PAVIA A day of commitment and mobilization from the North to the South of the country, during which the challenges and opportunities that the agricultural sector is facing were discussed. From the European signature collection for the mandatory origin of all food to wildlife, through the issues still open in Europe and up to the debt moratorium in favor of agricultural companies. All this (and much more) was discussed at the Collegio Nuovo in Pavia, where the National Coldiretti Pride Day was celebrated this morning.
Hundreds of farmers from all over the Pavia area gathered in the great hall of the Pavia University College, while at the same time the yellow Coldiretti flags were flying on many farms. Today, in fact, the 80th anniversary of the most important Italian agricultural organization was celebrated throughout Italy: at the same time as the one that took place in Pavia, around a hundred assemblies were held throughout Italy, with over 50 thousand farmers involved from the north to the south of the country.
“We met with our members to discuss the challenges and opportunities that the agricultural sector is facing and also the upcoming battles that will see Coldiretti engaged on the front line in the months to come – underlines Silvia Garavaglia, President of Coldiretti Pavia – It was a very important event for our Organisation, the largest in Italy and Europe and which this year celebrates 80 years since its foundation”.
To celebrate this particular anniversary, Coldiretti Pavia has decided to symbolically reward the oldest and youngest of its members. A special plaque was given to Lino Sturla, a 101-year-old farmer: he is the oldest member of Coldiretti Pavia, who still today runs his farm of four hectares of grass and alfalfa in Rocca Susella, on the hills of ‘Oltrepò Pavese. “He regularly comes to the Coldiretti Voghera offices to present all the paperwork and questions relating to his activity, and this year he also filled out the agricultural census – they explain from the Coldiretti offices – And he renewed his tractor license in 2022, because he would never give up working in his fields.”
Just 21 years old, Giulio Ranucci is the youngest member of Coldiretti Pavia, but he has chosen to dedicate his life to the protection of the oldest breeds. The young farmer from Pietragavina, in fact, has decided to raise a dozen Cabannine on his farm, an endangered breed of cows of which only 700 specimens remain in all of Italy. Ranucci leaves his cows free to graze on the hills of the Oltrepò Pavese, where he also breeds Merens horses (also an endangered breed) and where he also cultivates meadows and orchards.
“This has always been the strength of Coldiretti, having a look at the past but looking to the future – underlines Silvia Garavaglia, President of Coldiretti Pavia – For this reason, in addition to celebrating our eightieth birthday, during the National Coldiretti Pride Day we also wanted to share the first results achieved with our mobilization at Brenner, where we have been in recent weeks.” Among the issues at the center of the meeting at the Collegio Nuovo, in fact, there was also the need to guarantee transparency on the origin of food thanks to the collection of a million signatures to promote a European law that requires the clear indication of the origin on all food labels.
“It is no longer tolerable to witness scenes like those experienced during the protest at Brenner a week ago – explains Antonio Tessari, Director of Coldiretti Pavia – where we saw hams, tomato paste, fruit and vegetables arriving which, after the last transformation , essentially became Italian products, with imports of foreign foods reaching an all-time high in 2023: the elimination of the customs code for the origin of food products must be a priority”.
During the Assembly which took place today in Pavia, wild boars and wildlife were also discussed, another burning issue for Pavia’s agriculture. «The damage caused by wild animals is not reimbursed except in a minimal part and often after many years, with a situation that has led many to give up reporting the attacks they have suffered – underlines the Director of Coldiretti Pavia – Among other things, the few compensations that arrive never cover the real value of the destroyed product: for example, a wine producer who has had his vineyard devastated by wild boars will only be compensated for the simple value of the grapes”. Added to the damage to crops was the alarm of African swine fever, the disease not transmissible to humans which the 2.3 million wild boars present in the country today risk spreading in the countryside, endangering pig farms in the area and , with them, a sector which between production and related industries is worth around 20 billion euros and employs one hundred thousand people. Hence the request that bounces from north to south from the Coldiretti Assemblies: to put an immediate stop to the proliferation of wild animals, giving farmers the opportunity to defend their lands. In fact, there is a lack of extraordinary regional containment plans and effective regulatory tools to defend the territory from a real invasion.
The other problem that weighs on the balance sheets of agricultural companies is the collapse of the prices paid to producers in many sectors, from rice to wine. «Coldiretti was the first and only association to denounce a multinational because it had unilaterally modified the milk agreements and had not paid the agreed price to the farmers – reiterates Silvia Garavaglia, President of Coldiretti Pavia – After five months the Ministry Inspectorate sanctioned this multinational after having found its unfair conduct in hundreds of cases. An epochal fact for an action that Coldiretti farmers now want to extend to all supply chains.” During the conference organized on Tuesday 30 April by Coldiretti Pavia, we also took stock of the new resources for the agricultural world, from the latest calls for proposals of the Rural Development Plan of the Lombardy Region to the possibilities of the 2024 insurance campaign.
