Satisfied with the reform of employment contracts in agriculture. Ettore Prandini, president of Coldiretti, in his speech at the annual assembly of the confederation underway in Rome applauds above all the simplification of fixed-term contracts: «The arrival of the new system of occasional services which replaces the old vouchers is important in the countryside because introduces a significant bureaucratic simplification to save crops and guarantee new income opportunities in a particularly difficult moment for the country”.
The manoeuvre, as approved in the Budget Committee in the Chamber, in fact provides for the introduction of special rules for the use of manpower through a new regulation of temporary fixed-term work in agriculture. Retirees, students, the unemployed, unemployed, recipients of Naspi, basic income, social safety nets and prisoners admitted to work outside will be able to access it. “It will be to all intents and purposes a subordinate agricultural employment relationship – says the president – with the only limit determined by the duration of the service which cannot exceed, for each individual employee, 45 days of actual work in a twelve-month period” .
During its annual meeting, Coldiretti also calculated the value of the measures envisaged by the maneuver that will have an impact on the Italian agri-food sector at over 2 billion euros: from the Irpef exemption to the zeroing of contributions for young farmers, from credit of tax extended to the first quarter of 2023 against the high energy price to resources for food sovereignty, from job vouchers to simplify recruitment to the fund for innovation and digitization up to the containment of wild boars and contributions for the closure of fishing. «An overall positive finance company», defined it as president Prandini. Particular appreciation was also expressed for the fund for food sovereignty.
This is a positive moment for Italian agri-food exports: driven by wines, sparkling wines, grappa and liqueurs, panettone, cheeses and cured meats, for the Christmas period alone it is on its way to reaching 5.3 billion euros, an increase of 20 % compared to last year. Double-digit increases – Coldiretti underlines – is the value of exports of all the most typical products of the holidays from Prosecco (+26%) to panettone (+13%), but traditional stuffed pastas such as tortellini and cappelletti (+13%). The demand for Italian cheeses is also on the rise, recording an increase in the value of exports of 18%, as is that of hams, sausages and cured meats (+7%).
Even at home, says Coldiretti, Italians do not give up on spending for Christmas, with an average of 106 euros per family, only 6% less than the holidays in 2021. «In these festive days, we ask Italians to support the consumption of made in Italy food products to help the economy, work and the local area – said Prandini – the supply chain employs 4 million people in 740,000 farms, 70,000 food industries and 360,000 restaurants. And under the tree in four out of ten houses there are food and wine baskets.