Coldiretti insists on cutting Italian farmers and ranchers, forcing them to outsource farm accounting to ‘Impresa Verde Coldiretti’ S.r.l. as a sine-qua-non condition for participating in Campagna Amica farmers’ markets. And not only that. #CleanSpades.
1) Campagna Amica and the Coldiretti triad.
Campagna Amica-as extensively described above (1,2)-is a three-tiered system of power:
– Palazzo Rospigliosi in Rome, at the headquarters of the national Coldiretti federation, operates the Campagna Amica foundation. It licenses its namesake trademark to Coldiretti’s territorial federations, which bear all costs related to the management of the markets,
– at the regional and/or provincial level, local Coldiretti federations, through ‘Agrimercato’ associations, win tenders to run markets and force farmers who wish to participate to submit to ‘higher orders’, (3)
– in each province the ‘Impresa Verde Coldiretti’ corporations then derive the benefits of managing the various business files. Precisely because farmers and ranchers are forced by statute (of Agrimarket) to forego the services offered by competitors.
2) Illegal adjudication of public areas to be used for market.
Direct sales markets are a boon for farmers and ranchers who, skipping all intermediation, charge consumers final prices only in theory subject to a ‘mercurial’ that no one controls. (1) Cash is king. And Coldiretti’s triad is formidable in winning the management of public areas to be used for markets, in historic centers and the most pleasant locations in each city.
The Council of State moreover, in its ruling 4.11.19, ruled that it is unlawful to entrust public areas for market use under management to associations that – instead of representing the collective interests, common to all sector operators – reserve their intervention in favor of the subjective positions of only a part of them. Like precisely the members of Coldiretti, in the Mantua Agrimarket. (4)
3) Padua Agrimarket. More abuses against farmers
Farmers and ranchers who wish to access Campagna Amica markets in Padua are forced to register with the unrecognized association ‘Agrimercato Terre del Santo,’ or ‘Agrimercato di Padova. Binding itself, among other things, to the application of ‘Market Regulations‘ that ‘identifies prohibited conduct and consequent sanctions’ and will become ‘an integral part of these Bylaws.
3.1) Pharaonic powers
Agrimercato Padova, in the proposed reform of its bylaws on Dec. 6, 2022, will carry out ‘all real estate operations functional to the best achievement of institutional purposes‘ (new Art. 3.6.d). And it is easy to imagine that this reform scheme follows a pattern destined to infect the various Agrimarkets around Italy.
The manifestation of yet another pharaonic delusion of ‘the one in charge,’ Vincenzo Gesmundo, is thus on the horizon. And Italian farmers continue to submit. Also forgetting the real estate disaster caused to the Tyrrhenian, Emilia, Adriatic and South Central Agricultural Consortia, which burned 23 million euros in Federconsorzi 2. (5)
3.2) Chain farmers
Animal welfare is not extended to farmers, forced to chain in Coldiretti’s cage. The only chance for farmers to derive marginality from direct sales in the public areas and market spaces entrusted to Agrimercato is to join the Campagna Amica Foundation and meet the following requirements:
– be ‘associated with one of the Coldiretti Provincial Federations in the country‘. With a minimum membership obligation of 3 years, tacitly renewable, and 12-month deferred withdrawal,
– having ‘entrusted the management of its accounts and business file (by which is meant the set of data and information characterizing the farm…) to the company Impresa Verde Padova s.r.l.‘
– take advantage of ‘the payroll service provided by the company Impresa Verde Padova s.r.l.‘
– to have ‘conferred to INPS (…) the proxies “employers and self-employed workers (Professional Agricultural Entrepreneur/Direct Cultivator)” to collect membership contributions to the extent and in the manner indicated by the Provincial Federation Coldiretti of Padua at the deadlines provided by the regulations in force for the collection of mandatory contributions‘,
– have ‘subscribed to the Association’s Market Regulations‘ and ‘joined the Foundation‘ and be ‘Licensees of the Trademark in accordance with the Trademark Regulations‘ (Agrimarket Bylaws, draft revision 6.12.22, Article 6(2)(c-g); Articles 8 and 11).
