Propar celebrates 50 years alongside farmers and the local area, with turnover growing by 11%

The agricultural cooperative Propar celebrated the 50th anniversary of its foundation, bringing together more than a thousand people at its headquarters in Fornace Zarattini (Ra), including members, representatives of institutions, the cooperative sector and the agricultural supply chain.

A day dedicated to the role played by the cooperative – which specialises in tomatoes and vegetables for processing, seeds, cereals and fruit – in the development of agriculture in the local area, as well as to the challenges facing businesses, starting with the need to build increasingly effective systems for preventing and protecting against climate and production risks.

The history and the figures

Founded in 1976 on the initiative of a group of farmers and the Ravenna Agricultural Consortium, ProPaR (an acronym for Produttori Patate Ravenna, as the activity began with that crop) has accompanied the evolution of the local production system for half a century, helping to organise agricultural supply chains, guarantee market outlets and support continuity of work on member farms.

The cooperative’s growth is demonstrated by the results of its latest financial statements, relating to the financial year 2025/2026. Production value reached 102,8 million euros (+11% compared with the previous financial year), and particularly significant was the trend in payments for produce delivered by the more than 2.300 farmer members, which reached 80,98 million euros, up 15,36% on the previous year. This result confirms the strong acceleration of the last two years, during which payments increased overall by 58,5%, rising from 51,1 million in 2023/2024 to the current 81 million, demonstrating the cooperative’s growing economic scale and its ability to support members even in particularly challenging years for agriculture.

The comment

“Fifty years of activity mean fifty years of work, shared decisions and mutual trust,” stressed Massimo Passanti, president of Propar. “Our cooperative has grown together with the farms and the areas in which it operates, accompanying their changes and helping to create jobs, support businesses and generate new production opportunities. We started with potatoes and today we represent a complex organisation, capable of engaging with major industrial groups and different markets. But what has not changed is our objective: to enhance the value of members’ work and offer them better conditions in which to plan, invest and continue producing. The most important asset we have built over these fifty years is precisely this relationship of trust, which allows us to look to the future with a shared perspective.”

An impact on the local area that cannot be measured solely through economic results: “Over fifty years, Propar has built an organisational system capable of accompanying producers throughout the entire crop cycle – continues Massimo Passanti –, from planning sowing through agronomic assistance, to harvesting, logistics and marketing. This role has encouraged the development of agricultural production, enhancing the potential of different areas and offering new opportunities to businesses, including through the development of supply chains linked to industrial processing and renewable energy production.”

Investments

The investments made in the cooperative’s facilities confirm its determination to continue along this path: at the headquarters on Via Canala, in Fornace Zarattini, an extension of the offices and meeting rooms has been completed, while an agrivoltaic plant with a capacity of 1 MW will soon become operational, with an estimated annual production of approximately 1,4 million kWh, making it possible to combine energy production and agricultural activity.

The Voltana plant, dedicated to processing, packaging and marketing fruit, will instead see the renovation of the cold-storage rooms and the installation of a photovoltaic plant on the roofs of the warehouses. Among the most recent developments, the opening of the cooperative’s first website is also worth noting, providing updates and information on Propar’s activities, as well as exclusive services for members.

Mergers

The cooperative consolidation process is also continuing: following the incorporation of Pov in 2025, the extraordinary general meeting held on 5 October last year approved the merger by incorporation of Coproagri, a cooperative from the Ravenna area operating in the same sectors of vegetables for processing, the fresh market and seeds; the operation will bring 322 members into Propar, with the aim of strengthening commercial opportunities, organisational efficiency and investment capacity for the benefit of the agricultural businesses concerned.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.