Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region commits new funds to struggling pear industry, as new season gets underway
Senior figures at one of Italy’s largest fruit suppliers has welcomed a decision by officials in Emilia-Romagna to invest €1.3mn to support the region’s pear industry.
“We warmly welcome the Emilia-Romagna Region’s initiative and would like to thank President Michele de Pascale, Agriculture Councilor Alessio Mammi, and the entire regional council for their continued dedication to a product that represents a historic and strategic asset for our region,” said Davide Vernocchi, president of Apo Conerpo.
The initiative grants the funding specifically to PGI Emilia-Romagna pears through two complementary measures: €600,000 for farms participating in the quality regime, plus a further €700,000 for ‘promotion and enhancement activities’ in Italy and abroad.
A call for proposals will be launched in order to identify which projects will be undertaken for those marketing efforts.
The investment comes at a crucial time for the sector. “Pear growing in Emilia-Romagna has been through extremely challenging years,” Vernocchi continued. “Climate change, the brown marmorated stink bug, the return and spread of plant diseases, along with frost, hailstorms, drought, and other extreme events, have severely tested companies and significantly reduced the production potential of a sector that for decades has represented one of the strengths of regional fruit growing.”
However, he also suggested that neither producers nor the regional authorities had stopped believing in the industry: “Companies have continued to invest, innovate, and seek solutions; regional institutions have maintained an ongoing dialogue with the supply chain and implemented concrete support tools.”
Cautious confidence
The initiative comes as the region’s new pear season enters full swing. “We approach this season with the hope that it will represent a further step in the revitalisation of regional pear growing,” commented Adriano Aldrovandi – who, as vice-president of Apo Conerpo, president of the Opera Consortium, and president of Unapera – is arguably the most invested individual in Italy’s entire pear trade.
“The picture is uneven: in some areas, production prospects are more encouraging than in recent years, and conditions are promising in terms of both volumes and quality. In other areas, however, the weather has been more severe, and we are experiencing some of the same challenges we have faced in recent years.”