3.3) The ‘rescue clause‘
In order to shelter the system from the dutiful censure of the relevant authorities, Coldiretti then introduced a ‘rescue clause‘, the application of which it will be interesting to see with regard to the non-subjects, i.e., associates. Where ‘for the markets organized, managed and/or participated in by virtue of an administrative concession bearing the release of an area or real estate, intended for public use or public property, without prejudice to the subjective requirements that identify under the law the Associated agricultural entrepreneurs (…), the Association shall allow free participation in the initiative, without discrimination of any kind, in compliance with the requirements set forth in the following paragraph.
All participants, regardless of membership in any Organization, trade union and / or representative, are required to accept and encourage documentary and on-farm controls in order to ensure the Italianity, seasonality and territoriality of the products offered for sale, in accordance with the project and the requirements affirmed by the Association for the achievement of the issuance of the concession. Violation of the rules and/or requirements affirmed by the Association or obstruction of controls constitutes a serious breach of market participation obligations resulting in exclusion from the market‘ (Agrimercato Padua bylaws, draft revision 6.12.22, Article 6, paragraphs 4 and 5).
4) In addition to the harm, the hoax
The ‘union‘ that is supposed to protect farmers and ranchers from unfair trade practices is instead executioner of them to their very detriment, in defiance of Leg. 198/2021. (6) Moreover, the Coldiretti magic circle is the protagonist of numerous speculations to the detriment of its submissive, i.e., members, as we have seen. (7) And in addition to the harm of the various impositions and taxation mentioned above, in the management of markets, there is the mockery of the participation fee. Often obviously claimed ‘off the books’.
‘I wanted to submit a concern of mine regarding farmers’ markets that are always given out, even if not required by law, and in doing so creating an unnecessary cost burden for the farmers who participate in them. Who, in addition to having limits on the products they can offer customers, are at a disadvantage with respect to the fee they have to pay to participate compared to merchants. Let me give you an example that concerns me, in a market the municipality goes about 1.70 euros per attendance, and Coldiretti who is the manager of it demands 16 euros per attendance‘ (letter signed by an Italian farmer).
5) Clean Spades
An internal revolution within the association system seems to be the only chance to return the union to those who work the land and raise the animals, freeing themselves once and for all from the Coldiretti magic circle that continues to drain resources to feed its pharaonic delusions and the glitz of Palazzo Rospigliosi. The spring 2023 elections may hopefully offer an opportunity in this regard.
The Vanghe Pulite investigation must be pursued, in any case, to put an end to the serious and unacceptable abuses on the rights of farmers and the Treasury, so also of Italian citizens. And bring their perpetrators to justice once and for all. We therefore invite anyone who has material useful for the investigation to please share it via email to vanghepulite@gmail.com. With guarantee of absolute confidentiality about the identity of each.
#CleanSpades
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Dario Dongo. Campaign Friendly-whose? #CleanSpades. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 19.6.21
(2) Dario Dongo. Malfeasance against farmers and tax evasion, Campagna Amica continues. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.9.21
(3) The harassment imposed by Coldiretti on Italian farmers and ranchers through Agrimercato’s ‘slipknot’ is also expressed in vexatious clauses and extortionary practices, as documented in the previous article in note 2. In addition to systemic tax evasion.
(4) Francesca Coli, Dario Dongo. Direct sales, access to markets without membership constraints. The pronouncement of the Council of State. FARE (Food and Agriculture Requirements). 25.1.20
(5) Dario Dongo. AgriCorpoFiasco, Federconsorzi 2, Agriconfidi. The collapse of the ‘Gesmundo pyramid’. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 17.12.22
(6) Dario Dongo. Unfair trade practices in the agribusiness supply chain, Leg. 198/2021. THE ABC’S. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 26.2.22
(7) Dario Dongo. Germina Campus, Coldiretti’s holding company speculating on farmers. #CleanSpades. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 13.6.21
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
