The Cilento bio-district, in Campania, is the best biological cluster in Europe. This is said by the European Committee of the Regions and the EU Commission, which have awarded the farmers’ association the Organic awards, an award for European excellence in the organic sector. The Campania bio-district involves almost 100 Campania municipalities thanks to its 40 members, plus 55 municipalities that use its services, for a total of 270 thousand inhabitants. Located within the National Park of Cilento, Valle di Diano and Alburni, in the province of Salerno, the bio-district gathers over a thousand certified organic farms, with an agricultural area of almost 14 thousand hectares.
For the jurors, this initiative supports “the sustainable production of food in favor of biodiversity, soil conservation and water protection, but also the development of short supply chains, increasing the consumption of locally produced food. Furthermore, it links all these activities with tourism initiatives and allows the creation of jobs ». “The Cilento bio-district – recalled its president, Emilio Buonomo – was the first in Europe, founded in 2004, and together with the international network of bio-districts has supported the establishment of many new realities at an international level”. “
The European Organic Agriculture Awards are jointly organized by the European Committee of the Regions, the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, COPA-COGECA and Ifoam Organics Europe. With the From farm to fork strategy, the European Commission has set the goal of allocating 25% of the EU agricultural area to organic farming by 2030. To promote this, in March 2021 the Commission adopted a specific Plan of action that also provides for the assignment of annual awards that recognize excellence in the organic value chain. The aim is to reward the most innovative players in the sector, who contribute to reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment and climate, as well as to the implementation of European strategies on biodiversity and the food system.