“Leadership in durum wheat is strengthened”

Good news for Marche agriculture that arrived yesterday. At the documented request of Confagricoltura, the Marche Regional Council approved the resolution granting an exemption from the obligation of agricultural rotation imposed by Europe with the 2023-2027 CAP.

This means that a farm will be able to sow durum wheat – the main crop in the region – in the same land for two consecutive years. The only limit is that, in the three-year period, that same land is included in a rotation of at least three years and that a quota equal to at least 35% of the surface is allocated each year to a change of main crop. For example: a farm that has 100 hectares of arable crops will have to rotate only 35 hectares every year, leaving the remaining 65 hectares of land for wheat every year.

This exception is justified by the conditions of “arid farming”, i.e. the hot arid climate and the characteristics of the land in which the arable land is grown.

A result of great importance for the primary sector, as it highlights Confagricoltura Marchewhose associated companies manage over half of the over 100 thousand hectares dedicated to durum wheat every year, making the Marche the third largest region in Italy for the production of this cereal intended for the pasta industry.

“This is an absolutely important measure for the agricultural sector of the Marche region – he commented Mauro Acciarri, of the presidential committee of Confagricoltura Marche – . With the new rules of the CAP, which prohibit the reuse of land for the same arable land from one year to the next, we would have risked leaving almost 20 thousand hectares of land uncultivated, taking into account that the lack of rain prevents us from starting spring and non-spring crops all the land currently cultivated with wheat is suitable for use as sunflower, rapeseed or sorghum. The regional agriculture service must be acknowledged for having prepared the administrative documents in the best possible way to justify the approval of this resolution, starting from the rainfall data which certifies the strong drop in rainfall recorded in the Marche in recent years. Now, by being able to carry out the ringing, it allows the Marche farms to have the possibility of an additional income that could not be guaranteed before”.

On the same wavelength Alessandro Alessandrini, president of the Ancona Agricultural Consortiumthe main durum wheat storage center in the region. “I thank the president Francesco Acquaroli and the councilor for agriculture Andrea Maria Antonini for understanding the reasons of the agricultural world and taking on board the concerns that this limit imposed by the CAP would have entailed for our companies. When there is proactive dialogue and when political guidelines take into account the observations that come from the primary sector, then directing the offices to identify the best solutions, it means that we are on the right path”.