Land Generation Initiative

Land Generation Initiative is a loan and bonus program from Ismea (Italian Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market) that supports generational change in Italian farming by helping young farmers purchase land and establish new farming companies. Experienced farmers under age 41 may apply for state land loans up to €1.

5 million to expand existing operations or fund new farming businesses, with a €70,000 bonus available to newly formed farming companies to reduce monthly loan payments. Loan terms may not exceed 30 years. Inexperienced farmers under age 35 may receive Ismea support not exceeding €500,000 for agronomic degree costs and formal farmer registration.

The program carries a total budget of €60 million plus €40 million for bonuses. Applications for the initial round closed June 30, 2023. The initiative addresses the decline from 1.

6 million to 1. 1 million Italian farms between 2010 and 2020.

Italy Launches 'Land Generation' Initiative to Foster Generational Change in Farming - Olive Oil Times Enter keywords and hit Go → English Français ελληνικά Deutsche Italiano 中文 Português Español Türkçe Hrvatski 日本語 हिंदी Italy Launches 'Land Generation' Initiative to Foster Generational Change in Farming The new Ismea program will provide loans for farmland acquisition and new farming companies.

To induce a generational change in Italian farming, only farmers under 41 are eligible for the program.

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5 mil­lion or less, with an addi­tional €70,000 bonus avail­able for newly formed farm­ing com­pa­nies to reduce loan pay­ments. The ini­tia­tive also tar­gets inex­pe­ri­enced farm­ers under 35, offer­ing loans for agro­nomic degrees and for­mal reg­is­tra­tion as farm­ers, with Ismea sup­port not exceed­ing €500,000.

The pro­gram aims to address the decline in Italian farms and encour­age gen­er­a­tional change in agri­cul­ture to boost inno­va­tion and adapt to new mar­ket dynam­ics and the cli­mate cri­sis. A new ini­tia­tive aimed at sup­port­ing young farm­ers in Italy and fos­ter­ing gen­er­a­tional change has been launched by the Italian Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market ( Ismea ).

The ​ “ Land Generation” ini­tia­tive will fund state land loans for expe­ri­enced farm­ers under 41. The loans will help farm­ers pur­chase land worth €1,5 mil­lion or less. To be approved, farm­ers must show that the loans will either help expand their cur­rent activ­i­ties or fund new farm­ing com­pa­nies .

On top of that, the ini­tia­tive pro­vides a €70,000 bonus to newly formed farm­ing com­pa­nies. Farmers will be allowed to use the bonus to reduce the amount of their monthly loan pay­ments. In the pro­gram, the loan dura­tion can­not exceed 30 years.

The ini­tia­tive also tar­gets inex­pe­ri­enced farm­ers under 35 . These loans will enable agro­nomic degrees and for­mal reg­is­tra­tion as farm­ers. It is hoped that the loans will allow younger gen­er­a­tions to start new projects and buy needed farm­land .

For inex­pe­ri­enced farm­ers, Ismea sup­port will not exceed €500,000. See Also: Business Italy Prepares to Sell 800 Farms to Young Farmers Ismea has spec­i­fied that the ​ “ Land Generation” ini­tia­tive will cost €60 mil­lion, with an addi­tional €40 mil­lion needed to cover the €70,000 bonuses.

In a note, Ismea spec­i­fied that farm­ing com­pa­nies would be con­sid­ered young when their legal admin­is­tra­tor is a reg­is­tered farmer under 41. To be eli­gi­ble for funds, the company’s major­ity own­ers must have been under 41 for at least two years before their appli­ca­tion.

The new Ismea pro­gram comes on the heels of sev­eral ini­tia­tives enacted by the Italian gov­ern­ment to boost a gen­er­a­tional change in agri­cul­ture . Such change is needed to accel­er­ate inno­va­tion in the farm­ing sec­tor and to fur­ther the adop­tion of new meth­ods and strate­gies that can bet­ter cope with the cli­mate cri­sis .

According to Ismea, the real­ity of Italian farms has been chang­ing in recent years as small farms faced the grow­ing pres­sure of new mar­ket dynam­ics. Many fam­ily-owned busi­nesses have been incor­po­rated into larger com­pa­nies. A recent report by the pub­lic agency showed that between 2010 and 2020, the num­ber of Italian farms dropped from 1.

6 to 1. 1 mil­lion. This trend started four decades ago but has accel­er­ated in the last decade.

Olive com­pa­nies’ num­bers have also dropped. The olive farm­ing sec­tor has seen a reduc­tion of 11. 5 per­cent in the last decade, with cur­rently just under one mil­lion hectares farmed.

A sin­gle indi­vid­ual man­ages ninety-seven per­cent of olive farms , and farm­ers under 40 direct only five per­cent of mod­ern olive oil com­pa­nies . Ismea spec­i­fied that new ini­tia­tives, such as ​ “ Land Generation,” are allowed by cur­rent European reg­u­la­tions gov­ern­ing state sub­si­dies for local com­pa­nies. Young farm­ers inter­ested in the new ini­tia­tive must sub­mit their appli­ca­tions by June 30 th , 2023.

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