News · terreni: find farmland and agricultural jobs

A Po Valley farmyard with a brick barn along a poplar-lined lane, and a cut-out of a handshake

Land · Farm Leases · Law 203/82

Farm leases in derogation in Italy: how they work and how they differ from the 15-year rule

A farm lease "in derogation" (affitto agrario in deroga) is a contract where the owner and the tenant agree on rules different from those of the law on agricultural contracts. It is valid only if signed with the assistance of the professional farmers' organisations. The standard rule is a minimum length of 15 years.

Loading yard of a cooperative with crates of citrus fruit and a truck at sunset, and a cut-out of a crate of lemons

Why it matters · Economy · Exports

Why agriculture matters: Italy's farm economy in numbers, 2025

In 2025 Italian agriculture produced €80.1 billion, and Italy is the first country in the European Union for agricultural value added. Adding the food industry, the supply chain is worth €89 billion, 4.4% of the whole economy of the country. And in the first eleven months of the year, Italian food sold abroad for almost €67 billion, 5% more than in 2024.

A ship loading grain from a silo in a port at sunset, and a cut-out of an hourglass filled with wheat grains

Around the world · Forecasts · OECD-FAO

How will agriculture change in the next ten years? The OECD-FAO outlook to 2035

According to the OECD and FAO, the value of world agricultural output will grow by 13.3% in ten years. It will reach 4,010 billion dollars in 2035, at constant prices. Real prices will stay stable or fall below today's level. Output will grow mainly through yields: 73% of the increase in crops. Direct emissions from agriculture will rise by 6.5%. These are the figures of the 2026-2035 report, published on 29 June 2026.

A winery door open onto vineyard rows during the grape harvest, and a cut-out of a hand signing a sheet of paper

Work · Seasonal Workers · Contracts

Seasonal farm worker contract in Italy: what must it include?

The contract of a seasonal farm worker (OTD, operaio a tempo determinato, a fixed-term worker) must say who is hiring, for how long, and with what job level, hours and pay. The employer notifies the hiring by the day before the start and gives the worker the information before work begins. If the job lasts more than 12 days, the end date must be set out in a written document.

The portico of a Lombard farmstead at dawn with rice paddies and crates, and a cut-out of a pocket watch on work gloves

Work · Seasonal Workers · Labour Costs

How much does a seasonal farm worker cost in Italy in 2026?

Under the rules of the national agreement, a seasonal farm worker on a fixed-term contract (OTD, operaio a tempo determinato) costs €12.26 per hour worked in wages and third element. Severance pay and contributions come on top. The figure applies to the lowest level, "Comune", in the province of Pavia, from 1 June 2026. In another province the amount changes, because the provincial agreement sets the pay.

An old tractor and a new one with a GPS antenna at the edge of a ploughed field at sunset, with a cut-out of a farm drone

Around the world · Farm Machinery · Agriculture 4.0

Precision agriculture in Italy: where does it stand and what skills do farm machines require?

In Italy the agriculture 4.0 market was worth €2.5 billion in 2025, up 9% on 2024. 42% of farms use at least one digital solution. Yet land farmed with digital technologies is only 10% of the total. According to FAO, machines do not make work disappear: they shift it toward more skilled jobs.

Rows of tomato plants on the Tavoliere plain at dawn with distant farm workers and a van, and a cut-out of two work boots

Work · Farm Workers · INPS

How many farm workers are there in Italy and where do they work?

Italy has 1,019,177 employed farm workers, according to the INPS (Italy's social security institute) for 2024. Almost nine in ten are on a fixed-term contract: 890,368 out of 1,007,519 according to the CREA (Italy's council for agricultural research), which analyses the same INPS data. More than one worker in three is foreign (39.7%) and 34.5% work in the South.

Aerial view of the Po Valley plain with the grid of Roman centuriation, and a cut-out of a sickle on a bundle of wheat ears

Why it matters · History · Sharecropping

How did agriculture begin and how did it change the history of Italy?

Agriculture was born in the Near East, where the first plants were probably cultivated about 10,500 years ago. From there came villages, cities, writing and the calendar. In Italy it shaped the landscape: 5.7 million people worked in the primary sector in 1961, today about 800,000 (ISTAT, Italy's national statistics institute, 2024).

Two neighbouring fields, one ploughed and one of wheat, separated by a ditch and mulberry trees, and a cut-out of an old key

Land · Pre-emption · Land Sales

Agricultural pre-emption right in Italy: who can buy farmland first

When farmland is sold, some people have the right to buy it first, on the same terms offered to a third party. This is the agricultural pre-emption right (prelazione agraria). It belongs to a tenant who is a direct farmer (coltivatore diretto, a farmer who works the land personally) and has farmed the land for at least 2 years. Without such a tenant, it goes to a neighbouring direct farmer. The holder of the right has 30 days to use it. If the seller does not notify them, they can buy back the land within one year of the sale being registered.

Vineyards in the Euganean Hills above the patchwork Venetian plain, and a cut-out of a balance scale holding a clump of soil

Land · Land Values · CREA

How much is a hectare of farmland worth in Italy?

A hectare of farmland in Italy is worth €22,400 on average (2024 data). The figure comes from the land market survey (Indagine sul mercato fondiario) of the CREA, Italy's council for agricultural research. The edition was published in November 2025. In the North-East the average rises to €47,100, in the Islands it falls to €8,600. Compared with 2023, the national average value grew by 1%.

Abandoned terraces in the Apennines next to a strip farmed as a vegetable garden, and a cut-out of a hand holding a clump of soil

Land · Unused Land · ISMEA

Unused farmland in Italy: what to do with it and how the ISMEA Land Bank works

Unused farmland can be leased, sold or lent to someone who will farm it. People looking for land can check the National Agricultural Land Bank (Banca nazionale delle terre agricole) run by ISMEA (Italy's agri-food market services institute). Its ninth edition (2026) offers 253 plots covering 8,863 hectares, plus a permanent lot of 266 plots covering 5,271 hectares. The Bank sells land owned by ISMEA, the Regions and other public bodies.

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Land · Farm Leases · Law 203/82