Calabria risks remaining trapped in a very dangerous fault line that has opened up amidst contradictions. There are reports that converge towards a newfound productive dynamism with growth that marks a paradigm shift. But, in contrast, there is also an employment situation that is constantly struggling (the rate in the second half of 2024 is stuck at 44.2%). In the first six months of this year the labor market in the regional agricultural supply chain closed with a negative balance (-9.8%). A decline, evidently, inspired by the difficulties that emerged within a sector in crisis due to lack of liquidity and the repeated “low blows” inflicted by less than “fair” foreign competition. Suffering that is also found in the third quarter of 2024 which was archived with a negative performance for agriculture (which has an important weight in the Calabrian economy represented by 30,939 companies) which closed the reference period with a drop of -0, 09%. All the other sectors, however, are moving on growth paths.
Things, however, could change quickly. The new year will open with the possibility of injecting new capital into agriculture thanks to the release of the 100% tax credit on investments made by companies in the South in the agricultural sector for 2023. A measure that satisfied the regional leader of Coldiretti, Franco Aceto, because this instrument, aimed at encouraging the economic development of disadvantaged areas, «represented a crucial opportunity for many Calabrian agricultural companies, allowing them to fully recover the amounts invested in innovation and sustainability. Aceto, in underlining the importance of this measure for the regional agricultural sector, explained that the result achieved offers the possibility for companies to further reinvest in their activities. These incentives were fundamental in supporting interventions such as the installation of more efficient irrigation systems and the strengthening of production structures, contributing to increasing the competitiveness of Calabrian companies.”
