500 million euros to support investments for Italian agricultural and food supply chains. The Control Room of the Development and Cohesion Fund 2014-2020 has today given the green light to increase 100 million in favor of supply chain and district contracts managed by Mipaaft within the Agriculture Operational Plan, thus increasing the expected contribution to 210 million euro in grants, in addition to the resources of Cassa depositi e prestiti, currently set at 200 million.
"We want to put the food chain at the center of the new strategy for Made in Italy. Precisely for this reason we have provided an unprecedented budget. The future of agriculture necessarily passes through a healthy, virtuous and excellent supply chain. The fact that 80% of projects come from companies in the South shows the growing attention of the Government towards the regions of the South. Our goal is to transform agriculture into an important and high-quality but also above all modern agriculture " said the Minister of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policies, Sen. Gian Marco Centinaio.
“Teamwork makes Made in Italy agri-food win. We strongly believe in supply chain contracts as a tool for territorial development and for a more equitable distribution of value along the supply chain ”, - commented the Undersecretary for Agricultural Policies, Alessandra Pesce. “The Ministry today has an unprecedented endowment to support businesses, create new jobs. Minister Lezzi's action was crucial because most of these investments see the South as the protagonist. Agriculture is finally looking at agriculture as a strategic sector in which to invest ".
The IV call for supply chain and district contracts, currently open, has seen a strong demand from agricultural and agri-food companies: 48 projects with investment proposals in agri-food chains have been received by the Administration for over 1,25 billion euros , of which 80% concerns, in fact, companies from the South.
The State contribution to supply chain and district contracts is granted, in line with EU legislation on state aid, for various types of investments. Eligible expenses range from investments for primary production, processing and marketing of agricultural products, to the promotion and advertising of certified quality or organic products, and to research and experimentation.