"MORE ENTERPRISE -YOUTH AND FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AGRICULTURE" ("PIÙ IMPRESA -IMPRENDITORIA GIOVANILE E FEMMINILE IN AGRICOLTURA") ITALY

Farm managers’ aging is one of the main issues within family farming (FF) in the European Union (EU) (Rete Rurale Nazionale, 2011). This is especially true for FF in Italy, where the percentage of farm managers aged 65 or more is above the EU average. In order to secure the sustainability and the long term survival of FF, generational renewal has therefore been acknowledged as a policy priority and placed on the political agenda at the national and EU levels (DG-IPOL, 2014). The case study here proposed analyses the measure “Più Impresa” - Imprenditoria giovanile e femminile in agricoltura” (i.e., “More Enterprise” -youth and female entrepreneurship inagriculture) which is a very interesting example of a national policy aimed at supporting generational renewal in agriculture. “Più Impresa” is targeted to young farmers and women, and it consists of two sub-measures: one aimed at incentivizing the taking over of a farm by young and/or female farmers and the other aimed at supporting the development of an already existing farm managed by youth or women without age limit. After some reviews, nowadays the financial subsidies of the measure consist of an interest-free mortgage and a non-repayable loan.