The Focsiv Campaign “We laughed for a serious thing” returns to the squares and parishes of Italy: the appointment is for Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May and then the following weekend, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May. To support the right to food and sustainable family farming, through cooperation interventions in Italy and around the world, certified rice grains will be on offer, grown with the experience and quality of the territory: produced by the Riseria Giuseppino Viazzo of Tricerro, in the province of Vercelli, they will be offered and distributed in exchange for a minimum donation of 7 (seven) euros.
The funds raised in this way will be used to finance 27 cooperation and solidarity projects carried out in 17 countries and four continents in favor of 12.823 families and 2.171 communities. All interventions put local communities at the center and aim to contribute to achieving the goal of "Zero Hunger", one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030. The projects are managed by 27 members of Focsiv, the federation of international volunteer organizations of Christian inspiration.
And the history of the Riseria Giuseppino Viazzo is intertwined with volunteering.
The company has its roots in the Vercelli area, when grandfather Pietro started the business with the first license in 1922. La Riseria has remained a family business ever since, for four generations, maintaining and strengthening its social vocation over time. Today it supplies the Emporio della solidarietà Caritas and collaborates with two other local organizations: Cooperativa sociale 181, the operational arm of the Caritas of the archdiocese of Vercelli that supports people with disabilities and disadvantaged conditions also by providing work in a biscuit factory, and Col'or Ngo Ets, a Focsiv member involved in international cooperation, confirming the link between local charity and global solidarity.
The 27 projects supported around the world by the “We laughed for a serious thing” Campaign aim to improve the living conditions of farming communities and in particular that of women, the architects of their families’ development. At the same time, they aim to raise awareness among young people so that they understand the opportunities of their land and do not abandon it for an uncertain future in the metropolises.
Another commitment concerns the training of farmers on eco-sustainable techniques and practices, which enhance quality and quantity. According to Ivana Borsotto, president of Focsiv, “with a grain of rice we can begin to change our way of consuming” so that “millions of people can see their right to food recognized in practice”. The premise is that today the local becomes global and the global becomes local.
“We can and must change the production methods and the logic of the international market, especially in the agri-food sector, also by improving our lifestyles” Borsotto's appeal. “The Campaign is not only a support for sustainable family farming projects promoted by our members in many countries: it is also an opportunity to reflect and make ourselves aware of the distortions of a global system that imposes the predominance of industrial monocultures, the monopoly of food prices and intensive farming, which still resorts to gangmastering, has serious responsibilities in greenhouse gas emissions and does not implement policies that combat global warming, a phenomenon that causes the emigration of millions of people”.
The context today is marked by uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's announcements on tariffs. “Trade can provide opportunities to address food insecurity, but it also brings challenges” Borsotto underlines. “It is essential that the rights of families and communities come before nationalistic interests or closures; logics that according to a recent United Nations study can increase the cost of food by up to 20%, making it less accessible for everyone”.
On Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May, and again on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25, approximately three thousand volunteers will be present in the squares and parishes of Italy, from Sicily to Trentino. Alongside them, the Missio Foundation of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), which supports the commitment in the territory. All the information on the initiative and also on where to find the nearest rice stalls are available at this link: www.abbiamorisoperunacosaseria.it. Rai per la Sostenibilità Esg, Mediaset, La7 and Warner Bros. Discovery have contributed to giving further visibility to the Campaign, by broadcasting the promotional spot on TV. The message is enhanced by the music of Elena Somaré, a virtuoso of the whistle: an ancestral sound that becomes a song of the soul.
Article published on May 16, 2025 - 12:58 pm
