ROMA – Official scientific data contradict the rhetoric of agricultural associations and Minister Lollobrigida: today agriculture in Italy is the main cause of the poor state of conservation of habitats and wild species, it pollutes water, air and soil. However, there are virtuous models that must be promoted and supported to ensure that the current minority of farmers who are true custodians of the environment, territory and nature become the majority, recognizing the fair value of work and agricultural products. Law no. 24 of 28 February 2024 relating to “Provisions for the recognition of the figure of the farmer, custodian of the environment and the territory and for the establishment of the National Agriculture Day”, indicates the second Sunday of November as the national day to raise awareness the fundamental role of agriculture in protecting the environment.
The unique thought on Agriculture. The narrative of the major agricultural associations (Coldiretti, CIA, Confagricoltura) and of the current Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida would like to generically accredit the farmer as the true environmentalist, guardian of the environment and the territory. A rhetoric, however, denied by science which, for years, has reported how the dominant model of agriculture represents a problem for the environment, as documented by the short report produced by WWF Italy on the occasion of the first edition of the National Agriculture Day,
The denials of environmental monitoring. All environmental monitoring confirms that agriculture is the leading cause of biodiversity loss in Italy, responsible among other things for water, air and soil pollution, and for 7.8% of total greenhouse gas emissions nationally and 22% globally. Law no. 24/2024 therefore provides a distorted vision of the farmer who is the guardian of the environment and the territory. The 2023 environmental data yearbook ofHigher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), published on 21 October 2024, leaves no doubt: “The big problem of food production is the competition with wild nature for a fundamental resource: territory. To do agriculture, in fact, it is necessary to eliminate a natural ecosystem, with its plants and animals, and replace it with an artificial, simplified environment, which must then be defended from nature’s attempts to regain possession of it through plowing and the use of pesticides and herbicides . After the harvest, the fertility of the soil must be restored with fertilizers.” And all this requires energy and has other impacts, indirect and not very “visible”, relating to the degradation of aquatic habitats and the costs associated with water purification and depollution.
The mistake of thinking of just one model of agriculture. The mistake that continues to be made is to talk about agriculture in the singular because in reality there are different models of agriculture, more or less sustainable. The dominant intensive model, adopted by the majority of Italian farmers and which affects over 80% of the utilized agricultural area (UAA), depends on synthetic chemical substances and heavy mechanization that degrades the soil, with the aim of maximizing production . Less than 20% of the UAA is managed with practices that respect the principles of agroecology. Farmers who can therefore truly define themselves as custodians of the environment and nature in our country are still a minority.
Agroecology, nature-friendly agriculture. Therefore, the celebrations of an important sector such as the agricultural one on which many workers and our food depend are good, but if we want to implement a true ecological transition to achieve the objectives indicated by the European Green Deal Strategies, we must celebrate those who already implement practices low environmental impact production based on agroecology. Not all agriculture is the enemy of nature: some systems such as organic, biodynamic, regenerative agriculture and other models consistent with the principles of agroecology defined by the FAO, have a positive role in the conservation of biodiversity and the reduction of pollution and environmental degradation, with the restoration of the capacity of agricultural habitats to provide ecosystem services (healthy and clean air, water and soil) and that of regulating the local climate and mitigating global climate change.
The right recognition of the producers’ work. At the same time we must proceed with the correct recognition of the value of work and agricultural products. This is a fundamental aspect of the ecological transition of agri-food systems if we do not want to place the costs on the shoulders of farmers alone, the weakest link in the supply chain from field to fork. In particular, the managers of small farms risk being exploited by large agricultural corporations, which control the technical means in agriculture and which are linked to the fossil fuel lobbies, for energy, pesticides and fertilizers, opposing any path to real sustainability.
A law is not enough to overcome the critical issues. The current dominant model of agriculture is responsible for the loss of biodiversity and climate change, but at the same time it is the first victim, as demonstrated by the continuous requests for the declaration of a state of natural disaster for droughts or floods. Even less, then, is the narrative with which the major agricultural associations and the Minister Francesco Lollobrigida try to generically accredit Italian agriculture in the eyes of public opinion despite its serious responsibilities in the degradation of water quality and soil fertility and the loss of nature.
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