WP5 Case study on genetic resources in food and agriculture

6 ItalyItaly is the country with one of the highest number of breeds at risk within the EU15 butat the same time a comparably high level of support through AEMs (Signorello andPappalardo, 2003). Following Reg. (EC) No.2078/92, there were AEMs within 15regional programmes, which addressed ‘rearing animals of local breeds in danger ofextinction’, and around 100 different animal breeds have been supported (Cicia et al.2001). Under Reg. (EC) No.1257/1999, all regions, except Basilicata and Calabria, haveset up AEMs for the conservation of breeds under risk of extinction (38,200 livestockunits supported in 2002), with the regions supporting the highest number of livestockunits being the Emilia-Romagna (10,000), Piemonte (7,500) and Lazio (5,700) (Oreade-Breche, 2005). In the Emilia-Romagna the spread of organic farming is said to havecontributed to the interest in the measures. Some regions as well offer support for certainplant varieties. Such examples are the Emilia-Romagna, where premiums for certainspecies of apple trees and grape vines apparently have showed a strong effect (Oreade-Breche, 2005) or the Veneto, where some varieties of barley and maize are supported(Bonnieux et al., 2004).Italy is an outstanding example in Europe of combining food culture and traditions withthe conservation of genetic resources. In Italy, there has been an increased awareness ofloss of environmental values connected with genetic erosion and at the same timeincreased demand for typical products derived from some endangered breeds (Cicia et al.2001). E.g. the Emilia-Romagna tries to increase the commercial value of products fromlocal breeds through the introduction of new quality marks (Oreade-Breche, 2005). TheSlow Food movement, now an international association, was founded in Italy in 1986 andpromotes food and wine culture, but also aims at preserving foods and cultivation andprocessing techniques inherited from tradition and domestic and wild animal andvegetable species. Of its 83,000 members worldwide, around 35,000 are from Italy(Slowfood 2005). In 2003 the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity was created. Itsmission is to organise and fund projects that defend the world’s heritage of agriculturalbiodiversity and gastronomic traditions. While the Foundation promotes projects aroundthe world, its direct financial contributions are especially dedicated to the world's lessdeveloped countries. So called Presidia projects try to defend typical products at risk ofdisappearing and especially support small-scale producers in the way that they facilitatecooperation between them and promotion of the products as well as creating a ‚networkof experience‘, including international exchanges. The primary partner of the Slow FoodFoundation for Biodiversity is the Region of Tuscany, which has a long history ofimportant cultural initiatives, linked to promoting and protecting biodiversity andcoordinates various programmes for international cooperation. This Region promotestypical foods through a programme coordinated by the Rural Agricultural DevelopmentAgency (ARSIA), and in this context has supported many Slow Food projects. Inaddition, Tuscany was the first Italian region to institute a regional catalogue oftraditional foods. In 2003 Slow Food in conjunction with the regional authorities of35