The climate “splits” durum wheat Tuscany in two. Downward estimates for the production of durum wheat which should reduce this year by 20% at a regional level with differences, even substantial, between the southern part, Maremma, Arezzo and Livorno in particular, where expectations are for higher yields, and the Northern part, Pisa, Lucca and Pistoia where, on the contrary, the abundant rainfall between November and December made it difficult to respect the sowing programs with farmers now aiming to recover the lost land with spring varieties such as sunflower, soya, corn and sorghum. I am providing a first estimate one month after threshing Coldiretti Tuscany And Tyrrhenian Agricultural Consortium – Italian Agricultural Consortia. Last year in Tuscany just under 2 million quintals of wheat were harvested against 63 thousand hectares of cultivated areas.
The exploit of the past cereal year with the increase in cultivated areas (+6%) after a long period of progressive reductions, 10 thousand hectares less in a five-year period, had given rise to hopes for a revival of the regional granary also thanks to the strong push of supply chain contracts that guarantee safe quotations to farmers. But once again the climate cut off the “legs”. “We expect good yields in the band from Livorno to Maremma which were not affected by the persistent rains between October and December which made it impossible to work the land and sow it in the northern part of the region. – explains Fabio Lombardi, Director of the Tyrrhenian Agricultural Consortium – Compared to last year, the climatic events were reversed: the sowing had taken place on time but what ruined everything was the rain between May and June which had lowered the yields and favored the development of plant diseases. In recent years, climate change has played a decisive role in the programs of farmers who have also had to deal with skyrocketing production costs”.
The other element that has created cracks in the confidence of cereal growers is the invasion of foreign products which contributes to the collapse of the price of wheat, creating distortions along the supply chains where a kilo of pasta can cost up to two euros per kilogram compared to 30 cents awarded to farmers. This thesis is reinforced by the arrival in Italy in 2023 of almost 900 million kilos of Russian and Turkish wheat, an invasion never recorded in the history of our country, according to the analysis of the Divulga Study Center. A veritable river of product which, added to that of Canadian wheat, which has now exceeded one billion kilos, has had an impact on the prices of national wheat. Furthermore, as in the case of Canada, it is a cereal treated before harvesting with glyphosate, a method prohibited in our country. “We need to work together to demand from the next EU parliament a label of origin for all EU food products and say enough to unfair competition by decisively introducing the principle of reciprocity to ensure that all products entering the Union respect the same standards from the environmental, health and compliance points of view of the labor standards envisaged in the internal market also in light of the free trade agreements under discussion. – explains Letizia Cesani, President of Coldiretti Tuscany – Wheat is a driver product of the pasta supply chains, a food that is inevitable on our tables for us Italians, which we must return to producing by recognizing a fair price for our farmers which must never be below the production costs as foreseen by the law against unfair practices desired by us”.
Precisely to cope with fluctuations in market prices and protect farmers, Consorzi Agrari d’Italia has implemented supply chain contracts and wheat futures, as well as important investments in research. The agreements, stipulated between the farmers and Cai guarantee a premium to the farmer which can reach – for durum wheat – up to 8% more than the market price. The model to follow is that of the agreement signed in 2019 between the Italian Agricultural Supply Chain and the Pastificio Fabianelli of Castiglione Fiorentino (AR) for the production of 100% Tuscan pasta which ensures farmers a guaranteed minimum price which is always above of production costs. And recently the one signed with the historic Pastificio Chelucci of Pistoia which enhances Made in Maremma wheat.
Source: Coldiretti Tuscany
