In a little less than a month, the harvest of small fruits will begin. Following will be the turn of the cherries, then move on to apricots and the first peaches. In Piedmont, with the month of June - Confagricoltura explains - the fruit harvesting campaign comes alive, involving thousands of workers, until last year coming mostly from abroad.
The number of agricultural workers in Piedmont , in total, rose from 31,008 in 2008 to 40,936 in 2017. As regards the citizenship of agricultural workers, only 65.62% is Italian. According to INPS data, non-EU citizens employed on fixed-term contracts in agriculture in Piedmont in 2017 were 14,154 (for a total of 1,030,931 working days). Regarding the area of employment, 11,260 were employed overall in horticulture, fruit growing and viticulture.
" This year we will have more problems finding available labor for our campaigns - explains Enrico Allasia, president of Confagricoltura Piemonte - also for the provisions on social distancing. In this context, we feel even more committed to intensifying efforts to counteract irregular work, to find decent reception solutions and, in general, to improve the living conditions of foreign workers ".
Confagricoltura Piemonte recalls that in November last year it had presented a project called Ethical Agriculture to the regional councilors Protopapa ( Agriculture ), Icardi ( Health ) and Caucino ( Social Policies ).
In recent weeks in Saluzzo , on the initiative of local authorities in the area, an initiative is being developed that goes in the wake of the Confagricoltura proposal. The project provides for the lease, in agreement and with the public contribution, of housing modules to be allocated to foreign workers without any other possibility of accommodation in the agricultural enterprise in which they are hired.
" We would like the initiative to be developed by welcoming the second phase of the project that we proposed to the Region - declares the director of Confagricoltura Piemonte Ercole Zuccaro - defining together a series of good voluntary practices that can allow the companies that adopt them to boast of a quality label, promoting the fruit production obtained. In defining the project - concludes Zuccaro - in addition to the current actors we intend to involve the workers' union organizations and the bilateral agricultural bodies, to strengthen the promotion of respect for the person and the spread of legality culture and security . "
In Piedmont - recalls Confagricoltura - there are about 8,000 fruit farms for a cultivated area of about 18,500 hectares. The sector generates a turnover of over 500 million euros out of a national total of 4 billion. Most of the fruit growing (60%) is concentrated in the Cuneo area, followed by Turin with 25%, Vercelli with 10% and the remaining provinces with 5%.
