Sicilian Renaissance. Not only Ancient grains but also rice in Sicily, recovering millenary traditions. Once again protagonists are farsighted entrepreneurs, supported by the University of Catania.
Rice in Sicily, the rebirth
The heart and human reason reach heights that agro-finance cannot even imagine. Thus – in a historic period where markets and spread seem to dominate even democracy – there are those who instead are interested, between the Plain of Catania and the Ennese hinterland, in the renaissance of rice cultivation in Magna Graecia.
A team of researchers from the University of Catania (Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Di3A), two Sicilian farmers (Angelo Manna and Sebastiano Conti), and a great expert in rice cultivation (Massimo Biloni). Engaged on both fronts of production – with economic and employment objectives – and university research, where cereal growing renews its original importance in the regional ecosystem.
Paolo Caruso, researcher at the Di3A department of Catania as well as technical director of Simenza, Sicilian company of peasant seeds, sfollows live the entire production cycle, from seed recovery to harvest.
‘Rice, from an agronomic point of view, can find optimal conditions in some areas of Sicily to reveal its productive potential, provided there are significant water resources, heavy and well-leveled soils.
The largest cultivations are located in the territory of the Plain of Catania, in the border area with the province of Syracuse.
In Sicily, thanks to the absence of soil fatigue phenomena, rice can be grown under organic farming. This peculiarity represents a new commercial opportunity for farmers, considering that the quantity produced today is sold quickly and at prices that adequately repay investments’ (Paolo Caruso, researcher University of Catania, Di3A).
Rice in Sicily, the millenary history
The history of rice in Sicily has an ancient, millenary origin. Diodorus Siculus from Egira (60-30 BC.C.), near Enna in the Bibliotheca historica, was one of the first Western authors to mention it. Land cultivations spread in the 8th century AD, in contemporary with the spread of the cereal in Spain.
Sicilian arancini – now celebrated as the quintessential island street food – are in fact attributed to the spread of rice in Sicily, as well as to the Arab culture that settled there in the 9th century AD, after the Byzantines. Where the cereal is the primary ingredient of the gastronomic preparation, originally filled with meat and saffron, in the iconic spherical shape.
252 hectares cultivated with rice were recorded in 1912 in the province of Syracuse (Augusta, Lentini and Carlentini), another 275 hectares in that of Catania (Ramacca, Paternò, Belpasso and along the Simeto river). The subsequent abandonment is due to a political reasonsand economic reasons. Already following the Unification of Italy, various measures were undertaken to discourage Sicilian cultivation, instead favoring those of Piedmont and Lombardy. During the Fascist twenty-year period, reclamation operations were carried out that substantially reduced the swampy and marshy areas where crops were concentrated, and thus they definitively disappeared.he. Already following the unification of Italy, various measures had been taken to discourage Sicilian cultivation, favoring instead those of Piedmont and Lombardy. During the twenty years of fascism, reclamation operations were then carried out which substantially reduced the marshy and marshy areas where the crops were concentrated, and thus they definitively disappeared.
Rice in Sicily, the challenges to face
The challenges to face are lucidly described by Paolo Caruso. ‘Although a recovery process has recently been reactivated, for a significant spread of rice growing, added to the pedoclimatic factors is a problem related to the integration of the supply chain. Unfortunately, the produced grain cannot be hulled or possibly polished locally, due to the absence of appropriate facilities for post-harvest operations’.
The cereal harvested on the Island, in order to undergo the minimal processing necessary for its market placement, must therefore cross the Strait of Messina and reach Sibari (CS), where the nearest complete supply chain is active. Or Vercelli, one of the most important production centers in Europe.
The hope is therefore to obtain a specific measure, in the next P.S.R., dedicated to the integration of this supply chain.
Federica Genovese and Dario Dongo
Bibliography
Renzo Angelini, 2008. Rice (Cultivation & Culture)
Maria Concetta Calabrese, 2012. Baron Entrepreneurs in Modern Sicily Michelangelo and Giuseppe Agatino Paternò Castello of Sigona, Maimone Publisher.
Prof. Sac. Paolo Cultrera, 1869. Catalog of Sicilian agricultural products
Renzo Angelini, 2008. Rice (Cultivation & Culture)
History of Sicilian sugar / Carmelo Trasselli; introduction by Orazio Cancila. – Caltanissetta; Rome: S. Sciascia, 1982. – XXXII, 346 p.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
