (University of Cagliari, Italy) showcased a blockchain prototype developed within the W.E. B.E.S.T. and TrackIT Projects. Finally, the results of the InSTraDaRE project were presented. Dr. Leonardo Agnusdei (University of Salento, Italy; University of Palermo) discussed a decision support system for wine supply chain traceability. Dr. Girolamo Ganci (University of Palermo, Italy) introduced digital traceability solutions aimed at enhancing the resilience of the wine and olive oil supply chains.

Below you can find some photos from the event: