Regione del Veneto - U.O. Sistema Statistico Regionale
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Statistical Report 2013
Chapter 7

The agricultural sector amid changes and tradition

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7.1 - The changes in Veneto agriculture under the lens of census

The Italian agricultural sector, above all in recent years, has undergone highly complex developments, influenced by the economic crisis, the volatile prices of agricultural commodities, changes in the CAP and lastly but not least, the new challenges related to environmental sustainability. All this, added to the demands of renewed entrepreneurial capacity and needs tied to increased profitability in agriculture, has contributed to deep changes, as recorded in the various censuses in agriculture, and which to a certain extent has led Italian agriculture to move closer to European standards.
In the meantime, the same European agricultural model is changing drastically, moving towards a business model where innovation is its paradigm: this intense process is marked by new production methods and new types of partnerships, as well as new products and services offered to consumers. Furthermore, in recent years markets have been increasingly oriented towards the unstoppable process of globalisation and substantial evolution in purchaser demands, and thus need to be able to satisfy these needs, while keeping a close eye on production safety and quality.
With this in mind, agriculture sees itself as the spokesman for energy requirements, not only as a consumer, but also as a producer: an increasing number of farmers are now specialised in non-food production, with the aim of recovering renewable energies to partially replace the consumption of oil, both in response to the increase in energy costs and to reduce environmental and atmospheric pollution.
In this scenario, businesses both in Veneto and throughout Italy are taking action and seeking a balance: the number of agricultural holdings is progressively lower, and they are on average larger with respect to the past. In fact, in only the last ten years the average UAA has increased by more than 40 % both in Veneto and in Italy, to 6.8 and 7.9 hectares respectively, while the actual number of Veneto and Italian businesses has fallen by 32.4 %. Consequently, the total UAA has recorded a much lower drop, respectively of 4.6 % for Veneto and of 2.5 % nationally.
This trend of concentration has been seen in this sector for decades, in a process that dates back to 1982, but which only in the last 10 years has been moving at a significantly faster pace.
In 30 years we have seen over half of the Veneto businesses disappear, but only 11 % of the UAA, the equivalent of over 100 thousand hectares of arable land.
In terms of territory, the greatest loss of agricultural holdings, considering the variations between 2000 and 2010, was concentrated in the municipalities of the foothills and mountain areas in the provinces of Vicenza, Treviso and Belluno. In contrast, positive variations seem to be concentrated in a number of municipalities in the province of Verona and above all in Belluno which, as we will see, is the province host to the highest percentage of young people in proportion to the total number of farm managers. (Figure 7.1.1)
The mortality rate of Veneto businesses was mainly concentrated in the smaller sized companies: on analysing the phenomenon by UAA category, it is evident that in only the last 10 years the number of businesses with less than one hectare more than halved, and only in UAA categories above 20 hectares there was a positive growth trend between the last two censuses. This phenomenon, although increasing in intensity from one decade to the next, has been repeated in a similar manner in the three decades considered.
Lastly, in the category between 50 and 100 hectares, we find 30.7 % more businesses compared to 2000, although this type of business is not highly represented in Veneto, amounting to a mere 1.2 % of the total. (Figure 7.1.2)
In fact, despite these continuous changes the classic features of Veneto agricultural fragmentation persist: nearly three quarters of the total number of businesses own less than 5 hectares, occupying less than 20 % of the regional UAA. On the contrary, companies with more than 50 hectares represent less than 2 % of the total, but make up nearly a third of more than 800 thousand hectares recorded in 2010.
Furthermore, when analysing the distribution of agricultural holding by land ownership, between 1982 and 2010, the exclusive property nevertheless remained the most popular set-up, even though in the first census this covered 80 % of the cases, with this percentage then dropping to 69.2 %. In fact, it is the businesses with less land, and thus comparable to family-run businesses, which prefer exclusive ownership of land, while the greater the land area owned, the more the tendency moves towards an organised entrepreneurial structure, where exclusive rental or flexible ownership and rental formulas are preferred. (Figure 7.1.3)
However both these categories stand their ground in their specific roles. The smaller agricultural holdings play the extremely important role of widespread presence over the territory, needed to compensate for the decreasing population in the mountains and more difficult rural areas, to protect the landscape and to slow down hydrogeological decay.
Meanwhile the larger and more structured agricultural holdings keep up their fundamental role to guarantee supply to the food chain and meet the needs of domestic consumption, to maintain the prestigious exports of "made in Italy" products and lastly, to make a major contribution to employment.
The number of working days on agricultural holdings also seems to have fallen over the last thirty years, at much the same pace, and while the most substantial drop has mainly affected family members of the farm manager, an increase has been seen in the last decade (+58.7 %) in the days of those working on fixed-term contracts (seasonal, occasional, employed for specific work phases). (Figure 7.1.4)
The picture of those working on agricultural holdings in 2010 shows the great majority (over 80 %) belonging to the family or close relatives of the farm manager, with a male presence (over 169,000 people) that is virtually double that of the female part (a little over 88,000).(Figure 7.1.5)
Citizenship is predominantly Italian (92 %), considering the total of people, but this differs significantly according to the type of work involved. In this regard, while the figures for family and relatives of the farm manager touch upon 100 %, the same figure lowers progressively when taking into consideration the other types of worker: figures reach 71 % for continuously employed workers, to then virtually halve when taking occasional labourers into consideration (57 %) and workers not employed directly by the farm (56%).
Crops
