Italy, agriculture at the time of the Coronavirus: what is happening?
If you are an agricultural entrepreneur, an agricultural worker, also just seasonally, there are no limitations to your working activities
The Coronavirus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The general Manager of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the press conference of 11th March in Geneva, declared:
“The WHO made the assessment that the Covid-19 can be characterised as a pandemic. We have never seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus, this is the first one. But we haven’t ever seen a pandemic before, that can be controlled, at the same time”.
Italy has adopted stringent measures in order to limit contagion, all commercial activities will be closed apart from “shops selling basic necessities, pharmacies and para-pharmacies”. Basic public services remain guaranteed, among which public transport. These provisions are contained in a ministerial decree signed by the Prime Minister Conte, valid until 25th March.
The health emergency is accompanied by the economic one, in the agricultural sector, the national president of Confagricoltura, Giansanti, expresses the hope of a European coordination “We should avoid disproportionate and unilateral initiatives taken by the single State members, which could further aggravate the social and economic costs of the Coronavirus emergency”.
Agriculture, what does the Ministerial Decree say?
Point 4 of Art 1 (Urgent contagion containment measures throughout the entire national territory) reads: “guaranteed, in compliance with the health and hygiene regulations, remain banking, financial, insurance services as well as the activities of the agricultural and the zoo-technical agro-food processing sectors, including the production chains, supplying goods and services. This means going to work, while observing the good practices”.
What are the implications for the agricultural world?
If you are an agricultural entrepreneur, an agricultural worker, also just seasonally, there are no limitations to your working activities.
The President of Coldiretti, Ettore Prandini: “In order to ensure the necessary food supply to the country, it is essential that continuity to the productive activities in the countryside is given, where the seasonal cycles must be followed, from sowing to harvesting, and that the care of plants, the assistance and feeding of livestock are guaranteed; but also retail markets, industrial transformation and deliveries for commercial distribution”.
The objective of the sector is to safeguard companies and workers; although difficulties will come out with regard to the lack of manpower, the priority remains the non-interruption of the productive activities in the fields.