The agricultural cooperative was founded on March 5 1976 under the name Società Agricola C.O.P.A. (Cooperativa Ortofrutticola Produttori Associati – Associate Producers Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative Agricultural Society) in the municipality of Canino in the Province of Viterbo.
The agricultural cooperative’s long history makes it one of the longest running organizations of its kind in Italy. It is synonymous with product quality, especially for the green asparagus in which the cooperative has invested for many years, and which is the instigator of the organization’s progressive development.
Around 200 members of the agricultural cooperative are currently farm owners active in the area of Maremma situated between Tuscany and Lazio, in the land that lies between Capalbio and Tarquinia. In recent years, many of these 200 members have been young entrepreneurs ‒ a figure that contrasts with the national statistics ‒ which bodes well for the future of Società Agricola C.O.P.A..
Driving the agricultural cooperative is its board of directors, consisting of members of the cooperative elected at the Ordinary General Assembly, and renewed every three years. The president and vice president of Società Agricola C.O.P.A. are instead elected by the board of directors itself.
The management and decision-making structure of the cooperative is well structured and takes into account all aspects of production. There is a director who deals with the routine administrative and commercial management, a fruit and vegetable warehouse manager and finally a sales manager for the sale of raw materials to our many customers.
In addition, around 20 workers currently work each year on cooperative premises, involved in the handling of products, as well as the packing and dispatching of the products themselves. Although some processes have been automated, such as those for green asparagus, the expertise and skills of the people who work for the agricultural cooperative are crucial to guaranteeing the best products for our customers, fresh and of excellent quality.