Mussolini as farmer – archive, 15 October, 1928
Written by From a correspondent
15 October, 1928: Encouraging Italy to be self-supporting, the Duce acknowledges farmers who have increased grain output
Rome, Sunday
In the Argentina Theatre at Rome this morning the Duce distributed prizes ranging from £20 to £200 to Italian farmers who had increased the grain output within the past year. Among the names of the £20 prize-winners was that of Benito Mussolini himself, who had tripled the output on his small experimental farm holding in his native village of Carpena, in the province of Forli.
Before the prize-giving Signor Mussolini made a speech which was broadcast over the whole of Italy, and in the course of which he said, amid loud cheers:– “The grain harvest of 1928 reached a total of 62,250,000 quintals, an increase of 10,000,000 quintals over last year’s yield. This is a great step in the ultimate victory of the battle of grain by which Italy will eventually be self-supporting.”
Related: Editorial - Fascists triumph in Italy: from the archive, 30 October 1922
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