Agricultural land, access limited to large owners: sales stagnate and prices rise

A bargain for the few. Still sales and rising prices confirm the difficulties of access to land in Italy, with operations concentrated in the hands of a few large companies that are already structured, relating more to land reorganisation strategies than to the first establishment of new entrepreneurs, in spite of the European incentives. These (non-repayable subsidies of up to 80,000 euro under regional rural development plans) are in fact, as is well known, more aimed at incentivising generational change within the same farm than at encouraging the entry of new entrepreneurs into agriculture. Given also the market scenario with continuously rising costs, unprofitable prices at origin and above all the great uncertainties due to the climate crisis and the progressive dismantling of Common Agricultural Policy premiums. Unless we have broad enough shoulders with economies of scale to manage the risk.

The snapshot of thenational land market published by Crea confirms the trend that has been going on for years, with a modest average increase (+0.9%) in the price of agricultural land and a number of purchases and sales that were substantially unchanged at the end of last year. The uncertainty of the international situation and the extreme climatic variability have discouraged investors, with only the demand for land suitable for quality production growing; the opposite situation for marginal land, especially in inland areas, where supply is not reflected in the market and the opportunities offered by the new CAP have had no visible effect.

Against a national average of 28,800 euros, in absolute terms the values per hectare continue to show significant differences at a geographical level, with the peak of 47,000 euros paid on average for a hectare in the North-East, an amount that has remained unchanged over the last year, followed by the North-West with around 37,400 euros (+3%), and decidedly lower values in the Centre (15,400 euros, +0.7%), South (13,700 euros, +1.5%) and the Islands (8,900, +1.1%). In general, trade is concentrated in agricultural areas with higher crop profitability, particularly in the wine and fruit-growing areas of the North.

Among the individual production sectors, the absolute primacy of vineyards with over 58,000 euros per hectare on the national average (over 80 if we take into account plantings) is approached only by orchards and citrus groves at 54,600 euros. They are followed in order by arable land with 24,600 euros on average (a value that will increase by 1.4% in 2023), olive groves (16,200), pastures and permanent meadows (10,200).

"Market values are actually higher because the report uses a 'naked' land valuation method that does not take into account tree plantings, so we can consider them underestimated compared to actual transactions," explains Andrea Arzeni, a researcher at Crea Politiche e Bioeconomia who edited the report with the support of the Council of the Order of Agronomists and Foresters. "Buyers are mainly agricultural entrepreneurs who intend to expand the areas to be cultivated. On the market, however, there are also non-agricultural operators and, in general, private individuals looking for low-risk, albeit not very remunerative, investments, while there is a growing interest in purchases linked to the realisation of non-agricultural activities such as the production of renewable energy, which is, however, conditioned by incentives. On the sales front, farmers in the process of ceasing their activities are the most active players, followed by private landowners, often heirs to plots of land that they have no interest in cultivating. Real estate transactions took place mainly through a professional, but agreement between the parties without the intervention of intermediaries is still widespread'.