Green light to the 100 million euros provided by the NRP for the modernization of oil mills. In fact, the directorial decree of the Ministry of Agricultural Policies was signed on 31 March, providing directives for Regions and autonomous provinces for the definition of regional Pnrr calls for the modernization of oil mills. The measure follows the “reserve” that was foreseen in favor of oil processing plants within the overall budget provided for by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in favor of agricultural mechanization and which can count on a total allocation of 500 million euros .
In Italy 4 thousand mills scattered throughout the territory
With the Mipaaf decree another important step of the agricultural chapter of the recovery plan enters the implementation phase after the recent launch of the instructions to start the tenders for the creation of the “agrisolare park”. The investment in the modernization of oil mills aims to improve the competitiveness of the entire sector of made in Italy extra virgin olive oil. Currently, in fact, Italy still has about 4 thousand mills scattered throughout the territory (in particular in the regions of the South) while Spain with half of the processing plants produces three times the number of tons of olive oil compared to Italy.
Resources to replace or modernize the most obsolete mills
The entire restructuring of Italian olive growing obviously must also concern the agricultural ring, but the investment also in the transformation chapter (to make the plants more efficient and perhaps even less numerous) was really something that could no longer be postponed. “The provision – reads a note from Mipaaf – which has come in full compliance with the Pnrr implementation schedule, allocates resources to farms and agro-industrial companies that own oil mills that extract extra virgin olive oil, registered with the SIAN ( the National Agricultural Information System ed). The resources are directed towards investments to replace or modernize the most obsolete mills with the introduction of the latest generation of “2 or 3 phase” extraction milling plants ».
Objective: machinery and technologies that improve environmental performance
The measure, strongly desired by the Minister of Agricultural Policies Stefano Patuanelli, is to strengthen the competitiveness of the food system, modernize the structures for processing extra virgin olive oil, a strategic sector for the Italian agri-food industry, improve the quality of the product and the sustainability of the production process through the energy transition, reduce by-products and encourage their reuse for energy purposes. The aim – they still explain to Mipaaf – is to encourage the modernization of existing mills through the introduction of machinery and technologies that improve the environmental performance of the extra virgin olive oil extraction activity, in compliance with the European principle – “do not cause significant damage to the environment “. In the coming weeks, the Ministry of Agricultural Policies will regulate the concrete implementation of the measure in agreement with the Regions, which will issue the regional implementation calls over the next few months.