Table Grapes in Apulia Region and Internet of Things: Innovation and Sustainability. The Case of The Iof (Internet Of Food And Farm) Project

In a context of increasing economic competition, Italy is certainly the cradle of excellent agrofood products, recognized and appreciated at global level. Among them table grapes play a vital role in the panorama of Italian production, as witnessed by official data provided by ISTAT (National statistical institute) and related institutions. This is particularly true with regard to Apulia region, where the vast majority of production and cultivated fields are located. The need to concile quantity requests with traditional high quality and, as well, with sustainability makes it essential to employ effective ad hoc technological innovations. The adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and, specifically, the creation of an IoT network to monitor the complete supply chain of table grapes, from field to fork, is of great importance and interest. Generally speaking, the mentioned devices and network allow farmers to monitor and optimize the growing behaviour of grapes and ripening, jointly with the amounts of fertilizer and pesticides used, as well as the irrigation process. All these features strongly rely on IoT devices and systems deployed on the field, in the packaging phase and in transportation. The present contribution aims at conducting an in depth analysis of the Internet of Food and Farm (IoF2020) project use case in Apulia region and its implications for the future enhancement of sustainable cultivation of table grapes.