ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to outline how Italian agriculture and the Italian countryside are adapting to changing social demands, a question that Agenda 2000 is also concerned with. Agenda 2000 defines two different pillars for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): the policies for the markets and policies for rural development. Both are expected to have a strong impact on the evolution of Italian agriculture. The CAP has always been known to be faithful to the principal elements of European agricultural growth. As far as Italian agriculture is concerned, there are two possible routes forecast; the search for increased competitiveness by way of reduced costs, and the search for more fluid organizational relations along the chain or within the agro-alimentary districts. As far as rural development policies are concerned, the EU points out numerous functions that rural areas can be called on to implement in order to requalify development paths.