Over the last thirty years, production crops have basically remained unchanged in this region: over two thirds of the land owned by regional agricultural holdings is dedicated to arable, with a slight increase from census to census, above all to the detriment of grazing land allocation, which dropped from 21 % in 1982 to 16 % in 2010; ligneous crops, with the lion's share held obviously by vines, holding almost three quarters of the total, remain stable in the percentage ratio of the UAA. (Figure 7.1.6)
However, the physiognomy of wine growing has undergone radical changes in this region and over the last 10 years the whole sector has been revolutionised. While the number of agricultural holdings, between one census and the next, gradually decreased to virtually halve between 2000 and 2010, in contrast, vineyard areas have now increased over the last decade, as a direct consequence of the doubling in size of the average land owned by vineyard holdings, which, while maintaining the typically Veneto identity with a very low value per holding, has increased from one hectare to two. (Figure 7.1.7)
The main actors are the two Veneto wine growing provinces par excellence: Verona (+15.7 % of vineyard area ) and Treviso (+9.7 %) which, also thanks to the international success of Valpolicella and Prosecco, have managed this historical moment greatly to their favour, both by defending the protected denomination of origin of their wines, while skilfully coordinating land and production.
It is also down to this that Merlot is no longer the most widespread grape in the Veneto region, as was the case in the census of 2000, but Glera, the grape variety from which Prosecco is obtained, has more than doubled in the last decade. Notable increases were also recorded for Corvina (one of the main grape varieties of Valpolicella grape) and above all for Pinot grigio, one of the Veneto still white wines most popular abroad, representing the greatest variation in percentage over the last decade between the two censuses. (Figure 7.1.8)
Animal farming
The same dynamics of concentration has also affected the sub-groups of agricultural holdings in the breeding sector, dropping from one census to the next quite progressively and significantly. 2010 saw the presence of just a fifth of the agricultural holdings recorded in 1982 and only half of those counted in 2000. The drop in the number of animals does not reflect the fall in the number of agricultural holdings. On the contrary, there has been virtually no change, at the very most an increase, as is the case respectively for poultry and pigs.
The physiognomy also changes: from over 100,000 breeding farms in 1982, 70 % bred cattle, 57 % poultry, 38 % pigs and 28 % rabbits, with a marked presence of mixed livestock breeding. Now, although cattle represents the highest share of breeding, covering 64 % of the 20,000 Veneto breeding farms, the set-up of mixed livestock breeding has changed considerably in size, with agricultural holdings tending more towards a single specialisation. (Figure 7.1.9)(Figure 7.1.10)
The predominantly small dimensions are also confirmed for this type of agricultural holding: the Veneto region is seen to be nearly always below the national trend when analysing the phenomena by class of LU (Note 1) , where one third has fewer than 2 LU and half has fewer than 5, and only the categories with more than 100 LU exceed the national average, with just 3 % owning more than 500.
In territorial terms, these agricultural holdings keep their traditional allocation, concentrated mainly in the mountains and foothills of the provinces of Belluno, Vicenza and Treviso, the same municipalities that suffered the greatest loss of agricultural holdings. (Figure 7.1.11)
Technical-Economic orientation
The classification of agricultural holdings by Technical-Economic orientation (TEO) or Type of Farming (TF) responds to the need to provide information on the production orientation and degree of specialisation of a agricultural holding on the basis of percentage ratings of economic size (in terms of Standard Gross Margin or Standard Output (Note 2)) of the various production activities on the overall economic size of the holding. The TF thus represents the type of agricultural holding production, which will be considered, for example, as "arable" if the majority of the overall holding income derives from sown crops.
In the Veneto region, over half the holdings are specialised in sown crops, and considering also permanent crops, this covers nearly 80 % of Veneto agricultural holdings. Nevertheless, in terms of profitability, these are two of the types of farming with the lowest average standard output.
On the contrary, agricultural holdings with seed-eating breeds (pigs and poultry), vegetable and plant growing and mixed livestock are by far the most profitable, but also the least represented in the Veneto scenario: all together these do not even reach 4 % of the total. (Figure 7.1.12)
The average standard output in the Veneto region is 46,115 euro, higher than the Italian value by nearly 16,000 units, with the large majority concentrated in the top economic classes: 58 % of Veneto agricultural holdings have a standard output below 8,000 euro (62 % in Italy) and just 8.5 % have profits greater than 100,000 euros (5.5 % in Italy). (Figure 7.1.13)
In terms of standard output per hectare of UAA, the value in the Veneto region amounts to virtually double that of the Italian output, with 6,785 compared to 3,874.
In order to identify the most profitable zones in this region, we have calculated this value for the UAA belonging to the agricultural holdings of each Veneto municipality. The highest profitability values are found in the municipalities of the provinces of Verona and Treviso, where the specialisation degree is higher with higher economic returns. (Figure 7.1.14)
Young people
The future survival of agricultural holdings is closely tied to the generational exchange within the agricultural holdings themselves, and also the arrival of young forces (Note 3) from the outside, to reinvigorate the farming business, exploiting the measures made available by rural development aimed at this same generation (Note 4): in fact the average age of the farm managers of Veneto agricultural holdings, at 62, is far higher than the Italian average, and a sign of the pressing need for renewal. (Figure 7.1.15)
Although we have seen major dynamics of both concentration and renovation in regional agriculture over past years, these are progressing at a slow pace: in 2010 individual directly owned agricultural holdings, with exclusively owned land, small in size and strongly centred on the family of the owner are still the most widespread form. Furthermore, half of the Veneto farm managers are over the age of 60, and other profit-making activities of the agricultural holding are still unknown and used by just a few.
