What is social faming? The social farming (SF) includes social cooperatives and farms that in addition to produce agro foods, engage with social thanks to the inclusion or the recovery of disadvantaged or weak people. In Italy it has more than 1’000 projects and a turnover of over 200 million euro. The CIA has been exposed to the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2015 in “Social Farming and microcredit”, a meeting to explain what has changed after it has been approved the national law which came into force last Semptember 23, 2015. With the approval of this law, were finally recognized the many Italian companies that have carried out their activities in agriculture in a social and respectful of people and civil standards way.
Social farming was the theme that the CIA – Italian Farmers Confederation has addressed at Milano with the participation of some of the greatest exponents of the Italian agriculture: Fiorio (spokesman of National Forum of social farming) and the president of CIA, Dino Scanavino.
It’s just the same Scanavino who said during the conference that “agriculture done wisely is the one that in addition to produce fruit, vegetables, milk, oil and wine, produces welfare and social wellness”. In recent times, many companies decides to adopt this new approach to agriculture: in this way they offer welfare services to the disadvantaged parts (disabled, drug addicts, elderly, prisoners, children) and in disadvantaged places (such as mountains areas).
There are, in fact, more than 4000 employees in social farming and more than 1000 projects active today, so as to put Italy on the podium of the UE scene. This is because the social farm is an experience that should be done “together” and that involves farms, health authorities, local governments and individual families.
But how will be involved farms and families? The Italian Farmers Confederation will promote a series of meeting and open seminars in Italian territory, exchange moments and insights both from a regulatory point of view and society, ie the creation of ties and new experiences between the protagonists of agriculture.
In order to involve all these actors, in fact, the CIA has decided to become promoter together with the Regions in the implementation of PSR (Regional Development Plans), so that it can realize the multi-functionality of farms and the development of rural areas of our country. In fact, more Scanavino goes on say that the European Investment and Development Funds should be granted to support agriculture as a whole and not only for the production of agro-food.
This new law leads to the same fiscal plan all activities carried out in agriculture: they will be subject to the same tax system with a reduction of red tape. In fact, will no longer be need to open different fiscal and tax positions, but all will be counted together.