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.

The new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2023–2027 commits farmers towards achieving ambitious environmental objectives through farm organization and management. This European agricultural policy has adapted to the contemporary challenges faced by the new model of agricultural development. It aims to enhance the contribution of agriculture to the EU’s environmental and climate objectives while providing better targeted support to small-scale farmers to promote farms’ competitiveness. The main objective of this paper is to describe Italian farms and classify them into groups based on their main characteristics, as well as to analyze their performance and behavior in terms of sustainability and competitiveness. The novelty and innovativeness of this study are found in the data used; a 2020 dataset from the Italian Farm Accounting Data Network (FADN) was used. The quality of FADN data in farm sustainability assessment is widely acknowledge in the literature. To achieve the purpose of this study, a multivariate analysis, in particular, the Principal Components Analysis (PCA), and a Cluster Analysis (CA) were applied. These analyses helped us to obtain the factorial axes which then enabled us to identify economic information on farms, and a better interpretation of farmers’ aptitude to undertake environmentally friendly actions. As a result, eight groups of farms were identified, and their characteristics and performance were described at Italian district level. The results of the study reflect the influence of European interventions towards encouraging farmers to use more environmentally friendly agricultural practices. Under this perspective, the findings contribute to the current debate on green architecture pursued by the future European agricultural policy.

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.

The assessment of economic and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems represents a critical issue, which has been addressed in this work with a multi-objective programming model to explore the abatement costs (AC) of CO₂ for a set of representative contexts of Italian arable land agriculture. The study was based on the FADN-compliant Italian database RICA and estimates the abatement costs of CO₂ emissions in a short time horizon, using linear multi-objective programming and compromise programming. RICA data were used to quantify technical parameters of the model, adopting an innovative concept of a cropping scheme to simulate land-use adaptation. The study shows a quite diversified situation regarding income and emission levels per hectare across the Italian region and farm classes. A reduction of CO₂ emissions higher than 5 kg/ha at an AC lower than 1 EUR/kg is affordable only in seven regions, among which Abruzzo, Lombardy, and Puglia show the highest potential. Comparing the estimated abatement costs for CO₂ emissions with the corresponding European Trade System prices highlights a difference of 1 order of magnitude, proving that emission reductions for Italian arable crops still require research and innovation to lower adaptation costs.

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.

The multifunctionality model is receiving more and more attention from policymakers as a result of recent initiatives to build more resilient and sustainable food systems as well as the potential for increased farm revenue. This paper explores the role of multifunctional farming in the Italian agriculture viewed through the lens of an entrepreneurial strategy grounded on-farm diversification. Farm diversification strategies, which broaden the farm’s traditional boundaries to include additional activities at the farm level, help the evolution towards multifunctionality. A policy-driven transition towards multifunctional farming has been noticed in Italy during the past few decades, which has prompted a strategic reconfiguration of the farm’s business models. Drawing on the identified activity of portfolio diversification, this study provides an overview of the analyzed 49,429 Italian farms, by articulating diversification strategies into four entrepreneurial activities, which are related to on/off-farm/farm-related or farm-diverse diversification strategies. This article has attempted to verify the presence of farm types that responded to portfolio diversification management strategies through the use of a cluster analysis on data from the general census of Italian agriculture. Supporting new patterns in the adoption of business models focused on multifunctionality should be considered in European rural development policies.