The fig tree is a valuable resource due to its ability to adapt to difficult conditions: its deep roots reduce erosion; it attracts pollinators and wildlife, contributing to biodiversity; its fruits create economic opportunities for small farmers; and its strong cultural value promotes rural tourism. All these characteristics make the fig tree a strategic plant for the future of the Mediterranean basin. To maximise its potential in terms of sustainability and productivity, AGROFIG - Fostering agroforestry benefits through fig tree cultivation in the Mediterranean, a new European project promoted by PRIMA (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area), has just started. The project is led by the University of Pisa, with the plant genomics research group of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Agro-environmental Sciences at the forefront.
The plant genomics group of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Agro-environmental Sciences. From the left: Dr. Alberto Vangelisti, Prof. Andrea Cavallini, Dr. Marco Castellacci, Prof. Flavia Mascagni, Dr. Samuel Simoni, Prof. Lucia Natali, Dr. Gabriele Usai, Prof. Tommaso Giordani
“Using tree crops resistant to adverse environmental conditions caused by climate change is essential,” says Tommaso Giordani, head of AGROFIG and associate professor of Agricultural Genetics at the University of Pisa. “The fig tree has a great ability to adapt to dry, calcareous and saline environments, which makes this species extremely useful in the Mediterranean region”.
“Although fig cultivation is very ancient, even mentioned in the Bible, and Italy was the world’s largest producer until the late 1960s, production has significantly decreased in recent decades,” continues Giordani. “Our goal is to use genomic techniques to differentiate and select the best varieties and to relaunch this particularly resilient and nutritionally rich tree crop.”
At a scientific level, the team from the University of Pisa will analyse the genetic variability of Italian fig varieties and assess the impact of this crop at the agronomic, economic and soil microbiological levels, in combination with other herbaceous species such as legumes and other forages.
AGROFIG, funded for three years with over EUR 850.000, continues the work started with FIGGEN, another fig project also coordinated by Giordani. In recent years, the UniPi plant genomics group, of which he is a member, has deepened the work on this species through various scientific publications. The most recent, published in February 2025 in The Plant Journal, one of the most prestigious journals in the field of plant biology, extends the knowledge of the fig genome, which was already the subject of a paper published in the same journal in 2020.
Other professors from the Department also participate in the research project: Prof. Daniele Antichi of the Agronomy section, Prof. Monica Agnolucci of the Agricultural Microbiology section, and Prof. Gianluca Brunori of the Agricultural Economics section. Other partners are the Extremadura Scientific and Technological Research Centre (CICYTEX) in Spain, the University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) in Tunisia, the Aydın Adnan Menderes University (ADU) in Turkey, the Azienda Agricola Dimostrativa “I giardini di Pomona” (AAP), Brindisi, Italy.