Sergio Mattarella, President of the Republic said, “Agriculture is the future for humanity”

Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic, spoke recently at the Eliseo Theater, in Rome (the full speech here), on the occasion of celebrating the 80th anniversary of Coldiretti, the main Organization of agricultural entrepreneurs at the Italian and European level, counting 1.6 million members. Mattarella said, “Eighty years. Looking back at these eighty years that separate us from 1944, means we are reading the history of a Country that has modernized, grown, consolidated the freedom of its citizens, lived in peace, and achieved important objectives that the Constitution of the Republic has entrusted to us. One of the main players of its history is the National Confederation of Direct Cultivators, or, more simply, Coldiretti, as Italians have learned to call it. Agriculture has been prominent in the life of the Republic, representing one of the litmus tests of the new system's ability to make the rights listed in our fundamental Charter effective. The noble project of the Constitution, which aimed at the progress and the well-being of a backward and unfair Nation towards a large part of its citizens, was measured first of all in the fields, generating an evolution that would have transformed the agricultural world, from a presumed burden and problem in Italian society into a precious resource. Republican Italy, and the European choice would have put an end to the concept of a primary production sector subordinated to other interests”. Coldiretti was founded in 1944 by Paolo Bonomi (who was president until 1980). Coldiretti has been the main player of many battles and has always been on the front line over the years, and Bonomi, for his work in favor of the Liberation of Italy from Nazi-fascism, was awarded, in 1946, the "Bronze Medal for Military Valor", as Mattarella recalled, adding that “in those years, Coldiretti was a garrison in the fields and in the Country, of the development of free democratic life, supporting the reform process and allowing rural work to emerge from uncertainty”.
The President of the Republic also spoke about the present, the current problems and contemporary challenges in the sector, expressing his point of view. “As President Prandini very appropriately observed, today agriculture is once again considered a significant factor of cohesion, integration, legality, and citizenship. In fact, we must not be afraid of the new. Perhaps reversing the well-known image, we might say that old wine is not needed either in wineskins or in new times. This is true for climate change, too. We need instructions and updated solutions, which have the same foresight that allowed us to address, utilizing the means available at the time, the rebirth of our Country. The Republic knows that to a large extent it identifies itself with agriculture. This was true during the recent Pandemic, and farmers deserve to receive our thanks for having ensured nourishment for the Country in those difficult times. This is true, and it was true, for the floods that swept through Italy, confirming the authentic responsibility and total solidarity in the agricultural world. The Republic knows that agriculture is crucial for the future of the planet. It knows that peace is built between peoples starting from the essential elements, such as water and food. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the very serious Middle Eastern crisis are severely testing the possibility of survival of entire populations, with the unscrupulous use of food resources as a weapon. International cooperation is indispensable, and you are engaged in it, which makes you vehicles of peace. Agriculture is the future for humanity. Faithful to its roots, I am sure that we will always find the Confederation on this path, in the decades to come”.
One of today’s ongoing challenges has been labeling. We have realized that what we bring to our tables begins with the awareness that we cannot ignore the information about the product, which we must read. Therefore, on the occasion of Coldiretti’s 80th anniversary celebrations, they have started a digital collection of signatures for a popular initiative law that will lead Europe to change its direction on transparency, making it obligatory to put the origin label, at the European level, on all foods on the market. Coldiretti announced the initiative, and added that 300.000 signatures have already been collected at markets and among citizens at the Association’s gazebos. The meeting at the Eliseo is an event that has a strong symbolic value for one of Coldiretti’s’s historical and identity battles: transparent food labels. The aim of the initiative “is to reach 1 million signatures, to say stop to imported foods disguised as Italian, and to defend citizens' health and farmers' incomes”. The collection of signatures has now been extended to the website, https://eci.ec.europa.eu/049/public/#/screen/home, to give citizens the possibility of signing the petition digitally. “Using this tool”, Coldiretti explained, “we will be able to support the request to make indications of the origin of provenance explicit and clear for all products entering the common market. And, also to ensure that the same standards are respected from an environmental, health and labor point of view as those on the domestic market to protect the health of consumer citizens and the planet. It is a way to put an end foreign products being passed off as Italian, thanks to the rule of the customs code on the origin of food, which allows “Italianization” even for minimal transformations. Never before”, Coldiretti concluded, “has there been so much foreign food on the markets in Italy, and the value of agri-food imports from abroad has reached a record 65 billion euros in 2023”.
Three stories of agricultural entrepreneurs were also told on the stage of the Eliseo. Mariafrancesca Serra, who, after graduating in Civil Engineering-Architecture and a series of experiences abroad, returned to Sardinia to become a shepherd. Miriam Zenorini, who, on her social farm in Trentino Alto Adige welcomes women who have escaped from situations of violence or young people from disadvantaged families, a symbol of a growing rural welfare. Mario Faro, a Sicilian floriculturist committed to fighting the effects of climate change as well as an example of the success of Made in Italy abroad.

Focus - Numismatics: a commemorative coin dedicated to Coldiretti (the first 4 euro coin minted in Italy)

The new 4 euro commemorative coin from the 2024 Numismatic Collection of the Italian Republic, issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and minted by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, has been dedicated to Coldiretti. This is the first ever 4 euro coin minting Made in Italy. It was created to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the foundation of Coldiretti, an organization representing and assisting Italian agriculture, founded in 1944. The coin was created by the artist engraver, Emanuele Ferretti, in proof silver and a limited edition of 3.500 pieces. The coin was presented during the celebrations in Rome, by Francesco Soro, at the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, and by Vincenzo Gesmundo, General Secretary of Coldiretti.
“We want to celebrate”, Ettore Prandin, president of Coldiretti, emphasized, “with this initiative, not only a historical episode of fundamental importance for the history of the Country, but also the renewed centrality of Italian agriculture within society, which has been made possible through a series of challenges that Coldiretti has won over the years. The various challenges have continually welded the good and interest of farmers to consumer citizens in the common sign of sustainable agriculture and healthy eating”. The reverse side of the coin is dedicated to Paolo Bonomi, founder of Coldiretti.
“Italian agriculture”, Francesco Soro stated, “is one of the fundamental pillars of the economic and social life of the Italian State. This is the reason why issuing the coin minted and dedicated to Coldiretti, makes our company, always at the forefront protecting the integrity of the entire agri-food chain, especially proud”.