Quick Take — Tajani calls for a ‘humanitarian corridor’ for fertilisers from Hormuz

During the meeting between the countries that would like to reopen the Strait, the minister proposed a humanitarian-like action to facilitate the passage of ships. Continued closure would put European agricultural production at risk…

the main objective concerns the rapid restoration of the flow of fertilisers and other essential goods, which are considered crucial to avert a possible worsening of food insecurity, with particular reference to the African continent…

In 2025, Italian exports reached 643 billion euros ( 3.3%)…

The situation is grafted onto a context already marked by imbalances, which emerged in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis, which altered market structures and accentuated price fluctuations.

Quick Take — Banana cultivation: a pesticide paradise

Banana plantations stretch across Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, the Philippines and Colombia: territories where the climate is perfect for growing the fruit… and pests. To protect the crops, pesticides and herbicides are used in quantities that a European farmer would not see in an entire career.

All companies claim to follow ‘sustainability’ programmes, but the truth is that a banana at 1.49 €/kg cannot guarantee fair wages, cover ocean transports and ensure clean agriculture. Someone along the supply chain always pays the price: often the health of those who work… and those who consume

Below:

1 some of the pesticides mentioned by ‘Guess who’s coming to dinner’ (Rai3) were also found in organic bananas and are banned in the EU but enter it because there are no reciprocity clauses between South America and Europe.

This problem could be changed by a proper implementation of the Mercosur treaty .

2 the label of the Esselunga Bio Ctm Altromercatobananas.

Read also this article on Esselunga private label bananas and in the GD, in general. On pesticides you can read here.

Compiled 10 December 2025, updated 19 March 2026

Giorgia Meloni and Coldiretti put the brakes on the development of solar energy in Italy

The government, on energy, is in a huge conflict of interest, which is why prices do not fall: Snam, Italgas and Terna beat Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook). Italy’s publicly controlled companies that transport or distribute gas and electricity to citizens and businesses are more profitable than some of the world’s largest, most technologically advanced and important companies in the business of the future: cloud, data centres and artificial intelligence. In short, Big Energy beats Big Tech