The name of the student from Bisceglie stands out Andrea Miriana Ferro (University of Bologna) among the winners of the seventh edition of the AgroInnovation Award, recognition dedicated to 10 young graduates from different Italian universities who have distinguished themselves for their innovative degree and doctoral theses in the agricultural sector.
Conceived by Image Line in collaboration with the Accademia dei Geogofili, the award ceremony was held in the historic and prestigious Florentine institution that for over 250 years has promoted, among scholars and landowners, the studies of agronomy, forestry, economics and agricultural geography.
New this year was the special category “CAP4AgroInnovation: CAP and Rural Development” included within the CAP4AgroInnovation project, implemented by Image Line with the support of the European Union.
And Andrea Ferro was awarded in this category thanks to Master’s thesis by title “Economic Evaluation of Farm Biodiversity Monitoring Using Remote Sensing with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Results-Based Payments.”
Through this thesis, Andrea Ferro analyzed the use of drone-assisted remote sensing (UAV) for biodiversity monitoring, in line with the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The research highlighted how this technology can improve the collection of high-resolution data, facilitating the assessment and conservation of ecosystems. The study compares times and costs of traditional and UAV monitoring, detecting a slight superiority in terms of field speed for drones, but with a still long post-processing. Costs are currently comparable, suggesting the feasibility of drones as a valid alternative to traditional methods. Furthermore, the thesis explored the use of indicators to monitor biodiversity and support results-based payment schemes to farmers, improving agri-environmental policies.
The award ceremony was introduced by the speeches of the President of the Accademia dei Georgofili, Massimo Vincenzini, and the CEO of Image Line, Ivano Valmori, who expressed great pride in the new ideas and stimuli with which the new generations approach a constantly evolving sector such as agriculture.
In addition to the cash prize, the winners will see their theses published on the web portal of the Accademia dei Georgofili, on the online newspaper AgroNotizie and on the portals of the Image Line network – Fitogest.com, Fertilgest.com, Plantgest.com. An important opportunity to stand out within the Image Line community, which today has 300 thousand members, and to establish first contact with professionals in the agricultural sector.
