University of Florence

The Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence (UniFI), was founded on January 1, 2019 from the unification of Department of Agri-food Production and Environmental Sciences (DISPAA) and Department of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Systems (GESAAF). From then on, it has represented the only Department of the Agricultural area of the University of Florence. The Department is located in various areas, including the Cascine, Quaracchi and Sesto Fiorentino complexes, via Donizetti and via Maragliano. DAGRI is divided into 10 Sections representing its areas of competence.

The Department combines skills from numerous disciplines that share similar methodological approaches, although in different scientific fields. The objective is to carry out basic and applied research in the field of plant and animal production, the protection and recovery of the environment and, in more general terms, the study of the chemical, physical, biological and genetic components of the agro-environmental systems and their interactions. The activities are centred on the study, through integrated and multidisciplinary research, of the components that contribute to determine the quantity and quality of agricultural production, food and environmental protection (soil, micro-organisms, climate, plants, animals, biodiversity).

The Department, in addition to the 13 courses of the School of Agriculture, is co-referent of courses of the School of Architecture and of the School of Human Health. It also offers post-graduate training courses, including two PhD programmes (Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Sustainable Management of Agricultural, Forest and Environmental Resources), two post-graduation vocational masters (Management and Marketing of Wine Producers, Agricultural Heritage Systems) and professional refresher courses. The research activity is developed in numerous regional, national and European projects (H2020, Life), financed by public and private structures. Relations with the territory and companies are relevant, in the form of innovation and development projects, conventions and agreements, through which research results are made available to operators for the development of the sector. The internationalization and cooperation activities with developing countries are also important and represent one of the main goals of the Department.

The Experimental Animal Farms, founded almost a century ago and in charge for selection, conservation and distribution across the territory of breeders from species endowed with zootechnical interest, and in particular from poultry species, hold the role of conservation centre for the project.

Project leader
Prof. Arianna Buccioni
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry
Piazzale delle Cascine, 18 – 50144 Firenze
e-mail: arianna.buccioni@unifi.it