How well do women engaged in agriculture do? Is their ability to lead companies, face challenges, stay directly in the fields in contact with real work? A lot, as they demonstrate the figures of a growing phenomenon in almost every Region. And - we think - it will also mean something that for about a year the former farmhand Teresa Bellanova has been leading the Ministry of Agriculture who moves like no other against immobilism and prejudices of all kinds. In small steps you are making a change in the second sector of the Italian economy crushed by years of bureaucracy and rearguard positions, limited to individual territorial areas.
The good news, among the many that afflict the sector this year, is that the State-Regions Conference has approved the ministerial decree launching the "Women in the field" bonus. A provision envisaged in the 2020 Budget Law with an initial fund of 15 million euros. Through Ismea, concrete support starts for over 200.000 female farms already active. But above all we try to encourage the birth of new ones, projecting them into a sustainable economy scheme, linked to the territories. It is an important measure for the recovery of Italian productions on a national and international scale “ which takes on even more relevance in light of the current emergency situation caused by Covid-19 " commented the undersecretary Giuseppe L'Abbate, Bellanova's deputy.
The mechanism is simple. They will be granted zero-interest loans of up to 300.000 euros, for a maximum duration of fifteen years, to women qualified as agricultural entrepreneurs or direct farmers. Benefit extended to companies made up of women for over half of the members and shareholdings. The funding will cover up to 95% of the expenses deemed eligible. More concretely, initiatives will be financed regarding the improvement of the farm's performance and sustainability, the agronomic conditions, hygiene and animal welfare, and the upgrading of infrastructures. The owners of the farms will also be able to buy new land with a maximum limit of 10% of the investment to be made.
In order not to have surprises or delay the use of funds, the law establishes that the deal must be concluded within 24 months from the date of admission to the subsidy, under penalty of revocation of the loan. A long-thought system that for the first time carves out a significant part of the agricultural world for the female world. A discontinuity desired by the leadership of the Mipaaf together with that for the assignment of land to young people. In the case of the "Bonus in campo", in the end everything seems to revolve around two principles: the modernization of agricultural activities at the hands of women and the development of entrepreneurial initiatives based on the reduction of costs and agro-economy. Finally, we want to think that the The South can become the most favored territory by the new provision. That part of Italy where women have longer endured exploitation, abuse, illegal hiring, in order to survive. The redemption as entrepreneurs supported by the state, in a globalized world, is a good sign.
