A moment of discussion dealing with all the hot topics concerning our provinces. The visit of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida, held on Friday 31 May in Vespolate at the Cascina Fornace owned by the vice-president of Coldiretti Novara-Vco and president of Campagna Amica Piemonte Orientale Fabrizio Rizzotti, aroused great interest among those present. for the variety of topics covered.
The tour
In the presence of the President of Coldiretti Novara-Vco Fabio Tofi, the Director Luciano Salvadori, the vice-president Massimiliano Ottone, the Giovani Impresa delegate Giada Barbieri and the representative of Donne Impresa Francesca Cantone as well as the majority of the Federation’s councilors, the minister first visited the rice company, now in its eighth generation, remaining fascinated by the process of harvesting and processing the rice which is then packaged and sold also in the company sales point.
“Italy is the main rice producer in Europe and our territory cannot afford to give up rice cultivation – highlighted Rizzotti – The dramatic dry period of 2022 must no longer occur”. For this reason, Coldiretti has for some time been asking for investments in the construction of reservoirs that would allow rainwater to be retained. The minister underlined the importance of establishing a permanent rice table to address the issues in a concrete and direct manner and proposed that Ente Risi establish the International Rice Fair to promote the product to large international buyers.
We didn’t just talk about rice farming. Lollobrigida, after the intervention of President Tofi who put the spotlight, together with Ottone, on the problem of wildlife, reiterated the importance of a process of depopulation of the species that threaten our territories and our crops. “There are not only the damages caused by wild animals, but also the enormous problems caused by the spread of African Swine Fever: we must protect our farms,” he added.
The minister also spoke about the problem linked to unfair imports, one of Coldiretti’s main battles: “Whoever imports into our country must respect our production laws. For this reason we will undertake tighter controls and pay attention to origin labelling.”
Another battle of the Federation, for many years now, is to stop the wild use of ground-based photovoltaics: “Sustainable energy production is a priority and farmers have always been friends of the environment. But agricultural land cannot be taken away: for this reason we must exploit the roofs of sheds and stables for the panels”.
Finally, a passage also on Paolo Bonomi, founder of Coldiretti and originally from Romentino, in the province of Novara: “His great vision was to put the freest men at the centre, that is, farmers. Precisely in honor of him, a stamp will be printed in October to commemorate his figure for the 80th anniversary of the foundation of Coldiretti. An authoritative, unique personality who allowed farmers to obtain the rights they enjoy today.”
