President Neri after the States General of Olive Growing in Siena: “Production in Tuscany is at the top, but we must know how to valorise it”
Florence: “In Tuscany, a lot is being invested in innovation and quality. We have an enormous wealth of PDOs and PGIs which allow us to confirm ourselves as a region decidedly oriented towards supporting quality. But it is not enough to know how to produce well, we must also enhance what we produce, explaining to consumers how much our oil is able to tell us about the Tuscan territory and its crystalline traditions that are lost in the mists of time”. This is what Marco Neri, president of Confagricoltura Toscana, said. after the General States of Oil and the meeting of the Advisory Committee of the International Olive Council which took place in Siena.
“It is an important moment for Italian olive growing to identify the main themes on which to build the future national olive growing plan – continues Neri – and the Ministry is very keen on this provision, as highlighted by the speech of the Undersecretary, Senator Patrizio La Pietra. The sector must increase the quantity of production and help in this will also come from the selection of new clones of the typical and well-known varieties”.
“For promotion – concludes Neri – we need to increase consumer awareness: for example in Tuscany the olive cultivations defined as heroic, those on the high hills, terraces and marginal areas, have a fundamental role, which have an indisputable role in the management of the soil and against hydrogeological risks, but few people know it. We need constant and continuous promotion of this elegant and edgy product, as valuable as it needs to be accompanied towards safer and more comfortable shores”.
