Italy - Mansholt and Teulada. A legacy for the Future of Agriculture
The European Union is navigating a period of strategic transformation and challenge as it enters its 2024–2029 agenda. Key priorities include strengthening European sovereignty, advancing security and defense policies, and addressing climate change. When facing significant challenges, sometimes it becomes crucial to stop, take a breath, and look back at where we came from, in order to better focus where we are headed. And that is what we did last October, in Teulada, Sardinia, by paying homage to the Dutchman Sicco Mansholt, first Agricutural Commissioner (1958-1972) of the then European Economic Community (EEC) . We invite you to take you a short journey through the highlights of those special days, and to treat you to the vision of the documentary ‘Mansholt and Teulada. A Legacy for the Future of Agriculture’.
Language spoken: Italian / Subtitles: English
Highlights of the events that took place in Teulada, Sardinia on October 1 -2 in honour of Sicco Mansholt, Dutchman and first Euro-Commissioner for Agriculture.
The Figure of Sicco Mansholt
Sicco Mansholt (1908–1995) remains one of Europe’s most influential figures in agricultural policy. As the first Euro-Commissioner for Agriculture, he played a pivotal role in modernizing postwar European agriculture. His revolutionary policies, such as the Mansholt Plan, prioritized mechanization, consolidation, and productivity to ensure food security after World War II. These efforts laid the foundation for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a cornerstone of European integration and self-sufficiency. However they also caused controversies, from an ecological and socio-economical perspective, in particular among small farmers who feared for their future.
In the early 1970s a dramatic change occurred in Mansholt’s vision, sparked by his encounter with the ideas presented in The Limits to Growth, a 1972 report by the Club of Rome which warned about the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources and the environmental degradation caused by unchecked economic and population growth. The small town of Teulada played a crucial role in this change of course, becoming a symbolic site in Mansholt’s reflections.
Mansholt arrived in Teulada in the early 1960s: there he built a house -known to all, in the Sardinian language, as ‘Sa Domu de s'Olandesu’, the home of the Dutchman- which he used as his summer residence. During the ten years or so of constant frequentation of Teulada, he actively integrated himself into its social fabric, building a strong bond with the town and its inhabitants. These visits and the observations he carried out there the reflections,= under an olive tree in his estate, underscored the cultural, economic and environmental tensions posed by rapid modernization. Teulada represented the delicate balance between preserving traditional land-and waterscapes and livelihoods, and pursuing economic development.
Inspired, Mansholt began advocating for policies that emphasized sustainability, equitable development, and environmental preservation, signaling a departure from his earlier focus on growth and efficiency: the idea of agriculture he developed, was so modern and revolutionary that only now, after many years, are we fully realising its value.
Mansholt's Celebrations in Teulada
And so last October, in Teulada, we underlined the importance of EU collaboration and of the development of a European resilient agriculture by celebrating the legacy of Sicco Mansholt. The memorial spanned two days, marked by a festive mood and involving the entire population, and all the representatives of the civil, military and religious life as well as the trade and local associations. The Municipality of Teulada chose to honour Sicco Mansholt with the award of civic merit: the highest moment was reached with the planting of an olive tree and a commemorative plaque, in a ceremony led by the mayor of Teulada, Mr. Angelo Milia, and the Dutch Ambassador to Italy, Willem van Ee. The final act was a very well attended conference, ‘Mansholt and his Bond with Teulada’, with insightful contributions of professor Christian Rossi and professor Francesca Pubusa, of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Cagliari, of Salvatore Loi, journalist and Mansholt connoisseur, and of Hayo Haanstra Agricultural Counsellor at the Dutch Embassy in Rome.
It is hoped that these events will inspire the development of agriculture that is sustainable, resilient, and operates within the planet’s ecological boundaries -reflecting the ideals Sicco Mansholt tirelessly advocated for since his summers in Teulada- while also strengthening the collaboration between Italy and the Netherlands for the future of EU agriculture.