Manufacturers contested new decree
Press release FederUnacoma on the government: a medieval concept of agriculture The President of the manufacturers of agricultural machinery disputes the new decree, which excludes the sector from the agri-food chain, preventing supplies to farms that need it urgently. “Our requests and those of the farmers are rational and transparent – says Malavolti – while the reasons of those who oppose are obscure and incomprehensible”. The new decree on the health emergency, passed yesterday evening by the government, once again excludes agricultural machinery (Ateco code 28.30) from the list of necessary sectors. The Decree confirms the need to guarantee agricultural activity, considered fundamental for food supplies, but does not allow the machinery to be produced in order to be able to practice it. Similarly, it allows forestry activities and the activities of the bioenergy chains but without the operators of these sectors having access to the mechanical means that are needed to carry them out.
“It is a medieval concept of agriculture and activities in a rural environment – comments the president of FederUnacoma Alessandro Malavolti – because no processing can be carried out manually, without adequate machines and spare parts”. To make agriculture, tractors, soil-working equipment, seeders, treatment machines, irrigation and harvesting, spare parts, components and much more are needed – warns the Federation of Builders – as well as for forestry activities and for the bioenergy supply chain, tractors, lifters, chainsaws, trailers, chippers and many other types of vehicles are needed. The supplies of machinery should be guaranteed to agricultural and forestry companies but this is now impossible by government decree, and many mechanical means already ordered for the most urgent seasonal processes cannot be delivered, with incalculable damage especially for food production.
Then there is an aspect of method, in the conduct of the Government, which is equally serious and which President Malavolti strongly poses: safety for workers, they are clear, well motivated and supported by all the professional agricultural organizations that have denounced the emergency relating precisely to the lack of machinery “. “Vice versa – claims the president of the manufacturers – the reasons why our sector, after being correctly included in the new decree, were then excluded at the last moment are incomprehensible and obscure”. In fact, it appears that, against the advice of the same Ministers of Agriculture Bellanova and Economic Development Patuanelli, the union representatives imposed themselves for the exclusion of the sector, and this despite the agreements and protocols already developed, at the mechanical engineering companies agricultural, by the same territorial union representatives. “This resulted in a cross-eyed and paradoxical decree – concludes President Malavolti – which indicates the agricultural supply chain and related industrial sectors as strategic, and which then prevents, by deleting the codes, the production of the capital goods that are indispensable to it. “These are serious inconsistencies – concludes Malavolti – on which we will immediately return to consult the Government”. Rome, April 11, 2020
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