Consorzio Agrario Terrepadane rejects once and for all attempts to assault it by Coldiretti’s magic circle, which for three years has been trying hard to incorporate it into Federconsorzi 2, aka CAI (Consorzi Agrari d’Italia) S.p.A. and CAI Real Estate Ltd. #CleanSpades.
1) Terrepadane, the farmers’ consortium for farmers.
Terrepadane is a model Agricultural Consortium, with 120 years of history, built by farmers for farmers. Data from the 2022 budget, unanimously approved on May 12, 2023, are emblematic:
- More than 250 million euros in sales, +24% over 2021,
- refunds to members (0.3% of turnover) increasing, with 2 million euros redistributed over the past decade,
- assets tripled in nearly 15 years,
- 200 employees, with 1,300 euros in production bonuses for outstanding achievements. (1)
2) Federconsortia 2, the attempts to conquer.
Coldiretti’s magic circle has been on a rampage in its attempt to take over the Terrepadane Agricultural Consortium. With the greedy claim to incorporate its treasures and management into ‘Federconsorzi 2,’ aka CAI S.p.A. and CAI Real Estate S.r.l.
The junta led by Marco Crotti, however, stood firm against the sieges and intimidation by Vincenzo Gesmundo’s associates. (2) With very good reasons, considering that:
- the Federconsorzi 2 operation has distorted agricultural consortia, inspired by law by mutualism, by drowning them in corporations removed from their management,
- CAI Real Estate S.r.l. burned 21 million euros to the first four agrarian consortia being conquered (Adriatic, South Central, Tyrrhenian and Emilia. See notes 3,4),
- disastrous management of the overall project (the so-called ‘Gesmundo pyramid’) has already resulted in liquidations and foreclosures, from AgriCorpoFiasco to Agriconfidi. (5)
3) Assaults and power plays
The Board of Directors of Consorzio Agrario Terrepadane has rejected requests to sell its business units and real estate assets to Federconsorzi 2 as early as spring 2020. Coldiretti had gone so far as to enroll new members without their knowledge, and threaten those already enrolled, to bring down Marco Crotti’s junta in the May 2021 elections. But Piacenza farmers were not intimidated or taken in by the nose.
Coldiretti then challenged the regularity of the lost election in an arbitration appeal to the Court of Piacenza, but lost there as well in October 2022. (6) And in the meantime, she turned to the government-always responsive to the orders of the ‘boss of bosses’ at Palazzo Rospigliosi, Vincenzo Gesmundo-to get the Ministry of ‘economic development‘ to in turn carry out inspections and investigations into the elections themselves. (7)
4) The puppet theater
A newly sworn-in minister-immediately signed up to Coldiretti’s puppet theater-has come to disregard the arbitration award that confirmed the proper conduct of the elections (issued by three university professors, with 62 pages of reasons, after a year of work). Warned the Terrepadane Agricultural Consortium to undergo further ministerial inspections on the 2021 elections under threat of receivership.
The Emilia-Romagna Regional Administrative Court (Parma branch), moreover, annulled the unlawful-as well as shameful-ministerial warning. Which has also garnered lively controversy from representatives of Confindustria, Confagricoltura and Confcooperative. (8) But the Terrepadane Agricultural Consortium’s junta well understood the style of puppet theater and so, without waiting for more tragicomedies, submitted their resignations at the end of June 2023. (9)
5) Plebiscitary consensus, independence
Farmers and ranchers registered with the Terrepadane Agricultural Consortium voted for their junta-always led by Marco Crotti-by a plebiscite majority on July 4, 2023. (9) After foiling the further miserable attempt by Coldiretti acolytes to have those elections annulled as well, at the Business Section at the Bologna Court of Law, which in turn proved the magic circle’s ambitions wrong. (10)
Efficiency, independence, freedom of enterprise. #CleanSpades.
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) John Volpi. Terrepadane, the charge of 500 members: yes to record budget, no to commissioner. My Newspaper. 13.5.23 https://tinyurl.com/3xs4ezxk
(2) See paragraph ‘Terrepadane, resilient farmers,’ in the previous article by Dario Dongo. Federconsorzi 2, AgriRevi, AIPO (Unaprol). Golden business for Coldiretti’s magic circle. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 3.6.21
(3) Dario Dongo. Federconsorzi 2 and CAI Real Estate, the real estate treasures of Consorzi Agrari. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 27.3.21
(4) Dario Dongo. Federconsorzi 2 aka CAI SpA, some clarity. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 15.3.21
(5) AgriCorpFiasco, Federconsorzi 2, Agriconfidi. The collapse of the ‘Gesmundo pyramid’. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 17.12.22
(6) Regulate the election of Crotti as president of Terrepadane. Piacenza evening. 12.10.22 https://tinyurl.com/nd8p9396
(7) Claudia Molinari. Coldiretti: the award did not close the Terrepadane board election case. Freedom. 15.10.23
(8) Terrepadane, the Tar suspends the Ministry’s warning. Piacenza. 7.11.22. https://tinyurl.com/3sb75bsx
(9) John Volpi. Terrepadane: Board resigns, new elections to avoid commissioner’s arrival. My Newspaper. 22.6.23 https://tinyurl.com/2p8tcz29
(9) Terrepadane “Plebiscite for outgoing board, Crotti re-elected president.” Piacenza evening. 4.7.23 https://tinyurl.com/3xrbmmsp
(10) Marcello Pollastri. Appeal against Terrepadane speed voting at the ballot box amid poisons. Freedom. 4.7.23
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
