The new Italian Minister of Agriculture, Teresa Bellanova, spoke about blockchain and food products.
Speaking at a hearing at the Chamber’s and Senate’s Agriculture Commissions, the Minister outlined the Ministry’s new policy guidelines, with the aim of putting agriculture and agri-food at the heart of the government’s economic and social policies.
Among her proposals are the classic ones of reducing the tax burden for agricultural entrepreneurs, reducing bureaucracy, promoting generational turnover and women’s access to the sector, fighting the illegal employment, passing laws for the simplification and protection of organic farming, and a permanent consultation on agricultural issues, starting with the climate.
But there is also an extraordinary plan for the protection of Italian products in the world, based on more transparent labels and enhancement of the supply chains.
In this regard, she announced that she would like to boost investments in order to encourage the digitisation of the sector, exports and e-commerce.
“It is my intention to constantly convene political and technical meetings for each supply chain, which can become a place to address the urgent needs of the various production sectors and develop operational proposals. We have already begun the first meetings and will continue in the coming weeks with meetings dedicated to the livestock sector, oil, wine, wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables, and gradually on all agricultural sectors, including horse riding. We want to work to anticipate the emergence of problems and plan the necessary interventions”.
She also announced that she would proceed with the implementation of the mandatory food labelling rule, saying:
“Regulation 775 of 2018 does not meet our expectations, so we will urgently ask for a meeting with the new EU Health Commissioner to protect citizens and ensure the traceability of food products, then, we want to encourage the use of advanced technologies, including the blockchain”.
The aim would be to increase the transparency of information on the label for the final consumer, in line with the European plan that requires some products to indicate the origin of raw materials.
Obviously, the EU plan must be put into practice thanks to the policies of the member countries, and the new Minister intends to do so using, among others, blockchain-based technologies.
