Montalbano and Chianti are the newly formed organic districts that add to Tuscany’s heritage of districts, entities dedicated to the cultivation, breeding, processing and marketing of organically produced agricultural and food products.
The two newcomers were presented today as part of a press conference that turned out to be a true celebration of organic, the first occasion in which all 5 existing biodistricts in Tuscany recognized by law (the 51 of 2019) by the Region of Tuscany, came together and found each other. In fact, Montalbano and Chianti join the organic district of Fiesole, the first one born on July 27, 2021, of Val di Cecina recognized on July 13, 2022, and of Calenzano recognized on September 15, 2022.
Next March 9, the first table of districts, a body that the law requires to be established annually, will be held precisely in Montalbano, and that will be the occasion to exchange experiences, confront any problems and share perspectives.
Chianti organic district
Recognized on January 31, 2023, although it is a new and different entity than the Chianti rural district recognized in 2018, the organic district will work with it synergistically to become a laboratory for the design, testing and implementation of new practices for organic agriculture and to promote an inclusive development model in step with the ecological transition and agroecological approach.
The territory of the organic district covers 7 municipalities, namely Barberino Tavarnelle, Castellina in Chianti, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Gaiole in Chianti, Greve in Chianti, Radda in Chianti and San Casciano Val di Pesa, and finds its defining element in the Chianti Classico production area, with an organic UAA of 43%.
Organic farms have joined through the Chianti biodistrict association, which has 62 member organic farms.
The three already established:
The Val di Cecina Organic District was created as a complementary tool to the Rural District already recognized on Dec. 4, 2019 spans 12 municipalities: Bibbona, Casale M., Castelnuovo VdC, Cecina, Guardistallo, Lajatico, Montecatini VdC, Montescudaio, Monteverdi M., Pomarance, Riparbella, and Volterra. Ten companies have joined through the Tuscan Organic Producers Coordination.
The Calenzano organic district insists on the municipality of Calenzano alone, which has an organic UAA of 36 percent. Ten organic farms have joined the district .
The organic district of Fiesole, initially established as a rural district with a high organic vocation and later transformed into an organic district insists on the municipality of Fiesole alone, and has an organic UAA of 68 percent. About 18 organic farms in the area have joined the district.
“Just this morning,” said President Eugenio Giani, “I read that in Italy 70 percent of consumers are willing to pay more if they are certain that the product is organic. The path taken by Tuscany, among the first regions in Italy on this front to have started, is going in the right direction therefore. Two new organic districts in addition to the three existing ones, five since the Region established the law recognizing them in 2019, is testimony to the strong attention that Tuscany, both as a Region with support and investment and as administrations together with entrepreneurs, has decided to devote to a real model of agriculture. A model that is then also the one that Europe invites us to follow, that is, a quality agriculture that is first and foremost synonymous with health but also with sustainability. I would add, a unique lever of territorial marketing.”
“Two more districts and in important and valuable areas such as Montalbano and Chianti are a demonstration of how much in our region agriculture is taking the form of a practice that is increasingly compatible with the environment and that decreases the impact of chemicals on cultivated products,” said Vice President and Councillor for Agribusiness Stefania Saccardi. “We are a region that wants to make healthy, quality, and environmentally sustainable agriculture a model to be spread. We are on the right track if you consider that Europe has given a target of 25 percent of the area cultivated with organic farming by 2025, and already Tuscany is at 35 percent, and today we present two districts where the organic area is around 40 percent, a high percentage that testifies to the commitment of this region and the administrations with which we are working, and of many entrepreneurs who have made a quality choice.”
“I believe that for Poggio,” said Mayor Francesco Puggelli, “this is an important day because it rewards the teamwork done so far and commits us for the future to work on projects to enhance and promote the Montalbano territory through new practices for organic farming and to promote an inclusive and sustainable development model. Already the Medici structured the Medici territory to cultivate the biodiversity that has deep roots in Poggio a Caiano. Suffice it to say that just a stone’s throw from the Medici Villa, volunteers from the Le Buche beekeeping oasis preserve and study seeds of ancient plants. The biodistrict was therefore a natural step for us to carry on this tradition and attention to the territory that involves as many as 59 farms. I sincerely thank the Region of Tuscany, especially Vice President Saccardi, who has always supported us on the path toward the establishment of the biodistrict.”
The rules for becoming a district
There are three constraints that the Tuscany Region has placed on establishing a district: presence of an area conducted organically equal to at least thirty percent of the agricultural area used.
the membership of at least three organic farmers registered in the public list of organic agriculture and aquaculture operators operating in the territory of the district or, if present in the territory, an association in which there are at least three registered organic farmers;
the membership of one-third of the municipalities in the district’s territory, which must commit to adopting policies to protect land use, reduce waste production, defend the environment and promote organic production, and defend and develop agrobiodiversity.
Source: Toscana Notizie, Information Agency of the Regional Council. Written by Chiara Bini.
Opening photo taken from Il Fatto Alimentare
