During his speech at the national conference of Coldiretti (an Italian agricultural organisation), which took place in Rome on July 5, Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies – Mario Catania – outlined his key goals for the CAP reform and Italian agriculture.
“Italian agriculture produces an added value per hectare which is at the highest levels in the world. Unfortunately, our farms do not receive the right acknowledgement in terms of income they deserve. This is due to a globalized market where consumers are not in a position to discern which products are Italian nor what their quality is. This is the reason why in Brussels I will continue to call for legislation that clearly identifies the origin of products, even processed ones.”
The Minister added that “We know that CAP reform negotiations are very challenging, but the Italian government is helping me, showing a high attention that it has for the sector. We are conducting negotiations on the overall European budget with great consideration for the interests of Italian agriculture. My goal for the CAP is that resources will be only given to those actively farming. No more money will be given to land ownership, those who are not farmers or do not live from agriculture. Furthermore, rural development must be different from what it has been so far, focusing on real needs of farms. Finally, there is much to do to improve public administration and paying agencies.”