«Cut olive trees in the Bari area for those who do not pay protection money»

The life of entrepreneurs in the countryside is increasingly difficult: the thefts of iron, steel, copper, electric and telephone cables are also multiplying with farms that remain switched off and isolated by telephone, while the wells for irrigation remain still, jeopardizing production farms that need water. Cases of farmers forced to keep watch at night are also multiplying. A rural garrison has also sprung up in Terlizzi which is asking for more vigilance even if D’Orfeo is skeptical: «Patrols are no longer needed, today with a monitor you can see everything with video surveillance. You just need to know how to organize yourself, patrols can help, but with technology you understand what happens to stolen oil, you can’t hide it in the bedroom».

Also in this case the patrols of rural rangers arrived immediately «but by now the damage was done. They do what they can», admits Pileri, who fears seeing compromised the work of the many Terlizzi farms that produce and which, over time, have made the leap in quality towards direct marketing and entry into foreign markets as well. Which is the case of many olive and oil companies in the Bari area.

Like yours, from Olio Pileri, created in 2008, entirely organic, 100% Coratina extra virgin olive oil, entirely bottled and also sold abroad, present in some of the major guides in the sector. «After leaving the profession – says Pileri – I am engaged in the farm, 10 hectares in the Chiuso dei Cucchi district, which overlook the Via Francigena, with a corner where there is a well from the Roman era, now in disuse, described by Orazio and which gives its name to two of our oils, Vergilium and Oratium».

And, coincidentally, on Wednesday morning two English-speaking pilgrims witnessed the massacre, stunned by the fate reserved for the centuries-old olive trees. The Terlizzi case is therefore emblematic, so much so that Coldiretti Puglia does not mince words and denounces: «The world of agri-food production is under attack because it represents, if appropriately valorised, the engine of widespread development for the entire region which in 2022 reached , despite the threats of the climate and drought, the value of over 3 billion euros of gross salable production and over 5 billion of agri-food value»

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