We get clarification from Maria Chiara Gadda, the MP who put her name first to the text, and Maria Grazia Mammuccini, president of the Italian Federation of Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture.
Organic, biodynamic, integrated, conventional. There are several types of farming in Italy, as across Europe, and all are governed by EU directives. All receive support from the funds of the Common Agricultural Policy, the CAP. But what exactly are the differences between the various types of farming that consumers need to be aware of? In Italy alone there are, according to European Parliament data, 1,145,700 farms. The majority of these apply the conventional method, which uses fertilisers, pesticides and plant protection products in intensive crops to achieve high yields. These are substances that, as the latest report from the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Ispra) points out, continue to pollute surface and groundwater across the country, where at least 300 different chemical compounds — herbicides and pesticides — have been found in 77.3 per cent of the samples examined.
While integrated farming seeks to minimise their use, it is only organic and biodynamic farming that produces fruit, vegetables and cereals without resorting to synthetic chemical products. This is achieved through the use of organic fertilisers and specific cultivation techniques, such as crop rotation, green manuring, and — in the case of biodynamic farming — biodynamic preparations. This type of farming applies rigorous methods governed by production standards and subject to very strict certification processes.
"In Italy there are around 80,000 organic farms, while there are 4,500 biodynamic farms. Under Italian law, which is even more restrictive than European law, organic and biodynamic agricultural products must not contain traces of chemical residues, even if accidentally contaminated," explains Maria Grazia Mammuccini, an organic farmer herself and president of the Italian Federation of Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture, Federbio.
"We are at a stage where the European Union, through the green deal, is calling for organic farming to cover at least 25 per cent of agricultural land in Europe. Few people know that Italy is one of the leading countries in Europe in terms of land area, with 15 per cent. Almost double the European average, which stands at 8 per cent."
A growing sector, popular with consumers but also beneficial for the climate and biodiversity, capable of maintaining soil fertility, with a rising turnover that "in our country alone reaches 7 billion euros between the domestic market and exports," reaffirms president Mammuccini, with a high rate of employment among women and young people. The European Union itself has provided for further incentives for the sector within the green deal and Next Generation EU, through the Action Plan for Organic Farming, to stimulate both supply and demand. The plan, in addition to encouraging an increase in organic agricultural land in EU countries, identifies as key priorities the strengthening of the role of organic production in the fight against climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
"When a family, a person, chooses a fruit or vegetable product, they are also choosing the farming model behind it. In the case of organic and biodynamic farming, what is central is maintaining soil fertility, not exploiting it. In these types of cultivation, only organic fertilisation using manure or naturally sourced organic fertiliser may be used. A series of cultivation practices are carried out that intensive farming no longer performs, such as crop rotation and green manuring. Of course, we don't achieve the yields of conventional farming, but we certainly achieve consistent production," Mammuccini points out. Organic and biodynamic cultivation is also based on the recovery of local or endangered varieties of fruit and vegetables — species that have already adapted to the soil, the shape of the land and the climate.
It is precisely in this context that Italy too is about to adopt a law that should strengthen this sector, as confirmed by Maria Chiara Gadda, MP and lead signatory of the legislative text Disposizioni per la tutela, lo sviluppo e la competitività della produzione agricola, agroalimentare e dell'acquacoltura con metodo biologico. A bill submitted to parliament, approved at first reading by the Chamber of Deputies in 2018 and by a very large majority in the Senate of the Republic on 21 May last year, with the sole vote against coming from senator Elena Cattaneo. It has now returned to the Agriculture Committee in the Chamber, awaiting final approval.
"The text is part of a comprehensive reform aimed at structuring the organic sector to make it more transparent and competitive, alongside the Piano strategico nazionale and the so-called decreto controlli. And it is consistent with current legislation at national and European level in its various aspects," reaffirms Maria Chiara Gadda. Reading it, one can learn that it provides for the creation of organic districts, the aggregation of businesses across the entire supply chain, a structured organisation of organic agricultural, agri-food and aquaculture production and markets, and how it allocates a share of revenue from the sale of plant protection products to research in this field, in line with the new EU objectives.
Right up to the establishment of a national "made in Italy bio" label to distinguish products obtained from organic and biodynamic raw materials grown or reared in Italy — also fundamental for boosting exports.
"Two aspects need to be highlighted for citizens and consumers. The first regulation of organic farming in Europe came into force in 1991, and EU regulations on organic farming have included biodynamic agriculture ever since. Already in EEC Regulation 2092/91, biodynamic preparations are defined as 'appropriate' for the activation of humus. All of this was incorporated once again into the latest EU regulation on organic farming, number 848, approved on 30 May 2018 and in force from 1 January 2021. This confirms previous case law, but explicitly places biodynamic agriculture within organic agriculture," the MP from Varese reiterates. "The second aspect is that the need to explicitly include the word 'biodynamic' in the text emerged during hearings from the Central Inspectorate for the Repression of Food Fraud, which falls under the Ministry of Agricultural Policy, precisely to make controls more effective in protecting the consumer. The biodynamic sector is included in the law because it has already been certified as organic in advance; otherwise it falls outside the scope of the regulatory text," the MP emphasises.
