President Taschetta, Sicilian farmers are protesting because they can’t take it anymore. Was all this predictable, or did it happen without anyone noticing the problems over the years?
«I am convinced that each of us ends up where we are headed. For some time now I have been saying in every possible forum that the situation is collapsing and that if we don’t change course it will end badly. Producers can no longer make ends meet and no one can continue to produce at a loss. Over 40,000 hectares of vineyards have been lost in the last twenty-five years; If the situation doesn’t change, many more will be lost in the next five years.”
In the province of Trapani, viticulture has suffered one setback after another. First the downy mildew, then the drought. The reservoirs are almost empty and the water often flows into the sea. How do you define this situation?
«It seems like the “perfect storm” made to destroy everything, a kind of fury that is seriously undermining people’s morale. I don’t understand how anyone can still deny climate change. When I was a kid, serious attacks of downy mildew rarely occurred, a few treatments were enough and production was easily achieved; now it becomes more and more difficult, more treatments are needed and often without great results. Water will be the mother of all battles, apart from a few prayers we can do little to make it rain, but we can do a lot to harness the water that arrives and distribute it when needed. Unfortunately, this aspect has been neglected for too many years and now it will be difficult to make up for lost time. If it doesn’t rain we risk ending up in the history books for one of the worst catastrophes this area has ever experienced.”
In your opinion, what measures can be implemented to resolve the crisis that is causing agriculture to suffer?
«The problem is complex and there is no simple solution. We need a set of measures that, coordinated in long-term projects, can lead us to better situations. Aid is needed to keep farmers alive; if someone is drowning you have to throw them the life preserver, then you can think about swimming lessons. The request for green harvesting fits into this context. I hope no one thinks it could be the solution; but in this context it can quickly bring some liquidity into the producers’ coffers. It will be important to keep the quantity available per company low, so as to give more producers the opportunity to access it. We need a serious water plan that seeks in every way to make most of our territory irrigable. I hope we realize that we cannot risk having all those who cross the bridge over the Strait to get to Sicily find themselves in a desert.”
The farmer is not given the right value of his work and thus risks generating land abandonment. What to do?
«No one can think that we can continue to produce at a loss, but we must be clear that the damage of abandonment will not only be for the producers. We generate a proximity economy; if people leave there is a risk of real depopulation which will make an area already tormented by an infinite number of problems even poorer. We need to think of a figure of a farmer who is the custodian of the territory, otherwise we risk finding ourselves immersed in a desert of photovoltaic panels, in a sort of power plant where I don’t think people will want to come on holiday. Sooner or later it will be necessary to put in place rules that limit the excessive power of large-scale distribution which decides prices without taking production costs into account. In general, when someone has great competitive advantages, he is inclined to use them and the weakest have no choice but to succumb, or to work hard to become stronger.”
You have appealed to the institutions several times. What do you feel like saying today to those in the national and regional government?
«I don’t claim to have a solution for every problem, I prefer to focus on the things that concern our sector. Whatever choice we make will be conditioned by the ability we have to make our land irrigated. I therefore believe that we need a water plan into which to pour the large amount of funds for the next twenty years. Encourage capitalization and mergers between companies to make them strong and capable of facing world markets; encourage the entry of managers into companies; encourage investments in wine tourism and hospitality. A careful study is essential to understand the feasibility of creating collective brands that identify the territory. All the famous areas of the world are remembered for some of their peculiarities, what about us? And then again: encouraging organic production and all practices that ensure true sustainability; provide high-level technical assistance that helps producers achieve sustainable quality and quantity levels; improve the road system in the countryside, today it is difficult even with tractors to reach the fields. Then, to calm the supply and prevent people from selling their land registers, it is advisable to extend the expiry period of the rights to at least 10 years; this would allow production to be reduced without losing the regional viticultural heritage, which can be used when the market stabilizes at more decent prices. And again: investing with serious research projects in the countryside, in the oenological part and above all in marketing. Paolo Coelho says that you don’t drown if you go to the bottom, you drown if you stay under water. It is a message of hope for our land; Sicily has all the characteristics to become a successful land, but it is essential to take action so that it can become so.”
Max Firreri
Tags: AGRICOLTURA Taschetta situation collapsing dont change badly
