The Diversification of Agriculture in Italy: Agritourism and Organic Management

Abstract

During the last 70 years, since the end of WW II, Italian agriculture has increased its productivity but, despite the national and European financial support to the primary sector, millions of farms have closed their operations, millions of hectares have been abandoned, and millions of farmers have emigrated to towns and abroad. Rural desertification has been aggravated by the closures of public offices and private businesses. Against this grim scenario, this paper illustrates, with the most recent available data, the evolution and growth of two sub-sectors, organic farming and agritourism. Both sub-sectors were initially contrasted and the first farmers adopting these strategies have encountered problems and obstacles, they were fined, and sometimes had to close their operations. In both cases, the pioneers resisted, organized themselves, and—thanks also to the support of consumers and some scientists, were able to lobby local, national, and European law makers for appropriate legislation. The first part of the article contains the data about the evolution and distribution of agritourism and organic farms, while the second part compares several aspects of the two sub-sectors.