10 ha of greenhouses in the middle of the desert - this is the result of the cooperation between Enzo Puliatti, IT specialist, Nino Valenti, melon producer, Guido Benevento, specialist in international cooperation and Tarek Helmi, heart surgeon and farmer, who together established IBIS Fruit.
"At the end of 2013, we decided to grow melons using Italian technology but taking advantage of the sun and soil of Egypt. The land is 80 km south of Cairo towards Alexandria. We are cultivating the Magenta variety and irrigation is carried out using wells."
"While Nino took care of the quality of the produce, we worked on a traceability system. A QR code enables the tracing of the history of each single melon in real time," explains Puliatti. A link also shows the cultivated area overlapped on a Google Earth image.
"We have tried to make producers and the cultivation process more accessible to final consumers, providing a sort of educational experience, especially for kids."
Harvesting started on March 25th and the produce will reach Italy via Rome and Milan. Exports will continue until May. "We will start to ship reefers in April. This year, we are expecting to export between 400 and 500 tons of melons."
"In the future, we are aiming at monitoring greenhouses using webcams and weather stations."
IBIS Melons - Product Sheet
Variety: Magenta
Type of crop: Protected
Place of production: Egypt, Regua (Alexandria Desert Road, approx Km. 80)
Soil: sandy (desert)
Start: 2013
Technician: Nino Valenti (from Pachino, Italy)
IBIS partners: Guido Benevento, Enzo Puliatti
Commercial Farm: TAMA Farms
Certification: GlobalGAP
Expected volumes: 400-500 tons
Expected start of harvesting: 20th March
Harvesting period: March-April-May
Shipment: Air freight initially, then reefers
Traceability: specific online traceability for each melon using a QR-code and a lot code.
Contacts:
Enzo Puliatti
Tel.: +20 100 1708470
Email: epuliatti@itsyn.com