Agenda: A New Tool For Sustainable Farm Management, Integrated In The Agri-Environmental Policy Of The Eu

AGeNDA is an Italian acronym which stands for Analysis and Integrated Management of the Farm (Analisi e GEstione iNtegrata Dell'Azienda agraria). It denominates a new software developed by a research project carried out at the Department of Agronomy, Environment and Crop Production (DAAPV, University of Padova) in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency of the Veneto Region (ARPAV). Although developed from scratch, the software originates from a past joint research carried out by the two above mentioned institutions in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Center for Farm Financial Management (CFFM) of the University of Minnesota. The joint research started in the early 1990's, focussing on the Planetor software and, in particular, on the evaluation of its potentials for Italy and the development of an Italian version. The source codes and the elaboration procedures of the old and new software tools have nothing in common. Nevertheless, the methodological approach of the two tools is very similar and so is the input structure of the databases. AGeNDA, in fact adopts an approach similar to that of the previous software in utilising an extensive knowledge base about the environment and the production processes (crops and livestock) saved on databases, which are browsed (and edited if required) at the moment of the practical on farm implementation. The paper presents the results, current activities and future prospects of the AGeNDA Project, with the aim of informing the Italian - American group and stimulating possible new collaborations in the future.