ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on shellfish farming activity to understand how a different kind of knowledge mix was able to impose in a short time a non-agricultural activity in a rural area such as the Po River delta. Shellfish farming is outward-oriented, since clam production is sold in national and international markets, and it incorporates large innovations, with a tangible modernization of the local fishery filire. The delta of the Po River in Italy shows a situation typical of rural areas: a high presence of agriculture in the local economy, low population density, lower income and education levels, and a high presence of informal employment. In every step of clam farming history an important mediating role has been played by experts and scientific institutions. The strengthening of human capital in the delta, as testified by the higher frequency of university attendance and the higher number of secondary school graduates in the local population, is translated into new attention to environmental problems.