Agenda
A plan for agriculture and food that focuses on the income of the over 11 thousand agricultural businesses in the province. Cia invites the 101 Municipalities of Padua to approve in their respective municipal councils an agenda aimed at "promoting and implementing, within their competence, the policies, actions and interventions aimed at a real relaunch of the primary sector". 2023 was a particularly difficult year for farmers, specifies the president of Cia Padua, Luca Trivellato, “due to adverse weather conditions, plant diseases, high production costs and a complex market situation”.
Supply chain and beyond
In recent months the Confederation has started a close discussion with national and European institutions, submitting a wide-ranging platform to political decision makers. Among the founding points of the same, explains Trivellato, "first of all, a rule must be defined for the recognition of a fair price for products along the supply chain". It is then necessary to enhance agricultural businesses by guaranteeing bureaucratic streamlining and fair economic recognition for those who have always acted as custodians of the territory. Furthermore, we need to adopt a national framework law for zero consumption of agricultural land which includes a firm "no" to new concrete construction or ground-mounted solar panels (the city of Padua is already covered in concrete for almost 50% of the surface).
Common agricultural policy
As regards water resources, "we must proceed with the construction of large reservoirs for multiple uses, capable of solving the problem of water scarcity and combating floods and, more generally, hydrogeological instability". Wildlife chapter: "A path must be activated to connect all the regional laws to make the national law operational and applicable, moving from the concept of protection to that of management". Regarding the climate crisis, "today more than ever we must focus on agricultural research, including varietal research. Teas, assisted evolution technologies, are a priority for crops resistant to pathogens and resilient to climate change". In addition to the review of the CAP, the common agricultural policy. “We are required to make it more agile, capable of directing contributions towards the protection of business income and not on land rent and for active risk management policies”.
Unsustainable bureaucracy
In this regard, “we strongly welcome the signals given by the EU on the easing of financial pressure on the rural world, thanks to the extension of the temporary framework on state aid. The CAP must be adapted to a constantly changing context, as the president underlines". It is urgent to relieve farmers of a bureaucracy that has now become unsustainable: "Europe has understood how important a resilient and sustainable agricultural sector is for the food security of the Union". “We ask to meet the municipal administrations for a real discussion on the current situation, which remains critical - concludes the president of Cia Padova -. The Municipalities perform a central function in favor of the sector; which is why we ask the municipal councils to adopt the proposed agenda".