Ismea: Italian agriculture is resilient in the face of high diesel and fertiliser prices
According to the Institute for Agricultural and Food Market Services, following a positive 2025, the sector – thanks to investments from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and the Government – is well-equipped to cope with the cost shock of 2026. Lollobrigida: the first funds from the ‘Coltiva Italia’ scheme will be available by the end of the year
Key points
- International agreements to diversify overseas markets
- Over 17.5 billion invested in the sector over four years
- Proietti (Ismea): nearly 4 billion spent on supply chain contracts
- Lollobrigida: the first funds from the Coltiva Italia scheme will be available by the end of the year
- Thanks to investment, the sector best placed to cope with high diesel prices
A strong, resilient agri-food sector, well-equipped to cope even with a complex scenario such as that linked to the surge in production costs which occurred in 2026. This was the picture that emerged this morning in Rome from the presentation of the annual Ismea Report on the Agri-Food Sector.
A sector which ended 2025 with Italia confirming its position as the European leader in terms of agricultural value added (89 billion represents the value added in the agri-food sector, 43 of which is attributable to agriculture).
International agreements to diversify export markets
“Agri-food exports,” commented Sergio Marchi, director of Ismea, – ‘closed the year with 5 per cent growth (to over 72.5 billion euros) despite US tariffs on what is the main export market, and have laid the foundations, through international agreements with Mercosur, India and Australia, to strengthen the search for alternative markets in the coming years.”
Over 17.5 billion invested in the sector over four years
But beyond the figures, the agri-food sector has, in recent years, been >at the heart of government policy, which – through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) (with a total of 8.9 billion), budget laws and, most recently, the Coltiva Italia initiative – has invested approximately 17.5 billion over four years.
Proietti: nearly 4 billion spent on supply chain contracts
“Ismea,” added its chairman, Livio Proietti, “was the implementing body for the fifth call for proposals on supply chain contracts. This initiative involved investments totalling just under 4 billion euros. These funds have enabled the launch of 221 contracts involving just under 3,500 businesses.”
