The Role of Social Farming in the Socio-Economic Development of Highly Marginal Regions: An Investigation in Calabria

This paper focuses on social farming, a new “branch” which includes activities that make use of agricultural, rural and natural resources in order to produce food and social services. It investigates the case of Calabria, one of the least developed regions in Italy and in Europe, which suffers from several serious problems; for example, the low level of accessibility, and the presence of the Mafia organisations. We wondered whether in such a region social farming can make a significant contribution to its social and economic development. Using the data collected by means of a qualitative investigation of some of the most important Calabrian social farms, we studied their characteristics, their strategies, their social mission, and their role in the local socio-economic context. We found that most of them are successful, in both economic and social terms, and their role in the local community is positive. Moreover, they are making a valuable contribution to the cultural change required to overcome the predominance of the Mafia.