To avoid the invasion of photovoltaics takes away thousands of hectares of productive agricultural land, as happened in Bitonto, CIA Italian Farmers of Puglia delivered to Michele Emiliano, President of the Region Puglia, a proposal to modify the current legislation on permissions for new plants.
The proposal is based on three principles: considering productive agricultural land as a common good to be preserved and used for crops; reserving the construction of new plants in industrial areas, disused quarries and on public buildings; limiting the use of agricultural land to land that has been uncultivated for at least 5 years.
Furthermore, according to CIA Puglia, local administrations must finally have a say in the authorization process, asserting the characteristics and protection of the territory, so that authorizations that present unsuitability profiles are not granted.
The proposal was delivered to Michele Emiliano today, during a meeting with farmers organized by CIA Puglia at the headquarters of Finoliva Global Service SpA in Bitonto. Gennaro Sicolo, president of CIA Italian Farmers of Puglia: "The olive tree is the star of the Puglia Region logo. If entire olive groves continue to be uprooted to make room for photovoltaics, as happened in Bitonto, we might as well change the logo and insert a stretch of black panels in place of the olive tree. It is absurd, paradoxical, that in the homeland of Italian olive growing, similar things happen. We need to regulate authorizations differently, taking into account the value and vocations of the territory, protecting the primary asset of agricultural and agri-food production. Let's not let ourselves be colonized by those who disembowel our territories for interests that often reside thousands of kilometers away. Let's defend Puglia".
The proposal was studied and drafted by Massimo Fragassi, Head of the Legislative Office Cia Puglia. During the meeting, Sicolo also emphasized the issue Xylella, with the advancement of the bacterium now reaching the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani.
The president of CIA Puglia then spoke about the collapse of durum wheat prices, denouncing the speculative maneuvers that force cereal growers to produce at a loss.
Emiliano explained to farmers that he believes it is necessary to quickly approve the decree on suitable areas. The president of the Puglia Region, receiving the CIA proposal, has undertaken to study all possible solutions, also in consultation with the national government and the EU, to protect the environmental and agricultural heritage of Puglia from the massive invasion of photovoltaic systems on agricultural land.