The entry of young people into the world of farming is contributing greatly to change: although farm managers under the age of 40 amount to just 7 % of those in the Veneto region, the boost to renewal is remarkable.
First of all, a farm manager under the age of 40 is, on average, more educated than his/her Veneto colleagues: while 77.2 % of farm managers have no educational qualification beyond a middle school leaving certificate, this percentage is then halved in the case of young people (43.6 %), whose qualifications are mainly concentrated around the level of secondary school diplomas and degrees. (Figure 7.1.16)
Also, these younger figures rely less on their own family members for labour on the agricultural holding: in fact, while on average 81 % of the labour on Veneto agricultural holdings comes from the family or relatives of the farm manager, this figure drops to 65 % in the case of farm managers under the age of 40, and consequently a whole 35 % of those employed directly or indirectly by the agricultural holding come from outside the family. Young people also rely less frequently on the work of their partners and more often on those of his/her family with respect to the Veneto average. (Figure 7.1.17)(Figure 7.1.18)
Also the average age of employees in young agricultural holdings is significantly lower, except for those run by families and relatives where the farm managers are generally older by one generation.
As regards the agricultural holding structure, the younger agricultural holdings are on average larger, with as much as 12.6 hectares of UAA on average, nearly double the value of 6.8 hectares recorded for the total number of agricultural holdings in the Veneto region. Agricultural holdings with more than 5 hectares are more likely to be managed by a young farmer and this applies increasingly in proportion to an increase in UAA, while the reverse applies to all lower UAA categories. (Figure 7.1.19)
The land managed by these agricultural holdings is more often rented, granted free of charge or managed with mixed ownership agreements, with respect to the total for the Veneto region, where, as we have already seen, the great majority (69.2 %) owns 100 % of the land farmed. The legal form also differs, with more use of single companies for the young agricultural holdings (11.7 % compared to 5.3 %), although the individual agricultural holding is still by far the preferred set-up, young and all others alike. (Figure 7.1.20)
The agricultural holdings managed by young people are also more dynamic and versatile: not only do they use IT more frequently for holding management (16.3 % compared to 5.4 % of the total), have a website (7.6 % compared to 2.4 % of the total) and use the Internet for company activities (3.9 % compared to 1.1 %), but they also tend more to combine traditional farming work with other profit-making activities.
Indeed, while 4.6 % of Veneto agricultural holdings have at least one profit-making activity linked to farming, this value doubles when applied to the under 40s, increasing to 10.6 %. The most widespread of these activities, applicable to all holdings and the younger sub-group, is contracted work, farmhouse holidays and preliminary processing of agricultural products.
Among all these subsidiary activities, the most attractive for younger farms are handicraft work: one farm manager in three under the age of 40 dedicates part of their work to handicraft, wood working or park and grounds maintenance. (Figure 7.1.21)
In territorial terms, younger farmers tend to be more concentrated in the provinces of Belluno and Verona: respectively 16 % and 11 % of farm managers in these provinces are under 40 and those with a percentage of at least 50 % are found in the municipalities of Belluno.
The farm specialisations, identified by means of the Type of Farming classification, show slight differences within the younger groups. Although, as in exactly the same case for their colleagues, the most widespread type of farming tends to be arable, this is not evenly distributed here by more than half the cases, as occurs across the entire Veneto region; on the contrary, the under 40s tend more towards other types of farming such as ligneous crops, breeding of herbivores and flower and plant nurseries.
Mixed orientation is not widespread either for younger farmers or in general in this region, demonstrating how company dynamics tend more towards specialised business projects. (Figure 7.1.22)
Given the dynamics and versatility of younger farmers and their tendency towards a more business-like set-up rather than simple farm, it comes as no surprise that the average Standard Output of this category of farmers is nearly 2.5 times that of their Veneto colleagues, with an impressive 1098,692 euros, and significantly higher in virtually all types of farming: the only exception is the "mixed livestock" orientation, which shows less profit made by the under 40s. (Figure 7.1.23)
Young farmers are thus proving, despite short-term and structural difficulties within this sector, to have the skills, ideas and strength to contribute to the development of a diversified agricultural model, which is competitive, innovative, multifunctional and sustainable. A model aimed at the rural territory and the local rural community as its natural centre, where farming represents the essential backbone, where the integration of sectors to meet society's needs in terms of economics, the environment, and society, is achieved both consistently and respectfully. The commitment of these young people shows just how agriculture is needed as an essential factor and source of wealth for the area where it works, with the multifunctional potential and the ability to offer goods and services to the rural territory based on its economic, social and environmental roles.
To sum up, Veneto and Italian agriculture show the need for significant renewal, given their subordination to the presence of a myriad of small-size farms of secondary economic importance, with a concentration of elderly farmers and virtually no presence of younger people. This class, due to the small land size, is unlikely to attract young businessmen, as its very nature offers only the option as a supplement to income earned elsewhere, or as a launching pad to start a business, aiming at future expansion.
When considered in its entirety, the Veneto sector is undergoing slow but inexorable changes, with the progressive disappearance of small less competitive farms and a timid emergence of more business-like and specialised agricultural holdings. However, on analysis of the individual specialisations (organic, DOP and IGP certified products, animal breeding) these new boosts become evident, even though they still occupy marginal areas in terms of percentage. With respect to the regional average, the agricultural holdings are larger, younger, tending often to rent land and constitute management companies, with a more multifunctional set-up, based on environmental sustainability and aimed at increasing income.