A regulatory and consolidating text, therefore, of existing rules, which sets out to incentivise organic production while also reclaiming land considered unsuitable by conventional agriculture. A factor all the more relevant in an era of pandemic and climate change, which enhances ecosystem services through high-quality production and the protection of the environment and biodiversity.
"We must not forget that without pesticides it is truly difficult to combat plant diseases, which are on the rise due to climate change. Scientific research in this field is therefore fundamental for all agricultural models. Research and technological innovation are the real challenge facing organic farming. But in general, I believe that for all sectors of our agriculture, from organic to conventional, the shared objective must be to reduce the impact of chemicals in the soil and in products, in respect of human health and the environment," the MP emphasises. Research that is also working on replacing copper — as reported in the Bio report by the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics, an Italian research body under the control of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies — the only metal used in the treatment of plants in organic farming.
"The organic sector is of great importance for our country. Also because our climatic conditions make this choice more favourable and accessible. We have areas such as the Po Valley, which are better suited to intensive agriculture, which allows for very high yields per hectare. But we must not forget that 75 per cent of Italian territory is hilly or mountainous. Sometimes the lower yield of organic farming per hectare is cited, implicitly suggesting a greater consumption of land. First of all, let us say that with respect to agriculture one should adopt an ecosystemic approach, capable of assessing soil fertility over time. And beyond this, in Italy what should be of concern is the ever-growing presence of uncultivated land. Territories that are often abandoned, prone to instability and depopulation, which can rediscover an agricultural vocation and recover biodiversity. In short, we need more agriculture, and also a range of production methods suited to local characteristics," explains Maria Chiara Gadda. "The resumption of their maintenance would also go hand in hand with a recovery in employment. Without forgetting that the new generation of organic and biodynamic agricultural entrepreneurs has an extremely strong drive towards innovation. Think of the development of supply chain traceability through blockchain. An aspect absolutely not to be overlooked, always in the interest of protecting the consumer."
For this reason too, according to MP Maria Chiara Gadda, citizens and the public should focus on what the law's objective actually is. "Italy is the second country in the world for organic production, after the United States and ahead of Spain. A sector that has grown by +149 per cent over ten years is fundamental at a time when we need to relaunch sustainable economic growth in social, environmental and employment terms in our country. I see no reason why we should give that up."
For the Italian legislature, therefore, there is no opposition between the two models of organic and conventional agricultural production. As regards the matter of certified organic and biodynamic methods, their equivalence was established at European level long ago, as well as at national level. "It is precisely the current regulation, the ministerial decree of 18 July 2018, that tells us how organic and biodynamic agriculture, based on the sustainability of production processes, promote biodiversity and the natural resilience capacity of agroecosystems. By favouring the application of technical inputs with a low environmental impact," explains Gadda. "Community regulations have also for years recognised the so-called biodynamic preparations, since Reg. EEC 2092/91, Annex 1. 2. B, where biodynamic preparations are defined as appropriate for the activation of compost. This direction was confirmed by the new EU Regulation no. 848, in force from 1 January 2021, which defines substances 'traditionally used in biodynamic farming' and includes such preparations in the list of substances for organic farming. These rules are unequivocally defined within the specifications and technical rules drawn up by associations of biodynamic farmers and their respective certification bodies." Certification bodies, recalls Federbio president Maria Grazia Mammuccini, that exist for organic farming and specifically also for biodynamic farming, which has even more restrictive standards. Bodies that are not limited solely to the best-known, Demeter, which has certified 500 biodynamic farms according to Crea, but also to other bodies such as Verdea Biodinamica and AgriBioDinamica.
But what do organic and biodynamic farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs think of the law as it awaits final approval? According to Maria Grazia Mammuccini, the importance of more precise rules, guaranteeing consumers and the entire agroecological supply chain, is fundamental. "We need this law because organic farming is now an important part of our agriculture. But the right tools are needed to accompany this phase of growth." Also because, she clarifies, "the law now before Parliament introduces nothing new with respect to biodynamic farming, and to say that it is this new regulation that equates biodynamic with organic is also inaccurate. European regulation has already provided for this since 1991, recognising biodynamic agriculture as organic and therefore, as such, already certified organic. What is not remembered, however, is that biodynamic producers are obliged to keep part of their land — at least 10 per cent — intact, in its natural state, precisely to protect biodiversity. Just as biodynamic preparations, necessary in this type of farming, are regulated by the annexes of the existing community regulation. The well-known horn manure is one of many technical inputs permitted in organic farming and is part of the list of technical inputs provided for by the Ministry of Agriculture."
And the Federbio president concludes. "We are at a particular historic moment: this regulation that we have been waiting for 15 years arrives at the right time, driven also by Europe. We expect the Chamber to approve it swiftly."