Serious crisis
They chained themselves this morning in front of the headquarters of the Metropolitan City of Turin to protest against the delays in payments of damage caused by wild boars to their crops and to denounce the serious crisis situation in which many small local agricultural companies find themselves operating. The protesters are Monica Iuliano and her husband Roberto Castelli, owners of the organic farm Le Frisole di Giaveno, with four hectares of horticultural crops, half of which are represented by organic mountain potatoes with Denominazione Comunale (DeCo). The new director of the Metropolitan City, Monica Sciajno, received them, giving them two pieces of good news: the first, that yesterday the Piedmont Region approved the payment order for compensation, the second, that already this evening a wildlife tutor will carry out an inspection of the company to plan interventions to cull wild boars in that area, guaranteeing the support of the guards of the same Metropolitan City.
Economical refreshments
"We are happy that the situation has been unblocked - comments Roberto Castelli - even if it seems absurd to have to make dramatic gestures to get what we deserve. The economic compensations for us at this moment are vital, because they allow us to get by and pay for the new planting, but they do not solve the problem, which is the constant and devastating damage that we suffer every year mainly due to wild boars. Seven thousand euros of damage in 2023, between wildlife and climatic events, over five thousand in 2024, plus those of this year, which will exceed fifteen thousand, are blows that cannot be absorbed by companies of our size, without considering that, due to the "de minimis" limit, we could not receive more than 25 thousand euros in compensation over the three years and that the high-quality potatoes, which we sell at 3,80 euros per kilo, will be paid 80 cents per kilo. In addition to the damage, the insult".
Extreme difficulty
For Le Frisole, an extremely difficult situation is looming: “We are working at a loss - Castelli states -, at the end of the season we will be forced to close. Not even the electric fences were needed, large wild boars overcome them without difficulty. Waking up in the morning and finding yourself in front of the devastated field every time is disheartening, we hope that the culling ordered by the Metropolitan City can have some decisive effects, but it would take a miracle”. The “case” of the company of Roberto Castelli and Monica Iuliano, members of Cia Agricoltori delle Alpi, was followed step by step by the Agricultural Organization, which was present in the Metropolitan City this morning with the provincial director Luigi Andreis: “We thank the Metropolitan City for the willingness shown in addressing the issue - declares Andreis -, in recent days we had also directly involved the regional councilor for Agriculture Paolo Bongioanni, until the problem was resolved after this morning's demonstration. It is not surprising that many farmers can force their hand, the wild fauna in our territory is out of control. Those who cultivate the land are not looking for compensation for damages or state redundancy payments, but simply want to be able to work. When compensation becomes the only solution, as in this case, companies close. Containing wild fauna is essential to guarantee the survival of agricultural companies”.
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