Mar 26, 2026
3 min read
How transcranial direct current stimulation modulates amyloid fibrils and prevents Alzheimer's plaque formation
Rome, March 26. (Adnkronos/Labitalia) - The first fully integrated, digital and monitored tobacco supply chain monitored by satellite data and artificial intelligence was born in Italy.This is the aim of the three-year Memorandum of Understanding (2026-2028) signed today in Naples by Bot Italia, Confegricultura, New Tab (Vento) and Protab Italia (Campania).The agreement, signed in Palazzo San Teodoro during the 'Tobacco Supply Chain 4.0: Integration and Digitalization for a Sustainable Future' program sponsored by the Municipality of Naples, with the collaboration of the Federation of the Orders of Agronomists and Forest Doctors of Campania and an important development mark of the development of the Agronetwork.Linked to the chain, all stages from farm planning to production are integrated into one system, a digital ecosystem.
The Memorandum of Understanding includes more than 6,000 farmers along the entire value chain and is part of a three-year program agreement announced by BAT Italia in September 2025 with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, and provides for the purchase of up to 15,000 tons of Italian tobacco per year. With this new agreement, BAT Italia firmly reiterates its commitment to the chainsupply, guaranteeing the purchase of domestically produced cigarettes through its two divisional operators Nutab and Protab Italia, and ensuring continuity and financial support for the 400 small and medium enterprises involved.
This agreement is not only about the volume of products, it also represents a decisive step in Bat's long-term strategy in Italy to strengthen investments in the tobacco supply chain, promote more advanced production models and enable a broad technological transformation. In fact, this MoU establishes the company's commitment to support innovation, focusing on digitization, the use of artificial intelligence and process traceability, helping to develop the first fully digital tobacco supply chain in Italy.The Italian tobacco sector is the first in Europe producing more than 43 million tons of leaves per year, it has confirmed as a strategic asset for the country and today represents a pillar of the economy and employment necessary to accelerate digitalization, to maintain high standards of quality and competitiveness. Thanks to this agreement, the supply chains involved will move to a fully integrated model. In this model, production plans are shared between all parties. Data is collected and analyzed in real time. Traceability supply chainis fully guaranteed.
An approach that strengthens the value of Made in Italy and enables more efficient, transparent and sustainable management.The technical culmination of this MoU is Weplant, a project developed by startup Justonearth in collaboration with BAT Italia.Through the integration of artificial intelligence and satellite data, Weplant transforms field management into an advanced model of precision agriculture, allowing you to:Optimization of water and fertilizer use.Continuous monitoring of production and environmental performance.A distinctive element is the Campagna Digital Notebook.This simplifies obligations for agricultural companies and ensures full traceability across the supply chain, which is the basis for ESG audits and reporting.The system also enables significant operational cost savings and positions the Italian tobacco supply chain as a leading example in the ecological and digital transition of agriculture.
The project is a benchmark in agricultural innovation that is able to combine environmental sustainability, economic efficiency and digital transformation, becoming a model that can also be replicated in other agricultural sectors and in international contexts.
"By signing this memorandum, Simone Mase, President and CEO of Bat Italia, we aim to confirm our role as a strategic partner of Italian agriculture by putting digital innovation at the service of an industrial model recognized as one of the best in our country. Through Weplant, we provide farmers with tools that increase their ability to control new technologies and efficiency in this field. baseof planning, innovation and a long-term perspective."
"At the time when Europe revises the Tax on Tobacco Products (TED) and the Tobacco Products Directive (Tpd), Italy can offer Brussels a special contribution based on the concrete experience of the best supply chain. The decisions in the coming months will be decisive: that is why it is necessary to work together for a trade and consumption framework" Andrea Di Paolo, Bit Italia Vice President.
The evolution of the tobacco supply chain is part of the path that sees national companies and agricultural representatives working to build a more integrated, new and sustainable model: "Agreement signed between Masaf and Bat Italia, last September 9 in Trieste - said Patrizio Giacomo La Pietra, a secret ministry agreement, under a secret program, the production of the country supports the model 5, the production of the country supports the model of Masaf and Bat Italia. Tons of tobacco this waywanted to help grow and promote Italian tobacco.
"Today - he explained - we are taking another important step in the process of valorizing the chain, strengthening the reference to integration, transparency and security announced the goals of the work since the day that Minister Lollobrigida and I took office. Innovation both at the scientific level and from the point of view of the technology adopted, see for example the process of digitalisation,is the key to competition and good development of the sector that we need to have the cooperation and cooperation of public organizations that we can achieve through cooperation and cooperation interest of the agricultural world and especially the tobacco industry, which Italy is the leader.
The memorandum increases the role of Configagricultura, which aims through its proprietary platform HubFarm to create possible synergies with WePlant to define a sustainable and integrated management model.This digital architecture aims to become a reference for related tobacco companies, providing the necessary tools to drive environmental transformation and unify the standards of excellence that the market demands.
"Tobacco - emphasized Maximilian Giansanti, President of Confagricoltura - is an Italian excellence: we are the main producer in Europe and, thanks to the high standards of safety and integrity that we design in our supply chain, we represent the international best practice in the fight against the illicit market. We have what it takes to be competitive at global level. For this reason, we hope for greater support from the countries that innovate and encourage us to push for greater Union support in innovation and innovation, with thiswe can respond to it, and that’s it.”“We are proud to participate in this project and share with these partners the key artificial intelligence and tools that lead to supply chain growth.”
The Weplant project represents a process that brings together two tobacco producing organizations that have signed a memorandum, New Tab in Veneto and Protab Italia in Campania.Both are committed to actively promoting the adoption of new technologies within their membership, systematically integrating them into the annual plan for technical assistance services.
“The signing of this protocol - said Emanuele Torresani, president of New Tab - represents a decisive step to strengthen the governance of the tobacco supply chain.For New Tab, this is an opportunity to integrate, with its partners, an efficient and transparent production model, based on a shared system and improved data management.
Similarly, in Campania, Protab Italia sees the agreement as a driving force for the efficiency of the regional tobacco sector." The integration of satellite technology and the field notebook in the management routine of our partner farms - emphasized Vincenzo Argo, CEO of Protab Italia - is a decisive step. Through WePlant and constant technical support, we bring tobacco cultivation towards an international standard in Campania, where quality and standard 40 conform. the harvest is guaranteed by the granular and scientific data protection andthe benefits of managing our farm and the benefits of managing the environment, benefits and benefits."
