#celine cornu

Italy's agricultural sector is the third biggest in Europe in terms of overall value -- it was worth 56.6 billion euros ($61.5 billion) in 2019 -- after France (75.4 billion euros) and Germany (57 billion euros). With Romanians alone accounting for 110,000 of the country's 350,000 foreign seasonal workers, Rome is in talks with Bucharest over "green corridors" to ease movement between the two countries.

Some 350,000 foreigners are usually employed seasonally in Italy's agriculture sector. The coronavirus crisis means this year there is a shortage of between 250,000 and 270,000, according to the farming ministry. "Something must be done urgently, as the harvests of strawberries, asparagus, artichokes and greenhouse fruits (such as melons, tomatoes and peppers) are already underway," Coldiretti said in a note.

Italian farmers are being brought to their knees by a six-week lockdown aimed at stopping a deadly epidemic in its tracks. They are also suffering a drought caused by the driest spring in more than half a century. Border blocks, restaurant closures and a lack of seasonal workers mean nearly four out of 10 businesses in the fruit and vegetable sector are struggling, according to Italy's biggest agricultural union Coldiretti... The government has set up a 100 million euro fund to support agricultural businesses. Rome has also forked over 50 million euros to buy food and distribute it to Italy's poorest, a three-pronged approach aimed at helping the hungry, cutting waste and preventing price drops.

Minister of Agriculture Teresa Bellanova has also called for mass regularisation of undocumented migrants in Italy in order to get the economy moving again. Many are currently living in shanty towns and are exploited by the mafia and an illegal labour system known as "caporalato", where intermediaries who bring workers to farmers take a large part of their meagre wages. The proposal, approved by Coldiretti, was slammed by the far-right.