The "MOTTO" of agricultural activity is heart and passion.
As Giuseppe Praino said in 1959, agriculture by its nature does not allow divisions of work or family. An agricultural company, even more so if family-run, is intrinsically placed in a social and environmental context of a specific territory which, if followed with perseverance, diligence and passion, is rewarded by giving it exclusivity.
Our products are nourished by native ingredients of our place which naturally cannot be reproduced elsewhere. For these reasons, the company is the family’s priority.
Family work is an inseparable alchemy of “gifts” and “exchanges”.
This preamble serves as a framework and introduction to the history of the Praino family farm.
A small business that was born and developed in Sibari in the heart of the Piana, run personally by grandfather and grandmother Praino Giuseppe and Fazio Maria. The two began this passion after the Second World War thanks to the establishment of the Land Reform Authority which was the most courageous and necessary work of Christian Democratic Italy in favor of the peasant world. The organization acquired the land, and then it was given to the citizens as an incentive to undertake an activity in the agricultural world.
So with the assignment of a farm of a few hectares, they began this new activity which at the beginning became difficult and hard for a series of reasons and at the same time insufficient to sustain themselves economically, but with strength and stubbornness they began to establish themselves more and more with the contractor, collaborating with various companies in the area to realize the ancient dream of southern farmers of owning a piece of land and making it a source of income and a healthy and dignified standard of living.
This activity was subsequently continued by one of the five sons Giancarlo.
It was he who undertook the family business from 1980 until 2016, maintaining what was the original business.
His family has always cultivated the land and he himself worked for a long time with his parents from a very young age, as an assistant.
In 1959 they purchased the first tractor and in 1969 the first combine harvester, and also to follow the passion of their grandfather Giuseppe, the agricultural company was added to the third party activity which little by little with hard work and sacrifices began to approach traditional agriculture relating it to new technology and mechanization, bringing ever more innovation and precision, thus the choice to color the company green yellow with the purchase of the first John Deere tractors.
These machines help farmers around the world do their jobs efficiently.
And since agriculture is a job with multiple needs and a thousand challenges, you need the right equipment, versatile machines for transporting, plowing and cultivating, and on which you can rely day after day. The company gradually takes shape until it owns 14 tractors, 2 combine harvesters and a self-propelled harvester equipped with various tools that allow the necessary work to be carried out.
Another innovation that the Praino agricultural company brought to the area is the laser leveling system which is exploited thanks to laser levelers with GPS. A combination, therefore, that of “youth – land” that works and shows how agriculture is increasingly a strategic sector and has a decisive role also from an employment point of view. This is why the choice to then confer on his three daughters at a later time.
This is how the company Msg srl soc was born. agr. Captained by Maria, Sara and Giusi Praino. Acronym born from the initials of the three young sisters who gave life and origin to the brand “Magisa Il Riso Buono di Sibari”. Fathers and daughters created a company that is today the flagship of the Region: «Our strength? Processing rice with artisanal techniques but with the support of technology”
Maria (administration and production manager in the countryside), Giusi (commercial manager and consultant and sales network) and Sara (administrative and safety manager of human resources) together with their father who, despite not appearing in the corporate structure, is the pillar of the company.
Leading company in the agricultural contracting sector, boasting collaboration with prestigious local companies. The particular vocation in the production and marketing of rice and citrus fruits. Their flagship is certainly the good Sibari rice grown in extraordinarily favorable and uncontaminated environmental conditions. Cultivation extends over an area of over 400 hectares, thanks to a particular local pedological balance which allows the salt risings of the Plain to be kept under control. The climate of the Sibari Plain, the wonderful Ionian sea, the fresh wind that comes from the mountains, allows the rice to enjoy important natural advantages.
And here the product stands out from that of other areas of Italy. Until it became one of the best and most sought after in Italy. Sibari rice is defined as an excellence, or rather a rarity.
Thanks to the place of production which becomes “special”, but then obviously the entire production system is very important, as is the choice to process small quantities of grains, always in an artisanal way, also thanks to minimally invasive husking.
We have always respected tradition but obviously with the support of new technologies, with machines that work at low speed to avoid losses of nutrients.
In the Sibari Plain, much more and better can be done than elsewhere: «The project to recover various varieties with unique characteristics was born here, cultivars which, thanks to the pedological and climatic conditions, do not even require fungicide treatments». Doing business today is not easy. There are many problems and some are very serious. «Among the main problems is the international competition with the formation of global value chains. These put micro-enterprises in the position of being less suited to the logic of market development, led by multinationals capable of innovating and guiding the process of wealth accumulation.
The centrality of the workforce and the importance of human resources constitute one of the cornerstones of the company philosophy: “without the workers, we would not exist!”, Giancarlo Praino is keen to point out. The three sisters continue by declaring their beautiful experience, a great commitment: «For us it is a great redemption»
MSG is a company that continues to grow in numbers, customers and image. It is diversifying its investments both within the agricultural sector and towards food. It offers the retail sale of excellent agri-food products, with particular attention to healthy, organic, dietary and gluten-free foods to which the entire production is dedicated. Attention to detail, careful research of the cultivars that give the quality of the product and an artisanal approach, these characteristics distinguish our company. In the wake of the enthusiasm, we are thinking, thanks to the contribution of the three young women, of completing the production chain, with the transformation of the product for use in the food sectors
