Nomisma: 75% of farms closed in the last 20 years in the mountains or hills
Cia-Agricoltori Italiani Assembly: 'Transform the most disadvantaged inland areas into free zones', but the government: not enough resources
2' min read
2' min read
Transforming Italy's inland and disadvantaged areas into 'free zones' with subsidised taxation. This is the request presented by Cia-Agricoltori Italiani to the government on the day of the National Assembly, which drew more than 400 delegates from all over Italy to Rome to discuss 'Agriculture at the crossroads'.
The data presented by Denis Pantini of Nomisma at the Auditorium Antonianum speak for themselves: in the last twenty years, 75% of the farms (1.3 million in total) that closed their doors were located in hill and mountain areas, resulting in the reduction of 850 thousand hectares of cultivated agricultural land.
But for the undersecretary at the Mef, grappling 'with a complex budget law with few resources', a defiscalisation is ruled out. Maurizio Leo, on the other hand, considers it plausible to work on a proposal that 'identifies a series of incentives to ensure that those who move to these disadvantaged areas enjoy tax benefits'.
"The challenges affecting agriculture are challenges for the whole country," recalledthe President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in a message read in the hall by Cia president, Cristiano Fini. And Nomisma has no trouble listing them all: climate change, war conflicts, protectionism, commodity price volatility.
Although Italy is the second 'agricultural power' in the EU in terms of added value generated, in the last five years it has seen a growth of this value (at current prices, including inflation) below average: +24%, against an EU average of 41%.
