CRISIS AND AGRICULTURE- CONFAGRICOLTURA WANTS STATE LAND TO BE GIVEN TO PRIVATE ENTERPRISES (10 BILLION EUROS WORTH)

Giving state owned land to Italian agricultural enterprises so producers can increase their size and, thus, competitiveness: this is the proposal that was made by the agricultural organization Confagricoltura during the “Fertile Future Forum” that was held recently in Taormina. Today, in Italy there are 2.6 million hectares of unused land, worth 10 billion euros, that is owned by public entities. And it is land that companies could use to confront the problem that the majority of agricultural businesses in Italy are small sized companies, thus giving them the opportunity to increase their production and also create a new occupation.

Confagricoltura revealed that the national total of land used for agriculture is in decline: since the 1980’s over 3 million hectares of agricultural land has been lost, equal to about one fifth of total land used. At the same time, however, the need for businesses to grow has increased. The recent crisis has demonstrated that a country’s auto sufficiency for primary agricultural materials is always more strategic, and the development of new production systems, like those using renewable energy derived from agricultural products, requires higher production levels.
Therefore, increased agricultural use of the land would be useful, but the little that is available on the market has very high prices. Thus, to respond to this demand that is not being satisfied, Confagricoltura has proposed recourse to government owned lands (those that are owned by the state, regions, provinces, municipalities, as well as hospitals, ecclesiastical entities, foundations, agrarian schools, etc.). In total, there are almost 3 million hectares of agricultural land, which includes 1 million hectares of already cultivated land, and 1.6 million hectares of forest land. The rest is made up of unused land. The attention by Confagricoltura is primarily centered on the unused land (currently 137,000 hectares, almost the equivalent amount of land that was lost to agriculture from 2000 to 2007), which could be destined once again to food production.
Then are there are the areas that are already producing but could use interventions for improved production techniques to increase yield and earnings. The production from this area could be destined for “non food” crops produced for different sectors like that of renewable energy. And, finally, for forest lands, a correct maintenance of these areas, like keeping fire hazards low, could result in the production of wood products that could be used for energy as well.