The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, spoke at Question Time in the Chamber of Deputies yesterday, answering questions on three crucial topics: the Single Register of Inspection Controls on agricultural businesses, the countermeasures to drought in Sicily, and the limitation of the consumption of agricultural land. Let’s see them in detail.
Answer to the question regarding the single register of inspection controls on agricultural businesses
Lollobrigida outlined the importance of the Single Register of Inspection Controls, established in 2015, as an essential tool for the coordination and optimization of controls on agricultural businesses. This register allows you to verify whether a company has already undergone inspections, their nature and results, thus reducing the duplication of inspections and improving administrative efficiency. The Minister underlined the strengthening of the control control room, which includes various agri-food control bodies such as the Central Inspectorate for quality protection and fraud suppression, the Carabinieri Command for agri-food protection and others. The control room, which met just this morning, found greater coordination and improved efficiency in the control system, with economic and qualitative benefits. Furthermore, Lollobrigida mentioned the implementation of the RUCI, with over 171 thousand checks uploaded in 2023, and the commitment to simplifying and reducing bureaucratic burdens for agricultural businesses, especially those with a surface area of less than 10 hectares. Finally, he highlighted the objective of promoting a reform of the European Customs Code to ensure that goods entering the European Union are subject to high-quality checks.
Answer to the question regarding the measures to combat the drought phenomenon adopted by the government for Sicily
Responding to the Honorable Castiglione of Forza Italia, Lollobrigida listed the measures adopted by the Meloni Government to combat the drought in Sicily, contained in the Agriculture decree in force since 16 May. You underlined the importance of the Control Room for the water crisis and the appointment of Dr. Nicola dell’Acqua as extraordinary national commissioner for the adoption of urgent interventions. The Agriculture decree strengthened the powers of the Commissioner, allocating 102 million euros for urgent interventions against water scarcity. Sicily, particularly affected by drought, will receive 15 million euros from the National Solidarity Fund to compensate agricultural businesses and breeders for the damage suffered from July 2023 to May 2024. The Minister also highlighted the collaboration with the Government of the Sicilian Region to ensure the rapid distribution of resources to farmers. Furthermore, the Council of Ministers declared a state of emergency for 12 months in Sicily, establishing 20 million euros for the first interventions. While awaiting the declaration of the exceptional nature of the calamitous events by the Regions, the Minister concluded by underlining the importance of the primary sector in Southern Italy, and the Government’s efforts to maintain agriculture as a driving force for territorial development.
Answer to the question regarding the limitation of the consumption of agricultural land
Lollobrigida addressed the issue of limiting the consumption of agricultural land, a central aspect in the recent Agriculture Decree. She stated that the consumption of productive land represents a threat to the country’s food sovereignty. The Agriculture Decree provides for an absolute ban on the installation of photovoltaic systems with ground-mounted modules in agricultural areas, except in non-productive areas and for systems already in progress. Instead, he promoted theadvanced agrivoltaic, which allows cultivation under solar panels. Lollobrigida praised the success of the measure Agricultural Park, which finances the installation of solar panels on the roofs of rural buildings. This measure achieved broad support, with 14,000 businesses financed for a total of 1.35 billion euros. The European Commission has recognized the effectiveness of the project, awarding further 850 million eurosbringing the overall budget to 2.35 billion euros and tripling the installed power from renewable sources. These results, concluded the Minister, demonstrate that it is possible to reconcile the production of renewable energy with the protection of food sovereignty and Italian agricultural production.
