The regional commissioner of Cisal Calabria, Vitaliano Papillo, visited the Sant’Onofrio garrison this morning, where farmers and hauliers from the Vibo area are carrying out the mobilization against high fuel prices and the crisis that is affecting their companies.
Papillo stopped with the demonstrators, listening to their stories and collecting the difficulties they experience every day. Farmers have reported the burden of production costs and agricultural diesel, sales prices that often do not cover the expenses incurred and competition from foreign products, in addition to the damage caused by wildlife. The hauliers described a situation of great suffering, with companies, many of which are small and family-run, struggling to find the liquidity necessary to continue working.
“I found tired and worried people, who only ask to be able to continue doing their job with dignity,” declared Papillo. «Those who cultivate the land and those who transport the goods keep the economy of our region running. When a farmer sells his crop at a price that doesn’t even pay for the fuel used to produce it, or a haulier leaves his truck in the yard because he can no longer afford the costs, the problem affects the entire community.”
«We are aware that this is a problem of international scope, on which however the national government has the duty to intervene with the levers at its disposal», continued the regional commissioner. «This is precisely why we need a change of pace. The interventions implemented so far have been stopgap measures, which have not had much impact and have left the companies exactly where they found them. An agricultural or trucking company needs to know how much diesel will cost it in the coming months and whether the price of its product will at least cover its expenses. This is why we ask for structural interventions on the cost of fuel for production categories, rules that guarantee fair prices along the agricultural supply chain, greater controls on imports and tools for access to credit that restore liquidity to transport companies.»
«Cisal Calabria stands alongside these workers», added Papillo. «We will take the requests collected this morning to the institutional offices, at a regional and national level, asking for a stable discussion with the representatives of the sectors involved and verifiable commitments, with certain implementation times.»
Papillo thanked those present for their welcome and assured that Cisal Calabria will continue to closely follow the evolution of the dispute, remaining at the disposal of the categories involved.