Salento Lecce called Brussels, says the President on. Paolo De Castro

Salento Lecce called Brussels, says the President on. Paolo De Castro


Antonio Bruno *



On the evening of December 28, 2010 at 17:00 there was in Lecce, Via M. Bernardini, 11/23 dell'Aprol a discussion based on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

He spoke in a crowded room, the Hon. Paolo De Castro, President of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament, which outlined a radical reform of the payment system for holding, a dismantling of market measures and other measures aimed at ensuring price stability, the possibility of granting to Member States to co-finance the basic aid community and finally to establish a "third pillar" of CAP related to efforts to fight climate change.

In short, the President De Castro showed his audience that gradually, probably in five years, there will be almost a revolution.

Then I got home, I read my facebook and I found the intervention of Dr. Alfonso Pascale http://www.alfonsopascale.it/ in reference to my note about Carlo Petrini http://centrostudiagronomi.blogspot.com/2010/12/noi-dottori-agronomi-del-salento.html about his article in the first page of the Republic of December 28, 2010. The comments of Dr. Alfonso Pascale are outlined below:

"Petrini welcomes the document Ciolos presenting it as a turning point in the Pac. It is not so! The Communication from the European Commission published proposals last November in perfect continuity with the current CAP, showing little real courage in the nodes of European agriculture. Support to producers do not become, in the Commission proposals, with real incentives that recognize the ability of agriculture to produce effective and measurable public goods, as if the majority of farmers have moved only by the need to increase their income and not the satisfaction of performing functions of public interest and to demonstrate that exercise them in the concrete and Rural Development does not become an instrument by which the wealth of activities, knowledge and values of local communities is put to good use for the competitiveness of the territories, whose prerequisites are the quality of social inclusiveness.

It 'a document that merely give the PAC a few more strokes of color "green" but without changing its substance: it is cool but the facades of the building to its foundations remain solidly anchored to a conception to production and competitiveness based solely on cost reduction and economies of scale and not on diversification and regional networks. Moreover, without a clear enunciation of the values and founding principles of open society, such as social justice, human development, mutual aid, reciprocity, inclusion, equal opportunities, protection of resources for future generations , the objectives of general interest policies and instruments to achieve them are difficult to pinpoint.

Why - one wonders - even the owner of Slow Food is queued to the chorus of those praising the Commission's proposals? Is not it strange that unanimity? It 'really satisfied with the fact that the conference in Brussels in July, a working group was chaired by Petrini to lead to deem the document?

Or maybe it's true - as she says in her comment - that in the absence of scientific expertise we focus on marginal issues and take fireflies for lanterns? But if so, I would be very concerned that Petrini writes about agriculture on the front pages of national newspapers. In the absence of critical voices, the result would be just to do disinformation. "

Short distance in the debate there are those, like the Hon. Paolo De Castro, says the change is, and who, like Dr. Alfonso Pascale, argues that it is a Pac in continuity with the past.

On the evening of December 28 in Lecce on the. Paolo De Castro pointed out that the data reported by Eurostat on real agricultural income per agricultural worker in 2010 which increased by 12.3 in Europe, after a decline of 10.7 in 2009 and in France has increased even 30%.

In Italy? Paradoxically, the real agricultural income per agricultural worker in 2010 has fallen! The question hangs in the hall, and what you do well you read me, but Italy is a country that has the same rules of France? And why in France there is an increase of 30% in Italy and a decline of 3% which is even lower in the South? Did you find the answer? Everything suggests that professional farmers in Italy are divided in France are united! The issue is that it is divided expelled from the market and instead is determined together and you win! He spelled out the President De Castro. Yeah! Professional farmers was not enough to convince them to stay together, even the fact that the aid of the European Union will be given exclusively to them. The one is a farmer Professional (IAP) has replaced the figure of a farmer as their main (IATP). With the Legislative Decree 99/2004, which identified this figure, the legislature intended to enhance the entrepreneur who devotes most of his time and of its financial resources in farming also have the status of IAP offers the possibility of access to various facilities including the CAP which are denied those who do not have this qualification.

The real debate is all in these two positions, the EU announced that Mr. Paolo De Castro, President of the Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament, and represented by Dr. Alfonso Pascale, which I quoted in my note. Many admissions all'Aprol and after the report of President De Castro a debate with many skilled interventions such as the Provincial Farmers Union Director Dr. Lecce. Diego Lazarus pointed out that it is impossible to compete with countries where labor costs are almost insignificant and are not subject to EU legislation, as in the Maghreb, then there was the intervention of the Vice President of the Union Provincial Farmers Lecce Agronomist Pantaleo Greek who stressed the need to recognize the olive Salento Lecce that famous "third pillar" of CAP, since the forest of olive trees is fighting climate change, then there was the intervention of Fabio Ingrosso , coordinator of COPAGRI Puglia that has criticized the fragmentation of the rural landscape of Salento, Lecce and the need for specific actions, then there was the intervention of the Agronomist Giuseppe Ferro Director of Area Policies for Rural Development of the Region of Puglia, which stressed the need for a common position in the agricultural world that would create the conditions for reaching an agreed solution to address the crisis that is going through at this time, the olives and return to the center of political debate in the primary sector.

At the end of the meeting I spoke with my colleague Antonio Andran and President De Castro and together we agreed to continue discussions with everyone, with professional farmers, but also and especially with the 220 thousand owners of the rural landscape of Salento Lecce . I hope that the good offices of Prof. Salvatore Tanieli and his diligence in organizing, allow us to discuss as soon as possible on this issue in anticipation of next February at which the Assessor will definitely be a part that we hope to see Stefano and Dario qualified and qualifying the presence of President De Castro.



* Agronomist (expert in urban and regional diagnostic entitled International University Master's Degree in Diagnostic IMD Urban and Regional Urban and Territorial Diagnostics).