Figure 7.1.1

Percentage variation of agricultural holdings with respect to the previous census, by municipality. Veneto - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.2

Percentage variation of agricultural holdings with respect to the previous census, by UAA category (hectares). Veneto Region - Years 1982-2010

Figure 7.1.3

Percentage distribution of agricultural holdings by land ownership titles. Veneto Region - Years 1982 and 2010

Figure 7.1.4

Percentage variation with respect to previous census in working days by type of labour. Veneto Region - Years 1982-2010

Figure 7.1.5

Percentage distribution of people working in the farm by type of labour and citizenship. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.6

Percentage distribution of UAA by crop type. Veneto Region - Years 1982-2010

Figure 7.1.7

Percentage variation of agricultural holdings and vineyard areas with respect to previous census. Veneto Region - Years 1982-2010

Figure 7.1.8

The first 10 grape varieties (ha) in the last two agricultural censuses. Veneto Region - Years 2000 and 2010

Figure 7.1.9

Percentage distribution of breeding farms by type of animal. Veneto Region - Years 1982 and 2010

Figure 7.1.10

Percentage distribution of breeding farms by class of LU (*). Veneto Region and Italy - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.11

Percentage of breeding farms by municipality. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.12

Percentage distribution of agricultural holdings by Type of Farming and Standard Output. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.13

Percentage distribution of agricultural holdings by economic size (euro). Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.14

Standard output (euro) by hectare of UAA and by municipality. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.15

Agricultural holdings by age category of farm managers. Veneto Region and Italy - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.16

Percentage distribution of agricultural holdings by educational qualifications of farm managers. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.17

Percentage distribution of people working on agricultural holdings, by type and age of farm manager. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.18

Average age of family members and permanent workers on agricultural holdings, according to age of farm manager. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.19

Percentage distribution of agricultural holdings by UAA category and age of farm manager. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.20

Percentage distribution of agricultural holdings by ownership of land and age of farm managers. Veneto Region- Year 2010

Figure 7.1.21

Profit-making activities linked to agriculture: agricultural holdings and percentage of young people. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.22

Percentage distribution of agricultural holdings by Type of Farming and age of farm managers. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.1.23

Percentage distribution of agricultural holdings by TF and age of farm managers. Veneto Region - Year 2010
 
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7.2 - From transformation of the production fabric to transformation of the markets (Note 5)

