Coldiretti Giovani Impresa launches the petition to protect the farming soil

The ongoing pandemic caused by the Covid-19 Virus has shown us the importance of agriculture in providing food and the centrality of the young farmers in guaranteeing healthy, high-quality and local food. This is a common responsibility where everyone is called to contribute.

As young farmers we are seriously worried about the consequences of climate change and we are willing to catch any technological opportunities in order to fully reach the Paris targets and to fulfill the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development.

We strongly believe that the ecological transition goes through agriculture and, as young farmers we think we must protect agricultural soil, as a crucial public good for the European sustainable agriculture project in its triple dimensions: economics, social and environmental.

We, young farmers, require the Institutions to invest in renewable energies without forgetting the crucial role of agriculture in guaranteeing the unique beauty of our territories, jeopardized by alternative land solutions.

We believe that agriculture is able to create supportive and rich rural communities, foster traditions and culture, preserve and revamp the beauty of our territories. Therefore, agricultural lands used for photovoltaic purposes might jeopardize a fundamental socio-economic context.

For these reasons, we require regional authorities to identify abandoned lands, polluted areas, obsolete industrial zones and industrial roofs as proper sites for photovoltaic on the ground.

Italy owns several non-agricultural lands that could be valorized with the photovoltaics without compromising young farmers' fertile soils already creating economic, social and environmental value.

The agricultural soil belongs to the farmers and we agree on the development of energetic multifunctionality only as a secondary activity (up to 5% of the farm area) that must be realized by the farmers themselves in residual areas and with a hanging setup.

As young farmers, we support and encourage sustainable innovations every day. However, by earmarking rural sites to the photovoltaics on the ground we will speed up the biodiversity loss and seriously reduce land availability.

Support the reasons of Coldiretti Giovani Impresa and sign the petition!