Vol. 14 No. 3 (2025)
Special Issue 13th AIEAA Conference

Bridging the gap: the impact of compensatory measures on mountain farming in Piedmont

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  • Francesca Moino,
  • Alessandro Giacardi,
  • Giovanbattista Califano,
  • Roberto Cagliero
Francesca Moino
CREA PB, Turin, Italy
Alessandro Giacardi
Università di Roma La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
Giovanbattista Califano
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy
Roberto Cagliero
CREA PB, Turin, Italy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/bae-16852

Published 2025-06-26

Keywords

  • compensatory allowance,
  • mountain areas,
  • income gap,
  • FADN

How to Cite

Moino, F., Giacardi, A., Califano, G., & Cagliero, R. (2025). Bridging the gap: the impact of compensatory measures on mountain farming in Piedmont. Bio-Based and Applied Economics, 14(3), 39–49. https://doi.org/10.36253/bae-16852

Copyright (c) 2025 Francesca Moino, Alessandro Giacardi, Giovanbattista Califano, Roberto Cagliero

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

This study examines the impact of the Rural Development Program (RDP) on reducing income disparities between farms in mountainous and non-mountainous areas in Piedmont, Italy. Using Farm Accounting Data Network data from 2012–2022, the analysis focuses on cattle, sheep and goats, and fruit farms, with 525 farms (3,171 observations; 36% in mountainous areas). A pooled multivariate regression assesses income disparities excluding RDP support, RDP’s effectiveness in mitigating gaps, and the role of compensatory allowance. The findings indicate that significant income disparities are primarily observed in small farms specialized in cattle and sheep and goats, with mountain farms facing a net shortfall of €1,319 and €2,384 per hectare, respectively. While compensatory allowance support helps reduce this gap – by 8.93% for cattle farms and 5.28% for sheep and goat farms – a substantial disparity remains. Bridging the gap entirely would require doubling compensatory payments to €340 per hectare, though alternative strategies are discussed.

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