Starting on Friday, September 1, Riccardo Velasco, president of FEM and head of the genomic and fruit plant biology department at the Edmund Mach Foundation, will be the new Director of the Center for Viticulture and Oenology of the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of the agrarian economy (CREA).
Next to Velasco, will be Andrea Segrè, president of the Mach Foundation, recently appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Maurizio Martina, at the scientific council of the same research institute.
Velasco has been preparing for the new office for a while since he had said goodbye to the Board of Directors of the Mach Foundation already in the sitting of 10 August, in view of the imminent move to the CREA research center.
Who is Riccardo Velasco?
Man with viticulture in the blood, Riccardo Velasco began working as a researcher in the field of enology already in 1999, when he started collaborating at San Michele all’Adige in 1999. Undoubtedly a character to be remembered during the harvest period.
He also worked as head of the Genomic Department coordinating a large number of projects, such as the sequencing of vines and apple trees.
Velasco hasn’t lost time in expressing his enthusiasm for the new job challenge and in an interview he said:
“I thank the Foundation for the professional growth opportunities I have been given with these and many other projects. Together we have built an important path. Good relations with colleagues and with the Foundation itself are the starting point for a strong synergy that can be enhanced especially in the strategic sector of viticulture. This is also in line with the new graduate course hosted in the Center for Environmentally Friendly Agriculture (C3A) with which I intend to maintain close relationships, including teaching. “
Even the president of the Fondation Mach, Andrea Segrè, did not delay in congratulating Dr. Velasco for the achieved goal, probably in view of possible future collaboration between FEM and CREA, affirming:
“I would particularly like to thank the Minister for this important assignment in one of the agencies guarded by Mipaaf. I am sure that this appointment will only give further impetus to the relationship between the two institutions. “
Even Salvatore Parlato, President of CREA, wanted to share a few thoughts, saying that:
“The revival of the research that CREA is pursuing also depends on the involvement of the best protagonists who have distinguished themselves in the agri-food industry. With the arrival of Riccardo Velasco and the involvement of Andrea Segrè, there is a leap of quality in the research activity of these two prestigious institutions. “
What is CREA
CREA, refers to the most famous and important Italian research institute in the agri-food industry, monitored by Mipaaf. The multidisciplinary approach and skills with which it deals with the various agro-food issues that affect this century lead it to be one of the best in the area.
It deals with new technologies and sustainable development of the various agricultural, forestry and fisheries production systems, food production systems that meet the nutritional needs of a growing world population, to the use of biomass and waste for the production of materials and energy.
CREA boasts an indispensable internal organization that has more than 1,600 people, including 600 researchers and technologists. The CREA section dedicated to viticulture and oenology specializes in the conservation and enhancement of the germplasm of wine and table grape varieties with the aim of improving genetics, physiology, genomics and finally metabolomics of vines.