Between the National Strategic Plan for the CAP 2023-2027, the Pnrr, the organic fund established by the 2020 Budget and the new fund for research and innovation, the organic law definitively approved on March 2 unlocks 3 billion euro of new loans to a sector that to date, in Italy, is worth 7.5 billion euro. To make the accounts is Maria Grazia Mammuccini, president of Federbio, who first of all says she is satisfied: what organic producers have been waiting for thirteen years “is an excellent law”.
Agricultural area blinded to 25% by 2030
The first resources, ready on the table to be taken, are the 30 million euros of the Organic Fund established by the 2020 Stability Law: “They were allocated because it was thought that the organic law would be approved shortly thereafter – Mammuccini says – and since then it has taken another two years ». From the PNRR, on the other hand, 300 million euros will arrive, that is a quarter of the 1.2 billion that the Recovery and Resilience Plan allocates for sustainable agriculture: “The European objectives speak for themselves – says the president of Federbio – every EU member must reach 25% of agricultural area cultivated organically by 2030 ». Therefore, 25% of this stock of funds will go to organic farmers.
The biggest slice of the cake, however, is that contained in the National Strategic Plan for the five-year CAP 2023-2027, which our Government sent to the European Commission at the end of December: in fact, 2.5 billion are the funds that the Agricultural Policy municipality allocates to maintain the land already cultivated with organic and expand it until it reaches the famous share of 25%. “All together, that’s really a lot of money – says Maria Grazia Mammuccini – but now we have the responsibility to spend it well, to ensure a development that is lasting in the area and that particularly supports the inland and mountain areas of the country”.
National action plan in a tight time frame
And here we come to the importance of the framework law on organic just approved: «Within 90 days of its publication – explains the president of Federbio – the government is called to approve the national action plan for the development of organic agriculture. Among other things, it will also have to set up an additional fund, that for research and innovation, for which an endowment equal to 2% of the turnover achieved by the sale of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers has already been established. chemistry”. A sort of compensation for the use of chemicals rather than biological products in the fields.
Recognition and support for organic districts
What would Federbio like to see written in this plan? “Definitely the development of organic supply chains made in Italy at the right price – says the president Mammuccini – the race to the bottom is also hitting this sector, we need to establish a minimum price for organic products, on the principle of what has been done at the national milk table ». Then we need recognition and support for organic districts: “There are already at least forty of them in Italy – explains Mammuccini – they do not focus on the cultivation of a single product but are able to create important synergies between farms, processing companies and tourist reception “. The third point is the revision of the control system: “We need a traceability platform managed at ministerial level, which simplifies the bureaucracy that crushes companies and at the same time guarantees transparency for consumers”.