The increased interest on the part of consumers for niche food products as opposed to mass brands is creating a new approach to the cultivation of basic crops like grain and legumes. Over the last few years, a growing number of small Italian farmers are turning towards the past and recovering the time-honoured techniques and historic autochthonous crops of their ancestors. In the historic Ciociaria area (Lazio) entrepreneurial farmers like Arduino Fratarangeli and his wife Claudia, have created RES Ciociaria, (Rete di Economia Solidale – Economic Fair-trade network), a non-profit cooperative that offers a solution on how to deal with the traditional fragmentation of Italian farmland. The RES Cioceria also takes over abandoned fields and vineyards in the area, making them once more productive. Special attention is given to the cultivation of traditional grain species like Senatore Cappelli, Saragolla, Frassineto, Serena, Abbondanza, Autonomia, Grano Monococco and Solina (the last is listed as a Slow Food Presidia by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity), as well as maize and legumes like the Fagiolone di Vallepietra bean (exclusive to the area). By pooling their resources under the cooperative umbrella, small local farmers harvest, process and commercialize their products more easily, offering consumers an alternative to the predominance of the mass market.
Info:
Tel. +39.335.6534373