With one eye on the financial maneuver launched by the Government, with the other on the tables in Brussels where the building site for the reform of the common agricultural policy has opened which, judging by the first documents, promises to be full of unknowns. These are the two dossiers clearly visible on the table of Massimiliano Giansanti, the Roman entrepreneur elected just over a year ago as president of Confagricoltura, whom First&Food met in his austere Roman office at Palazzo della Valle.
President, where do we start?
For the future of agriculture today the most important game is being played at the Community table with the reform of the common agricultural policy, which also dangerously crosses over with the Brexit negotiation. Then there is also a problem of timing, the need to close the negotiations as soon as possible.
What do you think is the priority in the community negotiation?
Surely the agricultural budget for the next programming must be defined before the dissolution of the current Parliament in office, capable of guaranteeing the continuity of the balance in the allocation of resources among the Member States. With the forthcoming European elections, everything suggests that there will be a strengthening of populist and sovereignist forces; it will be necessary to see how the political geography will change and how we will move towards the "common agricultural policy" in the immediate future.
We'll see how it turns out. Meanwhile, the introduction of a maximum ceiling on aid to large farms, which Confagricoltura has always opposed, is back in the Commission's proposal.
And we will still continue to oppose it, because it would mean endorsing a principle that goes against the development and growth - also in terms of innovation - of the agricultural entrepreneurial system; and an instrument that weakens the competitiveness of more structured businesses, the backbone of European and Italian agricultural production. But we are not alone, there are 14 other European agricultural organizations aligned with us on the no front.
And what do you ask about the Brexit negotiation?
The United Kingdom is the fourth food export market for Italy, after Germany, France and the United States and, for some sectors, it is a key buyer; for example, almost 40% of Prosecco exports and about 20% of our exports of peeled tomatoes and tomato pulp are absorbed by the UK. Also for Parmesan cheeses (Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano) exports to the United Kingdom account for 9% of the total. Of the 3,5 billion euros worth of agri-food exports, 30% is represented by products with designation of origin and geographical indication. For this reason - in addition to the essential need for Brexit not to affect the European budget - we ask that an agreement be defined on the customs area and for trade that does not disadvantage our productions. Even after Brexit, origin marks will have to continue to be protected in the United Kingdom on the basis of European law.
Let's come to national politics, how do you evaluate the economic maneuver launched by the pentastellato government?
What the budget maneuver consists of in detail is still not known with certainty. I consider the current action of attempting to free oneself from community diktats to be courageous. But as an entrepreneur I hope that stability will soon be found, without which there is no economic growth, the only engine capable of relaunching Made in Italy and creating new jobs. Returning to EU issues, however, as president of Italian agricultural entrepreneurs, I must say that I greatly appreciated the message launched in Brussels by the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, that Italy will not accept the reductions in the agricultural budget proposed by the EU Commission for the next few years , effectively downloading the estimated cost of 14 billion for the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union onto the agricultural budget.
Agriculture is not having a good time. The latest data on agricultural GDP shows zero growth, after the sharp drop of 4,4% the previous year. What to do to reverse course?
Beyond the economic situation, which in agriculture is conditioned by external factors, such as climatic trends, it must also be said that an agricultural policy strategy, a long-term vision, has been missing for many years. The latest strategic plan dates back many decades to the Marcora plan. Then, there may have been good ministers, but always committed to resolving the emergency on duty.
If you were the agriculture minister, what would you put into this strategic plan?
Given that the minister exists and it is good that everyone does their job, I would advise him to invest more heavily in innovation, research and digitalisation. These are the necessary conditions to climb new positions in the great challenge of international markets. The keyword is the competitiveness of the system.
However, the data on agri-food exports is giving a lot of satisfaction, and continues to grow.
We are all happy with this trend. However, if you look at the overall table of Italian agri-food trade, a very worrying fact appears that nobody likes to remember: that imports are growing even more and the accounts are in the red, especially for agricultural products. There are sectors in which Italy has lost important production records and others are at risk. This is why I believe a change of course is inevitable: produce more by focusing on quantity and quality, signing a pact with the industry to strengthen the entire Made in Italy supply chain.