When we speak of development and transformations in agriculture, they mainly refer to aspects of production. It is obvious that, in the history of agriculture, both developments and transformations occur in "biblical" times: just think that nearly a thousand years passed between the advent of the first wooden plough and the version in steel! In the last three hundred years, from the first example of mechanisation in agriculture in the 17th century, through to today, transformations have gained in speed: the first tractor arrived in the first few decades of the 1900s, but by the end of the same century they featured a host of comforts. In the second post-war period, with the so-called "Green revolution", the transformations continued to affect mainly production aspects, but attention passed from replacing the work force with mechanised systems to research and the use of new technologies tied to the use of new seed varieties (genetic engineering), pesticides, phytochemicals and fertilisers. Towards the end of the 20th century, and at the start of the new millennium, transformations then shifted focus from product-related aspects to the process: recurrent themes became the processing of agricultural products and food-chain relations, specialisation and aggregation of agricultural holdings, the multifunctional agricultural holding as a supplier of services (contracting, rural tourism, educational farms, etc.) and renewable energy sources (biogas, photovoltaic power, etc.), computerisation, businesses and work networks.
In the last thirty years, the evolution in mass communication systems on a world scale (the Internet), leading to massive increases in the speed of exchanging information as well as goods, has considerably closed distances, and the consequent phenomenon of globalisation has had a remarkable effect, especially in the last few decades, on international production and above all the commercial system of goods destined for human consumption. Indeed consumption has increased in line with production and exchange.
In Europe, from when the Berlin wall came down and borders opened between European Union Member States, with the free circulation of goods, a series of transformations were quick to take place, which, rather than the production aspects, affected the exchange markets and sales of products. The competitive environment is now transnational and requires entrepreneurial skills, decisional flexibility and prompt responses to change, growth, innovation, organisation and development of businesses and networks.
Veneto: an export-oriented agri-food chain
As regards international trade, it must be acknowledged that the Veneto region has shown itself to be skilled in immediately seizing the opportunity of easier access to new markets and consumer groups, on the strength of their success with "Made in Italy" products.
Foreign trade figures make this evident and provide a clear overview of the national situation: overall Veneto is ranked in third place in Italy, after Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy as regards exports of agricultural products, food and beverages (excluding tobacco), with a value of more than 4.8 billion euros (+8.2 % compared to 2011). After the difficulties arising in 2009 where export figures dropped, this region has been able to reverse this trend, to quickly reach levels not seen in twenty years. The main markets served are Europe - in particular Germany, France and Eastern Europe - and North America, but there is also increasing focus on the Asian "far east" (China, Japan and India).
On detailed analysis (Note 6), Veneto is rated second, after Emilia-Romagna, for the export of agricultural products, animals and hunting (775 million euros, +1.4 %), but records the highest total interexchange value (little less than 2.7 billion euros).
As regards food products, Veneto is ranked fourth place nationally, before Campania and just below Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont. In fact in this sector, these regions can rely on a number of "Made in Italy" export champions: Grana Padano cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano parmesan, Parma ham, without forgetting vegetable preserves and confectionery (chocolate above all). The Veneto region also boasts unrivalled leadership for the export of beverages, with a value of over 1.6 billion euros, with wine holding the lion's share. Overall, when considering these three product categories together, Veneto holds third place among the regions exporting on a national scale. (Table 7.2.1)
However, it is the long term analysis that provides a better picture of the orientation towards export, the changes in progress and the ability of this region to better welcome the opportunities arising from the transformation of the markets over the past twenty years. From 1991 to 2012 Italian imports of agri-food have little more than doubled in terms of value, from 16 to 36 billion, while those of the Veneto region have more than trebled (from 1.6 to 5.2 billion euro). This is due in part to an increase in purchasing power and consumption following the improved income of residents, but also to a larger extent due to the ability of Veneto businessmen to concentrate goods from abroad to then relaunch them on other markets. In fact, it is the area of exports that highlights the situation and how the performance of Veneto has taken another step forward with respect to the rest of Italy, progressing at nearly twice the speed. In the period considered, while Italian exports have quadrupled (from 7.7 to 31.5 billion euros), those of the Veneto region have grown nearly seven times in size, from around 700 million euros to nearly 4.8 billion euros, with growth peaks above all in the periods 1992-95, 2005-2008 and 2009-2012. (Figure 7.2.1)
The transformation of fruit and vegetable markets
In general, the analysis of a particular sector exemplifies this trait of Veneto to act as a platform for relaunching agricultural and food products. The general picture of trade within regional wholesale fruit and vegetable markets, with specific reference to fresh fruit and vegetables, is in fact a perfect "case study", reflecting what also happens outside this market in the case of other products, thanks to a business fabric made up of large-scale sellers and aggregate groups of agricultural producers (producers' Cooperatives and Organisations) now well established in this region for decades.
Since 2000 an effective evolution has taken place: the markets for production, and even more so those of the end user (consumer) have seen a significant decline in channelled goods, with losses respectively of 30 % and nearly 40 % with respect to the base year considered. On the other hand, the redistribution markets (Verona, Padua and Treviso) have increased their goods in transit, even though these figures have also recorded a drop in the last five years. (Figure 7.2.2)
The developments in the dynamics of exchange become even more evident when analysing figure 7.2.3, which shows the origin of the goods placed annually onto the Veneto fruit and vegetable markets. This shows around one million tons of goods, 25 % of which are produced within regional borders, 53 % in other Italian regions and 22 % imported from abroad, mainly from other European Union Member States, but also from central-southern America (23 %) and Africa (5 %). Goods leaving the markets are divided as follows: 43 % remains within the region and is distributed and consumed locally, 21 % is destined for other Italian regions, mainly those bordering with the Veneto region, and 36 % is relaunched on foreign markets. (Figure 7.2.3)
This is further proof that Veneto is the ideal location to concentrate agricultural and food products of other manufacturing regions and countries, and can be defined as an effective platform for relaunching these products abroad, given its ideal geographical location and long-standing tradition of large-scale trade, dating back to the Republic of Venice, in addition to other favourable conditions, such as the fact that still today approx. 90 % of agricultural and foods products are transported on road.
Veneto operators thus play a dual role, one of redistribution over the regional territory and across northern Italy, and one of relaunching and sorting for foreign markets, exploiting the traffic corridors heading north and east, both for agricultural products made locally or those from the rest of Italy and other countries in the world.
Transformations due to globalisation: interdependency of markets, organisation of the food chain and structure of businesses
Globalisation of the markets and dematerialisation of value are competitive challenges and threats, which can be used by others against us, but they also represent resources with great power and the potential to generate new opportunities for the Veneto agri-food industry.
