A collective land tenure
system with popular shareholding and sustainable agriculture**
Valentina Moiso*, Elena Pagliarino
National Research Council
of Italy
Institute for Economic
Research on Firm and Growth CNR-CERIS Collegio Carlo Alberto - via Real Collegio, n. 30
10024 Moncalieri (Torino) – ITALY
Corresponding author:
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+39 011 68
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Abstract: The Italian land structure displays some features
which make access to land difficult for many farmers, in particular young
people who have not received land by intergenerational transmission and who
want to engage in alternative and sustainable agriculture. In Europe,
innovative experiences facilitate the leasing of land for agricultural use,
promote multifunctional agriculture, organic farming and short chain and,
indirectly, counteract soil consumption and loss. These are forms of collective
shareholding: the companies, which have small investors as their shareholders,
own the land and lease it to farmers with long-term contracts. Similar
solutions are in the planning phase in Italy, but they struggle to take off
because of generally unfavourable structural and regulatory conditions. This
article presents a preliminary overview of these experiences, highlighting
risks and opportunities related to their different characteristics.
Keywords: access to land, land tenure systems, sustainable
agriculture, short chain, soil consumption, collective shareholding,
alternative finance.
** We
wish to thank Bruno Giau, Silvia Novelli, and Giuliana Strambi; the contents of
this manuscript are the sole responsibility of its authors. The analysis draws
on material collected thanks to the fellowship "A fund for the land” (Un
fondo per la terra) founded in 2012 by the Fondazione Culturale Responsabilità Etica,
the research is lead by a working group operating at CNR-CERIS of Moncalieri
(TO). The paper was accepted at the ERSA 54° Congress, St. Petersburg 26-29
August 2014, Session on Natural environment, resources and sustainable
development.