Orto 2.0 is an Agricultural Cooperative Society born in Rome, Italy in the summer of 2017 and run by 4 young farmers, all under 30 years old. The youngsters aim, with their enterprise, to offer access to fresh, safe, and nutritious food to people living in the urban area of Rome by following agroecological principles.

“Orto 2.0 offers an innovative model for connecting framers to market, and it does so by using technology. We have imagined an alternative job for ourselves and an alternative lifestyle for the society we live in. An alternative that respects planetary boundaries and that prioritize people’ health.” said Lorenzo Artibani, co-founder of Orto 2.0.

Through Orto 2.0 anyone can “rent” a 50 m2 plot to create its vegetable garden in the countryside of Rome, Italy, with the advantage to have a team of 4 young farmers taking care of each aspect of the growing process: sowing, transplanting, cultivating, harvesting, and delivering. 

Users are provided with an app for mobile devices, through which they can set up their virtual vegetable patch choosing from a list of seasonal vegetables to plant. During the crop programming, users are guided by an intercropping system, to help them obtain greater yields. Through the same app, users can follow the status of their vegetable garden by receiving timely updates on each step of the growing cycle. 

 Orto 2.0 is a flexible tool, and it is up to users to decide to what extent they want to be involved in the handwork. For the most curious and eager to learn, the team offers training on vegetable gardening. Once the vegetables are ready to harvest the users receive a notification and can select whether to go to the field and collect their crops in person or to receive them at home within three hours after harvest. In this way, vegetables’ high quality and freshness are guaranteed.

“We try to push our clients to come and visit and work with us on their vegetable patch together with their families as frequently as possible, children are big fans of our experience!” The co-founder added: “We strongly believe that a radical transformation of our food systems implies a true reconnection of people to nature, and for this to happen, it is essential to reduce the distance between producers and consumers and rebuild connections to the land, water, seeds, plants, and all living beings.”  

In addition to their effort to create an urban-rural continuum, one of the cooperative’s aim is to raise awareness about the contamination caused by conventional farm practices. Coherently, Orto 2.0 makes use of agroecological practices. Natural methods of cultivation and circular economy practices are applied. Agricultural waste and compost are used to produce natural fertilizers. Nettle, tobacco, garlic, and tomato leaf macerates are used as natural pesticides. Finally, there is a serious effort to make production facilities independent with a long-term objective to produce natural and native seeds autonomously.

“We envision a transition from industrial food systems to transformative food systems that respect nature and its rhythm and ensures the local biodiversity, not only to mitigate climate change but also to preserve the local cultures and traditional knowledge of our region, that the industrial agriculture is sweeping away”, Lorenzo Artibani affirmed.

The project’s ultimate goal is to change people’s food habits towards more sustainable and healthier diets while conserving the soil’s health and re-establish local biodiversity.

Speaking in name of the cooperative, Artibani concluded saying: “Covid-19 had severely affected us as small producers, particularly in the first phase of the pandemic outbreak. Nonetheless, it represents an opportunity for us. In the last months, we are registering a growing interest in food safety and quality and the need for transparent information about food products’ origins and production processes, and a renewed attention towards the type of agriculture that is done with sustainability in mind. With Orto 2.0 we are offering all this at once and we are motivated to continue on this path”.

Lorenzo and his colleagues are one of many food heroes around the world, inspiring others to become food heroes too.

Photo credits: Lorenzo Castelli