Overview
- The speeches at Coldiretti's assembly in Brescia, delivered Friday, reiterated the creation of a Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty and cited more than €10 billion in ministry spending plus about €5 billion from Italy's PNRR for farm projects.
- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy has banned the production, import and sale of synthetic food, presenting the move as a national first and a model for Europe and the world.
- Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida and Meloni openly attacked EU bureaucracy, singled out Frans Timmermans by name, and demanded changes to the Common Agricultural Policy and stricter enforcement of trade reciprocity to protect Italian producers.
- Farmers at the event welcomed the government's focus but warned that rising input costs — notably diesel and fertilizers — mean measures such as temporary tax cuts on fuel may be insufficient to avoid higher consumer prices.
- The government paired rhetoric with concrete measures, including a reported €150 million Council allocation for Niscemi and programs for water efficiency, renewables and youth training, a strategy that both reshapes policy and reinforces political ties with Coldiretti ahead of national elections.