The interdependency of the markets leads to more correlation between the prices of products, which in some cases are produced in countries on the other side of the world. Thus, for example, the prices of the main commodities listed on the local and national stock exchanges (wheat, corn, soya, just to mention the main ones for the Veneto region), depend increasingly on world supply, the prices listed on the international trading exchanges, and those of Chicago above all. However, also in the case of a wide range of fruit and vegetable products, milk, cheese and other livestock products, the production dynamics of foreign countries, the scarcity or excess of products on the physical local market due to the presence or lack of imported products, all have a significant influence on the pricing of Veneto products. The volatility and high variability of prices over recent years has become a critical factor for agricultural businessmen, and increasingly needs to be taken into account as the repercussions of these external factors on company revenue, which are virtually impossible to control, can be considerable and often serious, notably increasing the relative business risk. It thus becomes essential to use means of guaranteeing prices, to reduce the risk of excessively high fluctuations. This situation has led to serious and pressing issues in the reformulation of policies, both international and regional, which have a direct influence on the agricultural development of a system such as that of individual businesses. Other critical factors are the food chain relations, reorganisation and repositioning in the markets, the network and innovation.
With regard to reorganisation, for example, a process of restructuring has been observed in the forms of aggregation in the agri-food sector, highlighting how the tendency towards working with international markets increases in proportion to the company size, both in terms of number of employees and turnover. Obviously aside from these, there are other elements that aid the penetration of foreign markets: investments in promotion, with the participation in trade fairs and events, membership of business consortia and cooperation with public authorities.
Without going into detail on the issues highlighted above with respect to the specialisation and aggregation of agricultural businesses, one particular aspect is worth noting here, regarding the correlation between dimensions of Producers' Cooperatives and Organisations, the main forms of business aggregation, and the tendency towards internationalisation and foreign trade.
The graph in figure 7.2.4 shows the trend in the number of agri-food cooperatives in the Veneto region in the last 40 years. In 1952 the number of cooperatives amounted to just above 1,200, and in 1986, after more than thirty years, the number stayed virtually the same, though occasionally fluctuating between 1,000 and 1,200 cooperatives. However, from the end of the eighties, the entire aggregative system of the agri-food sector underwent substantial reorganisation, with a continuous reduction in the number of cooperatives and the end of those less able to deal with the new competitive market environment, to finally reach, at the beginning of the last decade, a total of around 550. At the same time, since 1995 (data for previous years are not available) there has been a huge increase in the turnover of Veneto cooperatives, which has more than tripled, despite fluctuations in the last two years due to significant difficulties tied to the general economic crisis still ongoing on a national, European and worldwide scale. (Figure 7.2.4)
These figures are also supported by the growth dynamics of the Veneto fruit and vegetable Producer Organisations (POs), which between 2004 and 2011 rose from 11 to 18, also significantly increasing the value of products sold, which practically doubled, rising from approx. 176 million euro in 2004 to over 340 million euro in 2011. In the same period, exports increased from 38 million euro to nearly 63 million euro, after reaching a peak of 87 million euro in 2010.
Transformations in the marketing of farm products: direct sales in the Census data and the case of the farmers market
Similarly to the national agricultural system, Veneto also offers intrinsic characteristics of value, which can be improved and developed further to transform them into competitive edge. Globalisation, which in the case of "Made in Italy" products cannot mean uniformity and standardisation, enables us to publicise and sell our excellence on markets further afield, and thus does not represent mere adaptation to new markets and new consumers. However, specialisation in a number of niche products, such as wine, cheese and fruit and vegetables, has given value to the consumer, although this has happened in a predominantly local sphere: these products are sold within a few, perhaps hundreds of kilometres of the place of production. Among the Veneto products with Designated Origin, for example, except for wines, only one "big PDO" (protected designation of origin) such as Grana Padano shows high percentages of product destined for exports, exceeding 20%. Among the others, Radicchio, Asiago and Montasio cheese reach more modest sales levels abroad, of 5-10%, while other products struggle to leave regional and national areas.
As for the local market, direct sales play an important role: with this regard, it is interesting to analyse the data collected in the last 2010 Agriculture Census and compare them, where possible, with the data recorded in 2000. The result, according to the 2010 Census, is that in Veneto there are 9,949 farms that rely on this sales channel, out of a total of 119,384 farms, equal to a share of just 8.3 %, the second lowest on a national scale, and even in decline with respect to 2000, where those using direct sales reached 9.9 %. The drop in popularity of this sales channel may be explained for various reasons: the changes in standards governing these activities have led to more precise and restrictive criteria, while the average farm size has increased, which, with increased volumes of products to place on the market, has led farms to use sales channels that enable a quicker turnaround of large quantities of goods. In fact the percentage of farms that use other sales channels, such as those for commercial companies (46 %) or for association organisations (42.9 %), remains clearly predominant with respect to the percentage using direct sales.
However, a more detailed analysis shows that reliance on direct sales in some cases is critical: this applies, for example, to farms in the mountains, which record use of direct sales of 21.4 %, more than three times higher than those located on the plains. An analysis by product type also highlights that, despite the fact that the percentage of farms with direct sales has on average decreased on a regional level since 2000, in some product cases, the figure for companies using this sales channel to sell their products is highly significant, and over 50 %. More specifically, this refers to the direct sales of wine and grape must, used by 75.4 % of the farms, oil (59.5 %), cheese and other dairy products (79.4 %), all belonging to the category of processed products, and floriculture products (67.2 %) in the category of vegetable products. There are also interesting percentages of farms using the direct channel also for the sale of forestry products (47.7 %) and to a lesser extent that of vegetables and potatoes (25.3 %). (Table 7.2.2)
The importance of direct sales for a number of products, in particular processed products, is also proven not so much by considering the number of companies using this channel, but rather the effective percentages of products sold by sales channel. Table 7.2.3 shows, for each product, the sales channel through which most products are sold. The figures show that direct sales is the channel through which most floriculture products, other animal products (eggs), all processed products and forestry products (wood) are sold. (Table 7.2.3)
Also as regards direct sales, with reference to the general situation, the analysis of a specific case provides further interesting information.
The subject of analysis is the farmers market, a special form of selling agricultural and agri-foodstuff products that reduces product transit and shortens the chain, thus creating a short circuit for direct sales from the farmer/producer to the purchaser/customer. These markets were officially introduced by the 2007 Budget, followed by the Implementation Decree of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture (MiPAAF) of 20th November 2007 which governed its set-up. The development dynamics of the farmers markets is a significant indicator of how agricultural holdings are implementing changes to their form, channels and means of selling their products.
In 2009, following a survey of Veneto Agricoltura, 44 farmers markets were identified in the Veneto Region. According to the last monitoring session by the Veneto Region, this number rose to 72 in 2012 (+64 %), mainly distributed in the province of Venice (18 markets, +3 compared to 2009), Verona (17 markets) and Vicenza (13 markets) which both recorded an increase of 9 markets, and Treviso (12 markets).
With an increase in the number of markets, the selling locations made available by the municipalities have also increased, from around 760 to 1,240 (+63 %). Nonetheless, agricultural entrepreneurs are effectively present in much lower numbers (875 farmers), but on the increase by 52 % with respect to the approx. 570 in 2009. Furthermore, considering that over 60 % of these usually attend 2 or more markets during the week (up to 5 or 6), it is in fact possible to estimate that around 400 agricultural producers are involved in this type of selling at the farmers markets, rising by 43 % when compared to 2009.
