The annual conference of the European chestnut network, Eurocastanea, revealed conflicting views on the future of chestnut cultivation in Italy. Forecasts predict a sharp decline in chestnut production in Italy compared to other European countries, with drops in various regions. There is a debate on whether Italy should innovate and invest in new and lowland plants or focus on improving traditional systems to save traditional chestnut cultivation. Additionally, marketing efforts are needed to promote the health benefits of chestnuts and attract younger consumers.
Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.
Original content
Ultimately, chestnut growing in Italy is a question of seeing the glass half full or half empty. From Eurocastanea 2023, the network of six chestnut-growing countries - Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Austria and Greece - which collaborate with each other and compare every year to take stock of the situation, conflicting impulses on the future of this crop emerge. Commenting on the annual conference which ended last week and which, being based in Leibnitz, Austria, also involved Slovenia and Italy, is Roberto Mazzei, one of the five Italian representatives within the European chestnut network, as well as director of the Chestnut and Chestnut District of Campania. The situation in Italy “At a production level – explains Mazzei – this year's forecasts see Italy in a sharp decline compared to 2022, while the other European countries, which had generally recorded lower production last year, estimate good quantities. Specifically, we should harvest on average less than 50% compared to ...
By clicking “Accept Cookies,” I agree to provide cookies for statistical and personalized preference purposes.
To learn more about our cookies, please read our Privacy Policy.