The “brown gold” of hazelnuts shines on the Nebrodi. But in order for their value to be really distinct, it is necessary to certify all the qualities, in line with the road taken by Gal Nebrodi Plusled by the President Francesco Calanna. “For some time we have launched the idea of the recognition of the IGP brand at the Nocciola di Sicilia – says Salvatore Giarratana, coordinator of the project -. Although the territory of the Nebrodi is the most representative of this productive reality, on the island there are other choiricles areas, in the Catania, in the province of Palermo and in the year. We have more native varieties, which put together give particular quality to this cultivation ». It is aimed at officially submitting the request in June, while the definitive response of the European Commission should arrive within the year.
In Raccuja, the cultivation of the core has deep roots and has always represented one of the most relevant agricultural activities in the area. In recent years, however, it has been witnessing a significant renewal of the sector. “The new companies – explains the mayor Ivan Martella -, led by brave and far -sighted young people, are revolutionizing the way the core is cultivated”. “Hazelnuts are a world to have to enhance as when wealth came from the mountain,” says Enzo Ioppolo, producer of Sinagra. The 12,000 hectares of Nebroideo hazelnuts could offer significant job opportunities. The fruit, in fact, both raw and worked, therefore in the form of flour, pasta or creams, is “a organic product – explains the owner of a transformation company, Giuseppe Caprino – requested throughout Europe, especially in France and Germany, but also arrives in Japan”.
For its part, Alessandro Lazzara, official of the service 11 of the Provincial Inspectorate of Agriculture of Messina, recalls that the application for the insertion of the Nebroideo CoriLicolo landscape in the national register held by the Ministry of Agriculture was sent, exceeding the first phase, while another result is the financing of two dried fruit transformation plants in Torrenova and Sinagra. Among the areas with the greatest characterization Corilico is that of Tortorici, where Lidia Calà Scarcione, president of the Pro Loco Oricense, is among the protagonists of the path that led to the recognition of the royal pasta of hazelnuts as a slow food garrison. “The battle on the IGP, on which there is also the resistance of large retailers – underlines – also passes from the controls on the products entered by foreign markets, in particular from Türkiye”.
There is a treasure, therefore, in a large portion of the province of Messina. A treasure with large prospects for development for the territory, but which risks disappearing if not adequately preserved and well -kept. The biggest pitfalls? The abandonment of the countryside and the attacks of ghiri and bedbugs, always ready to hit.