FARMERS: LABOR CONSULTANCY STUDY SUSINI GROUP, 'TURNOVER COLLAPSE OF 3.2 BILLION WITH PAC CONSTRAINTS'

The new CAP constraints imposed by Brussels will deal a hard blow to our agri-food economy, turnover losses of 2.5 billion euros are estimated in the agriculture sector and another 700 thousand in the food industry, more than twice the damage suffered by Emilia-Romagna region following the dramatic floods of May 2023. The negative effects will lead to the closure of almost 25 thousand agricultural companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, putting at risk the employment of 40 thousand workers in the sector: this is what emerges from a firm of Susini Group StP, a leading firm in Florence in employment consultancy. The added value of the agri-food chain has reached 64 billion euros, of which 37.4 billion are generated by the agricultural sector and 26.7 billion by the food industry. The sector represents 3.7% of the GDP of the entire Italian economy. Existing agricultural companies exceed 1.1 million, employ over 1 million workers and use 12.8 million of agricultural area. Truly important numbers for our country which is the third largest agricultural power in Europe. Puglia is the region with the largest number of agricultural companies, over 275 thousand, followed by Sicily, almost 219 thousand, Calabria third, Campania fourth and Veneto fifth. Over 54% of Italian agricultural companies operate in these five regions alone. "Crop rotation, which consists in alternating the types of crops on certain areas to preserve the fertility of the soil, the obligation to leave 4% of the arable areas unproductive and animal welfare, which involves further obligations and costs for the management of livestock farms, have introduced complex and burdensome constraints that farmers across Europe are forced to shoulder", comments Sandro Susini, labor consultant and founder of Susini Group StP. "The Italian Government, for its part, has introduced greater economic resources into agriculture, thanks also to the use of the Pnrr, but the costs to be borne - continues Sandro Susini - are increasingly higher following the hydrogeological instability which forces farmers to carry out enormous land maintenance work. A solution must be found shared by all parties involved, because agricultural work does not only concern the economic aspect of our country but also the protection of habitats and landscapes, the conservation of the soil , the management of water basins, the sequestration of carbon dioxide and the protection of biodiversity. In short, agriculture affects our very existence", concludes Sandro Susini.