This study dealt with multifunctional farming, which is meant as a dynamic strategy that is carried out by Italian farms. The path alongside the multifunctional paradigm is carried out through both supply chain and territorial strategies, which deserve more attention. These strategies reinforce sustainable business models characterized by the presence of both deepening and broadening strategies. The first ones are centered around product differentiation and valorization through geographical indications, organic farming, etc. Broadening strategies are implemented through new on-farm activities, such as agritourism, and other gainful activities carried out at the farm level. Set against this background, the article discusses the evolution of farms according to the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) database by putting forward an empirical analysis, which considered the evolution of farm typologies oriented toward multifunctionality in the last decade. The analysis underlined the positive dynamics and the evolution of farms adhering to the multifunctional paradigm. Moreover, as evidenced in the econometric analysis, the adoption of multifunctional farming activities provided a sound contribution to income formation. This addressed some policy issues that were identified at the beginning of the new programming period for rural development of the EU and their resolution aims to reinforce the virtuous trajectory toward multifunctional farming.

Small farms are gaining space and importance within the agricultural policies implemented by the European Union, mainly for the role that they play for the preservation of the territory and for the economic development of local rural areas. Small farms represent a new opportunity to guarantee the permanence of populations and agricultural workers in rural areas, contributing to the formation of the income of farming families. Therefore, in this study, after identifying small farms as those farms that have a Standard Output (SO) of less than EUR 25,000, their structural characteristics were defined, as well as their economic and financial situation. The analysis was performed using the Italian FADN data for the years 2018–2020 and using a set of structural and economic–financial indicators. Furthermore, the study analyzes the relationship between farm performance and agricultural resources and also with farmer demographics and farm size. The principal Component analysis was used to reduce the number of variables used in the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model which was applied to identify the factors contributing to the small farms’ profitability. The territorial distribution of small farms shows a polarization: 37% of them are in Southern Italy, and more than 34% of them are in Northern Italy. The analysis also reveals that about 67% of the Italian small farms are specialized, in particular, in arable land (37.6%) and herbivores (16.8%). They are mainly conducted by men with a high school education level and with an age that is between 40 and 65 years. The economic results also show a good performance, however, there is a wide district differentiation: while the Northern regions have the best results in terms of farm net income, those of Southern Italy are more dependent on the public support they receive. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis revealed which variables (e.g., land size, labor, public aid, etc.) had a direct relationship with the profitability of small farms. The research provides interesting insights to stakeholders on the public support (specific measures) that needs to be designed and implemented to favor the survival of small farms in rural areas.

On-farm diversification in non-agricultural activities has been increasingly recognized as a rewarding farm strategy through which farmers produce on-farm non-agricultural goods and services. The main objective of this paper is to explore to what extent the condition of peri-urbanity affects farm income diversification in Italy by looking at the push and pull factors that allow peri-urban farmers to re-organize their business by developing diversification strategies that are tightly connected to the demand of goods and services coming from the urban society. A structural equation modeling (SEM) statistical technique has been applied to estimate direct and indirect causal relationships among the multiple variables involved. The SEM analytical approach allowed us to untie the complexity of the push and pull factors connections and to highlight the most significant ones. The strengths of the structural paths provide evidence on the key diversification strategies adopted by peri-urban farms.

Some major future global challenges are linked to more efficient use of water for irrigation to respond to the growing water scarcity coupled with the increasing food demand. Although irrigation advisory services (IASs) are considered effective instruments to increase water use efficiency in agriculture, their diffusion remains limited. This is due to several constraints mainly linked to their low accessibility and high costs. To overcome the bottlenecks associated with IASs’ adoption, this paper proposes a business model (BM) as a tool for scaling up IASs within a business perspective, with the aim of encouraging the diffusion of this technology while enhancing the associated environmental and social benefits. Drawn from the experience of the OPERA project, we structured the business model taking advantage of the opinion of relevant stakeholders and IASs’ potential users to identify specific limitations and understand their needs. It turned out that farmers are willing to adopt IASs but require that the service is easily accessible, with high-quality information that are delivered at an affordable cost. Indeed, here a BM with an innovative way to produce and deliver value is proposed. The value proposition is built upon key features namely, integration, customization, accessibility, and sustainability that reflect users’ needs and preferences. Our BM also provides a detailed revenues strategy that guarantees the financial sustainability of IASs. To design and represent our BM, the “Business Model Canvas ©” has been adopted. We concluded that an innovative and well-structured BM has the potential to leave the IASs profitable and capable to ensure environmental and social sustainability.

The ongoing climate crisis and growing water scarcity are exerting increasing pressure on agriculture in Southern and Western Europe, leading to reduced crop yields, greater risk of land abandonment, and deterioration of soil quality. Despite the extensive literature on irrigation and water use in agriculture, the specific relationship between irrigation availability and changes in the type of farming (ToF) remains insufficiently investigated. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing data from the 2010 and 2020 Italian General Agricultural Censuses conducted by ISTAT, in combination with microdata from the Italian Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), focusing on irrigated farms in Southern Italy. Descriptive analysis reveals that over 60% of irrigated farms specialize in permanent crops and predominantly adopt efficient irrigation systems such as drip irrigation. Between 2010 and 2020, approximately 23.8% of farms changed their ToF; however, these transitions were not generally associated with improvements in productivity or profitability. Results from logistic regression models suggest that structural variables—including Utilized Agricultural Area (UAA), economic size, and demographic characteristics such as the farmer’s gender—play a more significant role in determining changes in the ToF than the presence of irrigation itself. Moreover, the adoption of organic practices and larger farm sizes are positively associated with ToF changes. These findings suggest that while there has been some shift toward less water-demanding and potentially more sustainable crops, the impact of irrigation on such transitions remains limited. The results underscore the need for more targeted agricultural policies and improved data collection to support effective climate adaptation strategies in the sector.

Objective: Stakeholders—farmers from four different European areas (Campania (IT), Kujawsko-Pomorskie (PL), Limburg (NL), Andalusia (ES))—are asked to share, from the OPERA project, their opinions on five criteria that all aim at improving the use of irrigation advisory services (IASs). Each criterion has different characteristics that affect the way farmers rank it. The present study has two objectives. The first is to individuate the priorities of the preferences expressed by the stakeholders. The second objective is to carry out a ranking of the weights of the criteria by case study, ranking the groups and their associated properties among farmers’ profiles. Methods: The answers to 120 questionnaires dispensed to the future users of IASs in the four agricultural sites were analyzed in detail, and then the given priorities were evaluated through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The AHP methodology was used to determine the relative weights of the five assessment criteria, and finally, to select the one with major value. Results and conclusions: The results show that A5 (assuring economic sustainability) was the most important criterion. The contributions provided by this study are twofold: Firstly, it presents an application of a methodology that involves the conversion of a linguistic judgement of farmers in a correspondence weight. Secondly, it tackles decision making regarding improving the use of IASs, evaluating the preferences expressed by the stakeholders. Irrigation advisory services can play a key role in assisting users to adopt new techniques and technologies for more efficient water use and increased production.