Vision & goals for 2030

LONG-TERM SCOPE

MULTIRES is the first agro-forestry company in the territory of Siena that is explicitly oriented towards the supply of a large variety of ecosystem services generated from the restoration and enhancement of its natural woodland and agricultural capital

MULTIRES bases its concept of production on the ‘ecological’, even before the economic, principle of ‘resilience’, where only a multiplicity of (self)produced goods and services can guarantee subsistence even in situations of economic recession or adverse climatic events. This contrasts to the unsustainable concept of ‘efficiency’, where business is generally based on a single agricultural solution or highly profitable production chain. An efficiency-based approach would probably favour higher profits, but at the same time make the production system more fragile and easily subject to loss or failure in the event of adverse endogenous or exogenous disturbances.

Therefore, ambition of MULTIRES is to extend its entrepreneurial boundaries and become a ‘demonstrator of sustainability’, bearing witness to how it is possible to live ‘low impact’ (or even positive impact) without having to transform one’s lifestyle, while improving its quality. MULTIRES aims to be a living laboratory capable of acquiring and transferring knowledge, products, and services in a sustainable manner, with an orientation towards short supply chains and trade in high-quality products. A vision that aims to create an alternative that can be repeated in other contexts, an opportunity for technological renewal integrated with agro-ecological criteria for the protection of biodiversity and the preservation of natural capital, providing a unique primary value for the company’s business.

WHAT WE WILL DO TO REACH OUR AIMS

MULTIRES would like to make evident that the human-nature interaction can result in the provision of a wide variety of ecosystem services for humans and benefits for biodiversity. Listed below are all those services that are part of the company’s medium- to long-term production programme. In line with the goal of achieving full sustainability in 2030, the company will start (or increase, for services already provided) the production of:

● Food, material and energy supply services:raw materials and energy resources such as firewood and woody biomass for mulching and fertilisation; energy from renewable sources (solar photovoltaic); drinking and irrigation water; medicinal, aromatic and essential oil plants; alfalfa for cattle feed; honey; extra-virgin olive oil; seasonal vegetables and fruit; eggs (and possibly meat) from extensive chicken farming; truffles, mushrooms and other edible forest products; game meat hunted in the forest. All these services, which already have a market value, will be partly consumed to satisfy local food and energy needs, and partly (the surplus) marketed as certified products of the agro-forestry system (possibly at 0 km). With the profit from their sale, it will be possible to re-pay the costs of maintaining farm’s management activities, make new investments and purchase consumables and basic amenities and commodities that the farm cannot generate on its own;

● S ervices for the regulation and maintenance of natural cycles (carbon absorption and storage; protection against soil erosion; increase in biodiversity and habitat quality for pollinators, migratory birds, etc.), and of freshwater recovery. These services will be partly enhanced within the natural capital adoption offer of the Wownature programme for Bosco Cinque Querce. They will also be partly quantified and monitored as part of the company’s sustainable ecosystem management certifications (BIO farming and FSC®);

● Recreational services, such as hiking, horse riding, cycling, based on the creation of a trail network of approximately 6 km (currently being developed) and, in a longer time horizon, on the implementation of an agritourism system with “field accommodation” (such as the creation of a rural campsite).