Challenges facing the development of agriculture in the Mezzogiorno
1. Droughts affect the region in summer. 2. Underdeveloped water supplies.
3. Local markets with limited buying power due to widespread poverty in the region.
4. Underdeveloped transport network – the region is very isolated. 5. High transport costs due to long distances to EU markets. 6. Poorly-educated population. 7. Out-migration of young workers to the cities.
8. Underdeveloped farms due to ageing farmers unwilling to use new technology.
9. Unfair land ownership system.
Problems created by the land ownership system in the past
WHEAT Foggia Naples
The plain of Campania
CITRUS FRUITS
The Metapontino plain
OLIVES FORESTS
Intensely cultivated land Reclaimed land Mountain and hill land Agricultural improvement zone
TABLE WINES WHEAT OLIVES
Bari TABLE WINES Taranto WHEAT Brindisi
WINTER SALADS CITRUS FRUITS
OLIVES VINES
Absentee landlords owned vast estates known as latifundia and rented small plots of land called minifundia to tenant farmers. Landless labourers called braccianti worked the land. They were very poor. The latifundia estates were under-
Fig. 11 Typical land use in the Mezzogiorno
developed as 75% of tenant farmers had no security on the land they farmed. Therefore tenants put little effort into improving soils or output as they might easily be evicted the following rental year. In some areas even fertile soils remained underdeveloped because of lack of interest. Therefore, the latifundia estates of the Mezzogiorno gave low yields yet took up huge areas of land (extensive farming). Sheep and goats were reared on these estates and low-quality wines were produced for local markets.
Seventy per cent of the minifundia were smaller than three hectares in size. Such
small farms resulted in overcropped and overgrazed land. This meant that the soils were easily eroded and quickly became useless.