World Grain - October 2021 - 23

Italy has nearly 300 flour mills, including this Rieper SpA
facility in Vintl.
Molini Agugiaro Figna, Molini Bongiovanni, Molini Dentri,
Molini Industriali, Molino Chiavazza, Molino Lario, Molino Pagani,
Molini Pivetti, Molino Quaglia, Nova and Simec.
GM crops not popular
The annual attaché report on oilseeds explains that Italy is the
main driver in an increase in EU imports of palm oil for biofuel
production.
" Italy has two hydrogenation derived renewable diesel
(HDRD) plants, one of which is expanding from 325 million liters
to 540 million liters, and another plant of 770 million liters
opened in August 2019, " the report explained.
A Nov. 12, 2020, report on agricultural biotechnology from
FAS Rome highlights Italy's dependence on imported GM commodities
for its livestock and dairy sectors, particularly soybeans,
with imports at 2 million tonnes, and soymeal, of which 1.9 million
tonnes were imported in 2019. The leading suppliers of soybeans
to Italy are the United States and Brazil, while Argentina is
the dominant supplier of soymeal.
" Nevertheless, the general attitude toward genetically engineered
(GE) crops remains hostile, " the report said. " The national
media debate on GE crops and plant experimentation has made
it politically unpalatable to support GE research and cultivation. "
The result is that " public and private research funding on GE
products has gradually been cut to zero and currently no GE field
trials are being conducted in Italy, " the report said, but it noted
that Italy's Agriculture Minister at the time, Teresa Bellanova, as
World-Grain.com / World Grain / October 2021
well as the farming organizations Coldiretti, Confagricoltura, and
Cia, along with industry players and scientists, had come forward
in favor of innovative biotechnologies, such as genome editing.
As Italy is a Member State of the European Union, the basic
guidelines for Italian agrifood policy are set at the EU level. That
means that it will be subject to the new, reformed EU Common
Agricultural Policy, due to come into operation in 2023. Under
the new framework, the Italian government will have to draw
up a national strategic plan for its farm sector, with a greater emphasis
on climate and environmental goals than previously. The
European Commission has provided recommendations for Italy's
national plan, calling for actions to strengthen its farm sector,
which is hampered by small farm size and low digitalization, as
well as for proposals to make the industry more sustainable and
improve the position of farmers in the value chain.
This is against the background of Europe's Green Deal, proposed
into place by European Commission President Ursula von
der Leyen, along with the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies
that go with it. The ambitious plans include sharp cuts in
the use of pesticides and fertilizers, as well as an increase in the
proportion of organic farmland.
The new Italian Strategic Plan also is planned to include
the Italian government's proposal on how these changes will
be achieved.
Chris Lyddon is World Grain's European correspondent.
He may be contacted at: cajlyddon@gmail.com
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World Grain - October 2021

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