Planet

SANA 2023, tensions in Italian organic on Coldiretti-driven Federbio. #CleanSpades

September 6, 2023

The SANA fair in Bologna-the most important Italian event dedicated and targeted to the organic sector-will be remembered, in 2023, for the separation between its historical protagonists and a Federbio ‘charmed’ by Coldiretti. (1)

Table of Contents

1) Federbio, 5 years of oozing.

The last 5 years have seen the departure from Federbio of inspection bodies that collectively certify more than 73 percent of organic farms in Italy (more than 60,000, out of a total of 82,000):

AB Cert,
Bioagricert,
Bios,
CCPB,
Ecogroup,
Sidel,
Soil and Health,
Valoritalia.

Organic players in Italy no longer identify with the federation. The unstoppable drip after drip has driven Federbio away from Federbio as well:

– Ibma AssoMetab, the association of companies that produce organic defense tools and products for sustainable agriculture,

– AtBio, national association of technical inspectors and consultants,

– Agriplan, an advanced business consulting body providing studies and services,

– Bioquality, network of experts and consultants in the organic sector.

2) August 2023, the association crisis.

Federbio’s membership crisis came to a head in August 2023, after five years of dripping with the most thunderous exits:

– UPBio. The national union of organic and biodynamic producers, which Federbio praised a dozen years ago as ‘byfar‘ the ‘most representativeorganizationin the industry,’ with ‘over 20,000 organic farms, about half of all Italian organic producers‘ at the time,

– Anaprobio, the organization of organic producers who are members of Copagri (more than 6,000 organic farms), which in turn is the fourth largest national agricultural organization after Confagricoltura, CIA-Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori and Confederazione Nazionale Coltivatori Diretti (Coldiretti).

3) The reasons for dissent

The critical mass of farmers organic, represented by UPBio and Anaprobio, has expressed clear opposition to the flattening of Federbio on Coldiretti, promoted tooth and nail by secretary general (and former president, for many years) Paolo Carnemolla and president Mariagrazia Mammuccini (who in turn is warming the seat of Maria Letizia Gardoni, young president of Coldiretti Marche and new announced president of FederBio).

UPBio and Anaprobio had also unsuccessfully voted against the sale of FederBioservizi–without even changing the company name–to CAI SpA (or Federconsorzi 2, the corporation that gobbled up several Consorzi Agrari, with the minority but controlling interest of Bonifiche Ferraresi SpA). A society that refers in name to FederBio thus risks being run by stakeholders other than organic operators.

4) FederBio Services, what fate?

Agricultural consortia, now partly absorbed into CAI SpA, have always been the largest dealers of GMO feed and pesticides. Even when Coldiretti declared itself the enemy of GMOs, which it now vigorously supports in its TEA (assisted evolution technologies, or NGTs, New Genomic Techniques, or ‘new GMOs’) version.

Coldiretti has never changed its mind, however, on pesticides. Deeming ‘ideological and lacking scientific basis‘ the European strategies for their reduction, of which organic farming is a key player. And the organic consulting company may come to be run by the very bigwigs in the pesticide distribution business.

5) What ‘organic revolution’?

Vincenzo Gesmundo, Coldiretti’s chief executive, reserved a front-row seat at the inaugural conference, ‘BIO Revolution. After the talk by Ettore Prandini, (2) president of Yellow Flags, at the morning panel discussion.

CIA – the Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori (Italian Farmers Confederation), which despite boasting a president and vice president committed to organic production – conversely does not appear at official conferences and roundtables.

Discontent with these and other forcings is manifest, even among organizations that are still members. And Federbio Coldiretta’s imperialistic ambition-organizing an interprofession of the organic sector in Italy-may face obstacles due to lack of representation.

Dario Dongo