Generation Dynamics and Territorial Aspects of Italian Agriculture

The ageing of farmers and lack of successors are major concerns for the future of the sector. The paper analyses the age structure of family workers with a twofold objective. The ageing dynamics is analyzed in order to seek out its inertial components as well as any new trends there may be. The latest Census shows that the unbalance basically lies the failure to replace the family workforce, now about to retire. A cluster analysis seeks to shed light on the factors that influence the participation of young workers in agricultural activities. Different territorial patterns of relations emerge. In the Northern provinces a positive relationship between a higher share of young farmers and a more solid productive structure in the primary sector emerges, as well as a better-off economy. In the Southern provinces a higher share of young farmers is associated with a more fragile context that offers fewer employment alternatives.