To all effects and purposes these are "professionals" of direct sales, who for years (most for more than 8 years) have focussed on this means of selling their products, which is both challenging and has a strong impact on the farm organisation and planning in agricultural production. These are organisations that have invested in sales equipment and human resources, modifying their management and directing business towards this sales channel, through which approx. 70 % of production is traded (33 % specifically through the farmers market) with an effective increase in revenue of over 80 . (Figure 7.2.5)
As regards the characteristics of the farmers markets, weekly markets are on the increase (which are now at 89 %, compared to 82 % of three years ago), open mainly during a weekday (58 % of cases with respect to 52 % in 2009). Thus fortnightly and monthly markets are in decline, as is the case of weekend markets.
According to the survey by Veneto Agricoltura the typical farmers market is made up mainly of 12 sales stands, small to medium size (less than 5 m2) covered with a gazebo (80 % of cases) in a central square of the town centre or in the immediate vicinity. The most successful markets are those in the medium-large municipalities (in Verona, for example, these have increased from 2 to 6, and 4 are now operative in Venice) where there is a greater number of sales pitches that guarantee a larger variety of products on sale, and consequently a higher flow of consumers, a larger number of purchases (on average more than 2 per consumer) and thus higher average spending.
In fact, despite some cases where difficulties were noted, farmers markets are still expanding. Currently the opening days per year are approx. 3,400 (+900 compared to 2009) and consumers, estimated at around one million, make around 2.3 million purchases, achieving a turnover estimated at over 15 million euros per year.
Evolution of the fishing sector
The Veneto fishing sector is currently undergoing a process of radical transformation, mainly due to a series of external factors that have imposed structural changes to the various industries, along with developments in production.
From a biological point of view, the excessive exploitation of resources and diminished conditions of some fish stock are already well known, often tending to be associated with overfishing. The constant decrease in fleet numbers over recent years and in fishing capacity has in fact been overcompensated for by increases in productivity. (Figure 7.2.6)
There are then the problems of small scale trawling, linked to the lack of resources and EU policies (Note 7) which further limit specific fishing activities, effectively eliminating fishing of silversides, cuttlefish and musky octopuses. In fact we are seeing significant changes to the systems and methods of traditional Veneto fishing, meaning it now faces further challenges. Despite the high numbers in the region's fleet, it has less impact on stock with respect to other national fishing areas, and is made up of different types of fishing vessel, which are multi-purpose and multi-specialised to adapt to the fluctuations over time in the wide range of resources present. Fishing here is small-scale in the broad sense of the term, both considering size and number of outings, differing by far from other national situations. This is even more evident when considering that the biggest fishing vessel is 30 metres long with a maximum crew of 8 persons. The age of the entrepreneurs is relatively low, in most cases under 59, but the boats used are somewhat obsolete. For these reasons, the Veneto Region is working on a funding project as part of the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) which, in the immediate future, will enable the withdrawal of a substantial number of fishing boats from small trawler fishing (between 30 and 40) equal to approx. 25 % of the corresponding fleet. (Table 7.2.4)
Other major issues include the excessive anthropization of the coastline and increasing conflicts both within the fishing sector and outside, with regard to other sectors. The coastline cannot help but be essential to the future of the sea, given that the stretch of sea closest to the coast features a high degree of biodiversity and productivity, where many species typical of the upper Adriatic area reproduce. Another indisputable fact is that the coastline offers extraordinary wealth in terms of history and culture, environment and landscape. But the close ties between territory, coast and sea make this zone highly exposed to anthropic action, expressed, in addition to pollution, in structural interventions for energy, commercial and tourism purposes, while traditional fishing and fish farming see their spaces closing in. Added to this are the problems related to erosion, destined to increase further due to climate change, and the necessary works for morphological restoration and safeguarding.
It should also be considered that this business represents the centre of economic activity and its revenue a fundamental prerequisite of any policy that aims at economic and social safeguarding of the coastline. For this reason the plan is to focus on activities aimed at improving structures and services for fishing, and in particular the infrastructures and logistics (ports, markets, certification, debureaucratization, to mention just a few). More specifically, the most urgent need is to reassess the role of fish markets, which should evolve and become suppliers of services to fish producers as regards quality, certification and health of products. These are losing their traditional role as the meeting point between demand and supply, and therefore the role needs to be reviewed, and renewed, maintaining quays and ports as well as adopting policies to concentrate supply, not only physically but also on virtual platforms. For this very reason, we must remember that two of the top three national markets for the fish trade are located in the Veneto Region.
Another increasingly pressing need is to promote the organised aggregation of supply, by product type and territory, which should stem from work towards social and economic cohesion among businesses, with the common aim of achieving the maximum sustainable performance. The last purpose is to create a handful of Producer Organisations and facilitate the chain for producing companies to make them the protagonists in the process of enhancing product value, envisaging incentives for those who aggregate and orient towards commercial activities, to regain part of the same product value. This direction is also being taken by development of accessory and similar activities, such as the launched restoration of fishing and fish farming structures for the development of tourism and accommodation activities, with the introduction of the recent Regional Law no. 28/2012 on tourist fishing.
Improvements to organisation of supply could facilitate not only policies for the promotion and enhancement of Veneto fish products, but also to help producers on the road towards traceability as required by European policies and which, to date, are still difficult to apply.
From an economic/social point of view, the sector suffers from a limited business vision of the operators - which often stand out for their highly individual approach - and the increase in production costs, in particular those of energy. Excessive fragmentation and the conspicuous presence of micro-businesses does not in any way help the relaunch of fishing and entrepreneurism. (Figure 7.2.7)
With a view to regionalisation as proposed by the European Commission, the set-up of the North Adriatic Fishing District fits perfectly in with this project, as it enables integrated application, in a clearly defined area, of the typical characteristics of the Common Fishery Policy, by sharing good governance systems.
The District has the objective of being a fundamental instrument for managing economic, social and environmental aspects of the common sea, but above all to overcome the constraints of standards not suited to the specific case of the North Adriatic Area.
It is also worth looking at what happens in fish farming, a complementary sector not in conflict with fishing itself. There is no doubt that in the near future, the supply of fishery products will increasingly depend on fish farming. In this sector, more guarantees are needed on non-EU production, but also more attention within the European Community to the aim of standardising working conditions and protecting workers.
A separate mention should also be made of clam culture, a sector in which the Veneto Region is a national leader. The critical factors in this sector are tied to problems of managing the Venice Lagoon, and the structural works required to restore life in the waters of the Po Delta. To solve the problem of scarce availability of Philippine clam seeds, a number of projects have been started up aimed at the artificial reproduction of clam seeds and the pre-fattening of small bivalves until they are large enough to be sown.

