Feature: Italian breeder transforms pig farm into Big Brother

For many Italians who live in the industrial society but miss the old rhythms of agriculture, breeding via internet the pig that they will eat at Christmas time can be the right choice.

The idea of transforming a pig farm into a "Big Brother" came eight years ago into the mind of a young breeder, Sergio Carosella.

His project was presented earlier this week at the world exposition in Milan among the finalists of the Oscar Green, a yearly competition which awards the best innovations combining agriculture with technology.

"It is very simple. You go to our website, you choose the pig that you want to breed and you start watching him grow every day through videos, pictures and a webcam always pointed to him," Carosella explained to Xinhua.

"At the end, you receive the entire processed meat of your pig at home," he added.

Carosella said his farm is focused on quality and animal welfare. Owners can check the everyday lives of their pigs, both when they are inside the pigsty and when they are in wild.

"Our pigs have twice the space that should be put at their disposal according to the Italian law," Carosella noted. They are usually chosen, or "adopted," when they are cubs and then are butchered between December and February. Each pig costs around 700-800 euros (785-897 U.S. dollars), including the internet service and butchery.

So far Carosella's idea has been successful.

"On average we have 25 people breeding their pigs via internet every year. Among them there are those passionate about farming, professionals willing to try an agricultural experience without moving to the countryside, and even a group of friends who have decided to make a present to a young couple," he told Xinhua.

Carosella, 32, is a computer technician.

"My father had a 18-hectare breeding farm in Abruzzo, a region in central Italy, with around 400 pigs, and I thought that it would be nice to put together his traditional expertise with my passion for technology. Now my father is truly happy about my project," he said.

"Of course I have also met some difficulties. It can happen for example that someone becomes so attached to his pig that he does not have the heart to kill it. And I have also received the complaints of many animal-rights activists," Carosella noted.

However, when everything is as it should be, the result is assured, he added.

On Friday, various innovations were brought to the stage along with Carosella's one to celebrate what Italian Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti described as a sector, agriculture, which is good for nature and for the planet.

"When you go to work, you should think that what you do is fundamental for the safeguard of the planet," Galletti said in his address to hundreds of young farmers attending the Oscar Green awards ceremony.

According to a report of Coldiretti, Italy's largest farming association, in 2015 the number of young independent farmers has registered a 35-percent increase compared to last year. It means that currently in Italy there are more than 70,000 agricultural entrepreneurs aged below 34.

According to the report, around half of the new agricultural entrepreneurs have a university degree, 57 percent have launched innovation projects and nearly 80 percent are satisfied about their job.

"I had started this project as a joke, and I am so happy now to see what an innovation it has become," Carosella concluded. Endit