Alarm in Sardinia: shepherds are in crisis. Speculation on sheep's milk has in fact halved the prices paid to Sardinian shepherds, with one loss estimated by Coldiretti at 130 million euro. The analysis was released on the occasion of the protest of thousands of shepherds who invaded the center of Cagliari with tractors to defend a centuries-old tradition which, after the failure of industrial development, represents the real added value for relaunching the economy, the work and tourism in the region with the hashtag #NOpastoriNOsardegna.
The shepherds with flags and posters they came from all over Sardinia for the procession but also real pecorino being prepared live, innovations being shown in respect of tradition, from sheep's mozzarella to pecorino for vegetarians to digestible for the little ones and Sardinian specialties now at risk of extinction were also on display. From the daily milking of a sheep, an average liter of milk is obtained which today is paid downwards - Coldiretti denounces - just 55 cents compared to 1 euro at the end of the 2015 campaign. A handout that does not even cover the costs of breeding and feeding and pushes the 12 farms on the island to close.
In Sardinia - Coldiretti also noted - 40% of the sheep bred in Italy is found which produce almost 3 million quintals of milk destined for 60% to the production of Pecorino Romano (PDO), but also recognized by the European Union are Fiore Sardo PDO and Pecorino Sardo PDO. Not only that: in the Mediterranean, Sardinia is the land with the highest concentration of sheep, almost more than two for every inhabitant, 2,8 million animals for 1,5 million people with the result that the landscape forms of the island depend on the fact that as much as 70% of the territory is destined for grazing from which the animals draw food.
The Sardinian sheep – underlines Coldiretti – is probably one of the oldest in Europe it derives from the Gennargentu mouflon and bears witness to the vocation of the ancient Nuragic peoples to sheep farming. During the Middle Ages, in the Judicial period of Sardinia, the breeding of Sardinian sheep expanded thanks to the Benedictine monks who exploited it for their livelihood. Thus it was that over the centuries the breeding of this animal took root throughout the territory, influencing the economic, social, cultural and historical aspects of Sardinia. Pecorino – concludes Coldiretti – it is one of the oldest Italian cheeses: it was already produced in imperial Rome and was part of the foodstuffs of the legionaries, but it is probable that its origins are even more ancient, given the diffusion of sheep throughout the country.
