QUALITALY_129

June/July 202 2 X MAGAZINE As is well known, all numbers around the wheat sector are showing questionable signs. In Italy, the overall production is estimated to be down by about 15%, an outcome that derives from an average given by the harvests in the north, centre and south, with a total of 6.5 billion kilos at national level, on a total area of 1.71 million hectares cultivated with durum wheat for pasta (1.21 million hectares) and soft wheat for bread and biscuits (over half a million hectares). These are the figures published by Coldiretti, mainly related to the various drought and climate change problems that are affecting the country. The situation is also causing further concern at the international level where world wheat production sees a drop, for 2022/23, of about 769 million tonnes with the problems, first and foremost, of the war in Ukraine, but also the expected drops in the United States and India. A complex situation that, in cascade, has shifted attention to other aspects characterising the Italian situation, such as the well-known increase in energy prices and the urgent need to invest in a more articulate and proactive economy for Italian farmers, who are forced to abandon crops because they are not adequately remunerated. The consequences? Many and heavy, both for private individuals and for the catering industry. ACROSS THE OCEAN Chef Luigi Diotaiuti , World Ambassador for Italian cuisine and owner of two famous restaurants in Washington (Al Tiramisù and Aperto) and beloved for his ‘in-house’ production of fresh pasta, is the protagonist of a lucid analysis that compares different realities, also raising ethical and social issues. “The situation is complex as it involves not only us chefs and restaurateurs but food globally. The crisis is already there for so many reasons... When people ask me how work is going, I answer positively because indeed it is, but we have to reckon - and it seems trite to repeat it - with a series of exaggerated price increases that punctuate our daily lives. Consequences stemming from several issues, first Covid and now the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which with the grain crisis has triggered global limits. It is a fact that some large countries are already facing poverty like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Somalia and Nepal’. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE? In the meantime, take immediate action at an agricultural level, i.e. make Italy ‘the European granary’ again. But, to do this, we need the support of politics, institutions, state and regions. Farmers must be helped and facilitated. Italy is a leader in bread, pasta, and pizza... how is it possible that there is no adequate