We are using all available resources effectively and concretely to combat Xylella and regenerate our olive growing heritage, achieving significant results but also fully recognizing the critical issues that remain to be overcome. Today, we can say that the Plan has reached advanced levels of implementation, but we continue to work to further accelerate the process and ensure that interventions are increasingly responsive to local needs.
This is what was stated byFrancesco Paolicelli, Councilor for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Puglia Region, on the sidelines of the hearing held this afternoon at the Agriculture Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, dedicated to theuse of funding earmarked for the fight against Xylella fastidiosa.
“We are talking about an extraordinary plan worth 300 million euros which, despite the administrative complexities and difficulties linked to the pandemic, has reached a level of progress of over 86% of the resources committed and over 80% of those already disbursed – the councilor continued. We have supported thousands of agricultural businesses, supported replanting with resistant cultivars, financed interventions to contain the vector, and guaranteed concrete income support."
During the hearing, the work carried out for improve the effectiveness and governance of interventions, also through constant dialogue with the local community and a remodulation of measures to adapt them to the changed production context.
“Alongside the implementation of the Plan, we are also strengthening the control and transparency tools – added Paolicelli –. We have approved a memorandum of understanding with the Guardia di Finanza (Italian Financial Police) that, for the first time, introduces a structured oversight system for the use of public funds, including those earmarked for Xylella. This is a crucial step to ensure the correctness, efficiency, and full traceability of resources. We will present this memorandum on May 18th. Our goal - he concluded - It is twofold: on the one hand, completing the Plan by ensuring clear timelines and concrete results, and on the other, building an increasingly solid model for managing public resources, capable of combining speed and effectiveness with the highest level of control. Olive regeneration is not just a response to the emergency, but a strategic lever for the future of Apulian agriculture. "I would like to thank," the councilor concluded, "Commission President Carloni and the commissioners for their availability and attentive listening."
