There are still vegetables that are planted and harvested by hand and grown on small plots of rarely more than a hectare. An example is the Margherita White Onion with Protected Geographical Indication, grown in the southern Italian region of Apulia. The onion is protected by a consortium and already has a long history behind it. This onion that stands out from the crowd because of its artisanal way of growing has now been included in the assortment of the business network La Grande Bellezza Italiana (LGBI).
"The onion has been on the shelves of some retailers for a few weeks now and soon a major supermarket chain will be placing it in all its stores nationwide," says Leonardo Odorizzi. "Thanks to the reputation of the business network, a product like this onion will be sold all over Italy. This is no small achievement, considering that the marketing of quality products is often hampered by logistics and the difficulty of getting noticed by retailers."
Margherita PGI's White Onion is packaged for the retail market in 30x50 cartons and sold in bulk for the free market.
This onion has been grown on small, long, narrow plots for centuries. This is because the landowners have all wanted a view of the sea ever since ancient times. And so, the growing farms consist of long strips of land. Of course, this does not facilitate the mechanization, but that is exactly what distinguishes this product. Every cultivation operation is done manually. It is only at the packing station that the onions are cleaned mechanically with compressed air.
"La Grande Bellezza Italiana highlights the value of the products and provides a fair price to growers so that they can earn a good living and also continue to invest in their farms. But in order to add value to anything, first and foremost, the information about the product must reach people," concluded Odorizzi.