Table 7.2.1

Import-export of agricultural products, food and beverages from the rest of the world, in millions of euro - Year 2012

Figure 7.2.1

Percentage variation in imports and exports (base year 1991 = 100). Veneto Region - Years 1991-2012

Figure 7.2.2

Percentage variation of exchange by type of wholesale market (base year 2000 = 100). Veneto Region - Years 2000-2011

Figure 7.2.3

Incoming and outgoing goods flows in the fruit and vegetable markets (percentage of volumes). Veneto Region. Year 2011

Figure 7.2.4

Trend in number of cooperatives and aggregate turnover value of the cooperative system. Veneto Region - Years 1973-2011

Table 7.2.2

Percentage ratings of agricultural holdings by type of sales channel used and local altitude. Veneto - Year 2010

Table 7.2.3

Percentage of products sold by agricultural holdings by type of product and sales channel used. Veneto Region - Year 2010

Figure 7.2.5

Percentage of products sold by agricultural holdings attending farmers markets, by type of sales channel used . Veneto Region - Year 2009

Figure 7.2.6

Number of fleet vessels. Veneto Region - Years 2000-2012

Table 7.2.4

Average age of fishing vessels. Veneto Region - Year 2012

Figure 7.2.7

Trend in the number of fishing and fish farm businesses. Veneto Region - Years 2005-2012