Future

What kind of rural development are we heading towards?

There are two fundamental flaws in the theories about potential forms of rural development. These theories either support the advent of GMOs or the advent of organic farming as a goal.

In the world of agriculture, GMOs have already been superseded, by the admission of their own inventors. They are a dying breed that can still cause a lot of damage, but they do not represent any sustainable future. Any cost savings that may result from their application are so marginal in terms of value of the raw material, and the finished product, as to render them meaningless.

So we just have to wait, or if we want a speedier solution, governments should take a harsher line with regard to the environmental damage caused by their cultivation.

On the other hand, the advent of organic farming, despite being the only real possibility for the future of farming, does not actually solve the problem of rural development.

The problem with our agricultural industry is the fact that low profits are a given, since the energy required to produce a certain amount of food is higher than the value (again measured in terms of energy) of what is produced.

Agriculture will be done elsewhere, where more can be produced by consuming less (thanks to the fertile soils, the climate, or other factors). Our farmers will either be responsible for protecting the environment, or used to produce strategic supplies.

The term "strategic supplies" smacks of the Army - these costs should be considered as separate from the economic balance and should be measured against other parameters.

Similarly, if we are to continue to enjoy the countryside and keep the environment under control, we need to forget about the profitability of farmland and focus on the land as a whole, and its potential for use. From this point of view, organic farming is the only possible option.

The countryside will only allow us to plan real rural development programmes if we treat it as a friend. This is why I believe that organic farming should not be considered a target but an essential starting point.

In this way, surrounded by a supportive countryside, rather than a hostile one, we can consider specific development programmes for each rural community.

Guaranteed subsidies have exceeded the income deriving from rural industries for too many years now. This has extinguished farmers' ability to do business.

Sometimes, easy money has been used to ride roughshod over the dignity of an industry (just think of sunflowers planted in unsuitable terrain with manure spreaders, in order to obtain EC grants).

Despite this, there still remains a material culture of manual skills, the ability to cope with the changing seasons, to work the land, rear livestock and fruit trees - there is still a culture that gives Italian farmes their own identity and a strong awareness.

The recent changes in the system of European farming subsidies (which basically guarantee an income to the farm, regardless of what it produces) combined with the collapse in prices of farm-produced foods, could create another kind of damage. In the future, there may no longer be any reason to farm, which would lead to the loss of that material culture which has survived until now despite everything.

This culture should be safeguarded, yet at the moment nobody knows what to do in the face of this situation, and especially faced with a material culture that can only be saved if we have very clear ideas on what we can do with it.

This year, for the first time, I have seen farmers who did not know what to plant. My concern is that it will be even worse in the years to come - the problem of the industry's dignity, its identity and public awareness is something that affects all of us, and all those businesses based on the land, as well as public authorities, starting with local councils.

Until a short time ago, the land was a sought-after asset, an opportunity for employment and income. Tomorrow, this might no longer be the case. If so, we need to think about local solutions while we wait for an answer at regional, national or European level.

If farms need to be restructured because conditions have changed, we should at least ensure that our farmers are able to meet people who have already dealt with this situation, so they can talk to them and understand what needs to be understood. We should help them in their quest.