Covid-19 is teaching us to organize ourselves in a different way. While many businesses have had to shut down to comply with government measures, agricultural businesses are still at work.
Carmelo Calabrese
To better understand what is going on, FreshPlaza contacted Carmelo Calabrese, sole administrator of Fonteverde Aziende Agricole Associate and partner of the Fonteverde di Ispica PO (RG).
"Health comes first! Having said that, I cannot hide the fact that I am worried about the situation, especially since the campaign of PGI new carrots from Ispica is just starting. We do not know how the foreign markets will react and we shall see how logistics will evolve. We trust the good sense of operators and the authorities. Luckily, so far, Covid-19 has only caused a few inconveniences."
"Still, we have to report a drop in sales with a drastic drop in orders from our clients supplying the H&R sector and wholesale markets. Orders from the big retail chain are stable."
How is work being managed?
"In compliance with what set out by the government, we have implemented measures to safeguard our employees and collaborators. We also remind them to wash their hands often and to not stop without reason during their commute: we need to stay home as much as possible to stop this virus from spreading."
"In the meantime, we still need to contribute by producing fresh food. It would be unthinkable to halt production."
The company
The Fonteverde PO manages over 900 hectares in south-eastern Sicily: 55% of the land is located in the Ragusa province while the remaining 45% is in the Syracuse province.
40 hectares are covered in citrus groves and vineyards, 230 hectares are destined to open-field crops (mainly PGI carrots) and 150 hectares are destined to crops in poly-tunnels and greenhouses. 80% of the covered land (around 120 hectares) is used for double cropping.
Contacts:
OP Consorzio Fonteverde Società Consortile Agricola a r.l.
C.da Fontanazza s.n.
97014 Ispica (RG) Italy
Tel.: +39 0932 951484
Fax: +39 0932 951200
Email1: patrizia@fonteverde.com
Email2: ortofrutta@fonteverde.com