The Rago company is located in an area of strong and accelerated growth, not in one of the most deprived areas of Southern Italy. Here, where there were once fields of strawberries, now there is an important centre for the production of vegetables, which are intended to be packed fresh and sold all over the world: the so-called “fourth line.” In the valley south of Salerno there have been continuous investments in local and out of town companies.
It is precisely between Battipaglia, Pontecagnano, Cilento and Vallo di Diano that the desire to turn the page has come through. Among seven cities of Eboli, Battipaglia, Pontecagnano Faiano, Bellizzi, Montecorvino Pugliano, Capaccio, Altavilla and Albanella, the number of greenhouses in ten years have arisen to about 3 thousand companies (agricultural and manufacturing food and usually companies do both) with an employment of about 9 thousand people, which – according to Confagricoltura estimates – achieve an annual turnover of 2.5 billion (a constant growth of 15% per year), 30% abroad.
Here, the area occupied by greenhouses, where rocket, lettuce, radicchio, broad-leaved vegetables (with the largest earnings) are grown is now about 4 thousand hectares, and it is still growing. Here stands the second largest centre out of the top four biggest sectors in Italy. It started with the first plants budding in the area that extends between Bergamo and Padua. There are many companies in the North – such as La Linea Verde, Ortoromi – along with foreign companies such as Bonduelle. They have set themselves up in the sector, and have been discovering the great potential of the plain south of Salerno. They have finally begun to invest, cultivate, and produce in this area, while they have also been building relationships with local entrepreneurs for the last fifteen years.
THE GROWING PROGRESS AND THE EIGHT HARVESTS A YEAR
In the narrow plain between the Alburni mountains, a few metres above sea level, the conditions for growing and processing fresh produce are, in fact, exceptional. Rosario Rago, one of the local entrepreneurs talks about “an ideal microclimate and production that can take place in unheated greenhouses. This makes it possible to obtain at least eight harvests a year, compared to four in other areas throughout Italy and Spain.”
The innovator is Santo Bellina, an entrepreneur from Bergamo, who went to Battipaglia in 1990. He started production by consorting with local farmers, then opened an industrial plant. Then in 2001 he sold his company, which at that time was worth 120 billion lire (the old Italian money), and he returned to primary production. Today the Op Maggiolina, which he runs, has 110 hectares of its own land and fifty hectares rented. There it produces a top range of vegetables: grown, harvested and packaged without washing. The noteworthy feature is that 90% are organic products.
IN THE PLAIN OF SELE THE BEST PRODUCTION WITHIN EUROPE TAKES PLACE DURING THE WINTER MONTHS
In 2001 Bellina sold to Bonduelle. The French company which is responsible for the agricultural production to the OP (Organization of Production strategies) Oasis, bringing together 28 local companies, while directly managing the production process. “During the winter months – explains Andrea Montagna, Bonduelle’s new Italian sales manager – production within the Sele plain is the best within Europe, in terms of both quantity and quality.” In Battipaglia, Bonduelle has a very technologically advanced plant, where vegetables pass from machine to machine, in a sort of tunnel underneath glass. In this way not many workers need to be present.
THE RAGO CASE, A TURNOVER OF 20 MILLION EURO A YEAR, GROWING BY 25% PER YEAR
Over the years bigger companies have established a production chain, where the two parts (the cultivating and manufacturing of its goods) work hand in hand. “We work together,” confirms Francesco Punzi, a young Bocconian now involved in the leading family group of OpOasi.
The Punzi company is considered number one because it has become a model of innovation. They have adopted new technologies for monitoring crops that are based on an algorithm. These new ideas have been imported from Israel. In fact the company has been chosen as a model of innovation for the Bocconi Agrobusiness course.
Many local companies have begun structuring themselves so that they can completethe production cycle internally, especially after they have experienced working with larger businesses from the North. An example is the Rogo business from Battipaglia. It processes the first range (vegetables grown, harvested and sold), the second range (vegetables grown, harvested and bagged without washing them) and the fourth range, that of vegetables grown, harvested, washed and bagged.
This group, run by the three Rago brothers has a turnover of 20 million euro a year, which is growing by an average of 25% every year. These results have also been achieved thanks to important investments in technology and the ability to maintain itself.
In Pontecagnano, Lineaverde of Brescia, that operates through a company outside of South Ortomad, is a company run by the Maddalo brothers. They have 300 employees located throughout the countryside and within the industry sector.It has been achieving a turnover of thirty-five million euro a year.
The existing companies have been growing while others, often newer ones, are being built. The Land Reclamation Consortium had issued permits for 500 hectares of land in 2017, and has received other applications since the beginning of 2018.
In the meantime, the demand for infrastructure is growing. The operators on this issue are furious, because new water drainage canals and new waterworks are needed. The airport that is there does not have a decent runway, and the roads are bumpy and deficient.
BATTIPAGLIA ALONE IS EQUIVALENT TO 60% OF THE ITALIAN FOURTH SELECTION OF GOODS, THE SECOND TOP EUROPEAN EXPORTER OF ARUGULA
Among the fascinating beaches along the southern coast of Salerno, from the Amalfi Coast to the wonderful bays of Cilento, in Campania, lies the Sele Plain. A plain of about 500 square kilometers containing the origin of alluvia. The territory was once marshy and muddy, whereas today it is one of the most fertile areas of southern Italy.
Here, in the city of Battipaglia, more than 60% of the fourth range salads are produced, marketed and sold in Italy (i.e. greens in bags ready to be eaten). Everyone is familiar with the family of Rosario Rago, who has been cultivating these fertile lands for five generations. Most importantly he has been able to bring innovation to the area, while creating a business model for this area of Italy.
The story of Rosario and his family Antonio, Gaetano, Mariano and Emilio is the story of a great family that has been working this fertile land for over 100 years. Today their company has reached an important milestone: it is the second European exporter of arugula, as well as a supplier of the main Italian and foreign distributors of salad in the fourth range.