(by Filippo Moreschi, lawyer and Head of the AIDR "Digital Agrifood" Observatory)
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, presented in recent days to Parliament, also deals with the agri-food world.
The Plan is divided into a general part and two sectors, the first dedicated to reforms and the second divided into six Missions (Digitization, Green Revolution and ecological transition, Infrastructure, Education and research, Inclusion and cohesion, Health).
Finally, the final part of the Plan is aimed at its implementation, relative monitoring and macroeconomic impacts.
With regard to the agricultural sector, the Plan preliminarily notes the contribution of European agriculture to the pollution of water, soil and atmosphere due to the effect of nitrogen oxides (which are part of the category of greenhouse gases). The portion of the Plan dedicated to agriculture therefore embraces the primary aims of environmental protection.
The chapter dedicated to agriculture is entitled “circular economy and sustainable agriculture” and is found in Mission n. 2 (Green revolution and ecological transition). It inseparably links the objectives of the circular economy to the full sustainability of the agri-food chains, in line with the European strategy "from producer to consumer" (so-called Farm to Fork), with the improvement of the competitiveness of farms and their climatic-environmental performance.
The Plan allocates a total of € 5,27 billion to this chapter.
The investment sectors specifically dedicated to the agricultural sector concern: the development of logistics for the agri-food, fishing, aquaculture, forestry, floriculture and nursery sectors; the start of the "agricultural park"; innovation and mechanization in the agricultural and food sector.
Three further lines of investment concern integrated projects, such as green islands, “Green communities” and culture on environmental issues and challenges.
The intervention on the logistics of the agri-food chains aims to reduce the environmental impact of transport in the sector and, also through digitalisation, to improve the storage capacity of raw materials and the logistical capacity of wholesale markets. Investments are aimed at strengthening the export capacity of Italian agri-food SMEs, guaranteeing the traceability of products and reducing food waste.
With the theme of the "agricultural park", the Plan identifies renewable energy at the service of agri-food, livestock and agro-industrial production as the primary investment sector, placing the emphasis on the installation, in particular, of solar energy panels on a total area equal to 4,3 million square meters, without consuming land and carrying out a redevelopment of the production structures subject to intervention with the removal of asbestos on the roofs, where present. The theme develops in parallel with investment projects dedicated to agro-voltaic, for easier access for agricultural businesses to renewable energy.
The third area of intervention concerns the transformation, including digital, of agricultural production systems, the modernization of agricultural machinery that allows the introduction of precision agriculture techniques (e.g. reduction of the use of pesticides by 25-40% ) and the use of agriculture technologies 4.0.
The Plan then promotes integrated 100% green and self-sufficient development models, especially on small islands, in a logic of autonomy, efficient management of resources and use where possible of renewable energy sources. With the expression “Green communities”, on the other hand, the Plan looks at local communities, single or associated, and proposes the elaboration, financing and implementation of sustainable development plans from an energy, environmental, economic and social point of view. The goal is a new balanced and sustainable relationship of the communities - especially rural ones - with their respective territories, the zero impact from the point of view of waste (zero waste production), the integration of mobility services.
The investment methods mentioned in the plan are mainly the tax credit and capital contributions.
We must then consider that other major issues dealt with by the Plan in its various Missions, even if not specifically dedicated to agriculture, may have an impact on the agrifood sector such as, for example, the interventions contemplated in Mission 1, called "Digitization, innovation , competitiveness, culture ”, to which over 40 billion euros of the Plan are earmarked.
Here, the support, including fiscal support, for the transition 4.0 and the digital transformation of all private sectors, with particular reference to SMEs and production processes, industrial policies and internationalization certainly also have an impact on the agricultural sector. Similarly, investments in infrastructures consisting of ultra-fast networks (broadband and 5G), with the aim of bringing connections to 1 Gbps throughout the national territory by 2026 are also destined to bring development in the agri-food sector.
Tourism and culture also have obvious implications for the agri-food world.
In the Plan, a specific type of investment is dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the rural landscape. The editors are aware of the ability of tourism to enhance the landscape and cultural heritage outside the most popular tourist destinations.
The places where agri-food products find their origin, development and fortune are often made up of sites of great cultural and landscape interest, ancient villages, historic companies, areas of naturalistic and environmental value.
The legislator has long been aware of this combination of quality agricultural production and cultural heritage: think of the solemn affirmation of art. 1 of the Consolidated Law on Wine, which proclaims the wine, the vine and the viticultural territories as a national cultural heritage to be protected and enhanced in the aspects of economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the legislative concepts of eno-tourism and oil tourism, recently regulated, both refer to educational and cultural activities linked to the history of the traditions and productive practices of the territories, companies, wineries, oil mills. Local food and wine traditions are now part of the "culture system".
Collecting the points dealt with, the first impression is that the cut of the Plan towards agrifood has a marked environmental focus, which goes hand in hand with the need for economic, technological, mechanical development, of entire supply chains and many areas and territories of our Country.
In the Plan, there is the awareness that the challenge of developing the agricultural sector can also be overcome by means of infrastructures - especially digital ones - and thanks to the push towards a real circular economy.
The projects that aim to promote the formation of fully "green" and "zero waste" communities and territories are also very interesting. The Plan, on this point, while defining the indispensable premises (including the improvement and implementation of efficient waste management), is not very detailed and therefore it will be interesting to understand how in the future these initiatives will develop, also for social as well as environmental repercussions.
Investments and subsidies for the improvement of machinery will certainly have an important effect, an element of rationalization and reduction of the use of pesticides in crops.
Finally, the projects dedicated to the development of tourism in rural areas will be fully explored and better detailed. As mentioned, the link between cultural heritage, tourism and agricultural production is increasingly intense, has its roots in the millenary Italian history and is destined, if adequately exploited, to secure social and employment benefits.