New emergency for farmers
As if the ravages of wild boars that never stop were not enough, another emergency for farmers is that represented by the "city pigeons", whose uncontrolled presence, like that of ungulates, is causing heavy economic damage to farms. This is the alarm Coldiretti Umbria after the many reports from the regional territory, which denounce the banquets of birds on sown land, with obvious effects on the balance sheets of companies, forced, when possible, to proceed at least with new replantings in the land with higher costs.
Deterrent systems
Given this other scourge that affects our entrepreneurs - says Albano Agabiti, President of Coldiretti Umbria - we have proceeded to request the Regional Department of Agriculture and the competent offices to take immediate action to authorize the use of every possible dissuasion and control system, to stem this new "plague", which adds to the difficulties of the current economic situation, primarily with the high management costs, and that of wild boars, just to name a few. So farmers risk losing their farms, given that the control plan for these birds has been "at stake" for some time.
Work in vain
Pigeons - reports Giuliano Sfascia agricultural entrepreneur of Foligno - continue to affect our sowing and the situation can only get worse. An additional and not indifferent load for our expenses, which forces us to review our activities and which often frustrates a large part of our work, given that cereals, legumes and later sunflowers are affected. This is another calamity – underlines Mario Rossi Director Coldiretti Umbria – with the flocks of pigeons affecting the seedings throughout the territory. If we don't solve the wildlife and domestic pigeon emergencies, farms will be forced to abandon crops with consequences also for hydrogeological stability, the maintenance of pastures and biodiversity.
Climate change and more
It is necessary to defend the legitimate business right to cultivate and harvest everything they sow – adds Rossi – also considering that agricultural entrepreneurs already have to deal with climate change and increasingly frequent natural adversities. Delaying intervention to protect farmers would mean putting the survival of companies in the sector even more at risk. We certainly cannot ask our farmers - concludes Rossi - to spend their days "supervising" the fields from attacks, for fear of seeing months' work go up in smoke in a few hours or minutes (source: Coldiretti).