Less than one month ago, the Italian Minister of agricultural policies Maurizio Martina igned a pact on Common Agricultural Policy (Pac) together with the Italian regions. To support young Italian entrepreneurs in the development of the agricultural sector, from 2014 to 2020 ?52billion will be allocated. Of these, ?27b are subsidized directly by Europe, ?21b are co-financed by European funds and Italy and the last ?4b are provided by the Common Market Organization (Ocm).  Part of the reason of the focus on younger generations is that in Italy only 5% of agricultural entrepreneurs are under-40.

A critical point of this agreement is the aid to the younger generation in the agricultural sector. Direct aid is guaranteed for the first five years of activity with a 25% increase to enterprises led by people under-40. Also, the funds will be devoted only to active participants in this field. No more financing banks, financial institutions, insurance and real estate companies. The recipients of the aids will only be those who concretely deal with agriculture.

Pac aims at redesigning a national plan to implement a diversified production capacity that relies less on chemical inputs in favour of more sustainable practices. The zoological sector is also addressed, in particular to develop a way to grow no-gm soy. Part of the aids will also be allocated in the olive sector for the preservation of the landscape and territory. Finally, also agriculture practiced in more internal mountain locations will receive support.

The twenty Italian regions converge into a unique national entity, where direct and indirect payments will enhance Made in Italy production. More support to mountain areas, environmental sustainability, quality of food and generation turnover are some of the key pillars in the next seven years of Italian agriculture. It is clear that the new Minister has two main priorities: young people and hard work.

Follow @castaritaHK