By appointment of the Assessorate for Agriculture of the Campania Region, a report was drafted edited by the assessor himself Nicola Caputo, with the scientific coordination of Teresa del Giudice, Professor of Economics and Agrarian Policy at the Department of Agriculture of the University of Naples Federico II, and of Alex Giordano, our scientific director, professor of Economics and Business Management at the Giustino Fortunato University and lecturer of Social Innovation and Digital Transformation at the Federico II University of Naples. The two also supervised an in-depth research conducted by the Nomisma Research Institute, then discussed and deepened with over 150 stakeholders involved in 9 work tables, in which regional managers and officials, university professors, researchers, trade associations, professional orders, LAGs, entrepreneurs, and farmers participated. With Rural Hack we edited the Content Lab to coordinate this vast work of collective intelligence.
The volume of about 400 pages offers an updated photograph of the main challenges and opportunities that affect the regional agricultural and agri-food sector. The results were developed along nine thematic guidelines, and offered the scientific base of investigation for the subsequent work of the respective nine discussion tables of the Campania Mater event, which will be held on September 17 and 18 in Naples. The research, based on official data and consolidated indicators, returns a detailed framework in which natural resources, social and economic transformations, technological innovation, and global markets intertwine, outlining the future of Campanian agriculture.
The first table, which saw the scientific coordination of Raffaella Pergamo, First Researcher – CREA, National Rural Network, and Masaf Fabio Terribile, Full Professor of Pedology – University of Naples Federico II, and the participation of Giuseppe Castaldi, Amedeo D’Antonio, Flora Della Valle, Angelo Basile, Michele Buonomo, Caterina Capri, Fabrizio Cembalo, Generoso De Simone, Antonio Di Gennaro, Massimo Fagnano, Antonio P. Leone, Veronica Manganiello, Angelo Marciano, Michele Munafò, Giovanni Quaranta, Vincenzo Michele Sellitto.
It analyzed the crucial theme of soil and water, fundamental resources for Campanian agriculture and increasingly exposed to environmental and anthropic pressures. The data show how at the national level 47% of Italian soils are in bad health conditions, compromised by phenomena such as erosion, loss of organic carbon, compaction, salinization, and pollution from heavy metals.
In Campania, the situation reflects specific criticalities: in 2023, 143 thousand hectares of surface land was consumed, equal to 11% of the regional territory, with an incidence that places the region in third place in Italy after Lombardy and Veneto. The sole province of Naples concentrates over a third of the regionally consumed soil (34.9%), followed by Caserta and Salerno. The consumption of soil in Campania is accompanied by a high population density, with 408 inhabitants per km², more than double the national average, and by a constant increment in the last twenty years, which has entailed irreversible transformations of the territory.
Another criticality concerns the zones vulnerable to nitrates of agricultural origin (ZVN): in 2017 Campania counted 316 thousand hectares classified as such, equal to 23% of the regional surface. Of these, 72% is represented by agricultural areas, which coincide with 82% of the regional buffalo population, while almost half of Campanian citizens (48%) reside in vulnerable zones. The presence of nitrates in soils and in waters constitutes a significant pressure factor on the sustainability of productions and on environmental health. The water framework confirms further fragilities: in the last decades Italy has recorded repeated episodes of record water deficit (2003, 2017, 2022), with values superior to 300, the highest since 1951.
In 2023 it stood at an index of 223.9 against a historical average of 326.3, highlighting a chronic tendency to water scarcity, which is added to a non-homogeneous irrigation availability. These data confirm how the protection of soil and of water resources must be at the center of regional agricultural strategies, with actions of containment of consumption, improvement of environmental quality, and sustainable management of water, indispensable elements for the resilience and competitiveness of Campanian agriculture.
AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE: STRATEGY OF ADAPTATION
The second area of research deepened the relation between agriculture and climatic changes, which saw the scientific coordination of Fabian Capitanio, Lecturer Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples Federico II and Francesco Pennacchio, Lecturer Department of Agriculture, University of Naples Federico II and the participation of Daniela Carella, Giovanni Padovano, Eliana Paladino, Flavia Grazia Tropiano, Daniele Caceffo, Pietro Caggiano, Francesco Castelluccio, Giuseppe Ceparano, Vincenzo Cerone, Donato De Marco, Stefania De Pascale, Giuseppe Iovane, Albino Maggio, Vincenzo Patella, Rossella Robusto, with particular attention to the scenarios of adaptation that affect Campania in a European and global context.
In Italy the average annual temperature of the decade 2014-2023 results superior by about 1.3°C compared to the period 1974-1983, confirming a trend of warming that directly affects agricultural production. Parallelly, extreme events have experienced an exponential growth: between 2015 and 2023 the average annual number of extreme phenomena in Europe increased by 221%, while at the global level the growth was more contained. In our Country, episodes of drought, floods, and hailstorms have had relevant effects on the stability of harvests and on the sustainability of supply chains. Particularly significant is the framework linked to the water deficit, which touched record values on multiple occasions: in 2003, in 2017, and in 2022 the missing volumes compared to the vegetative requirement exceeded the 300 mark, the highest levels ever recorded since 1951.
In 2023, the annual index of water deficit stood at 223.9, against a historical average of 326.3, confirming the tendency to an increasing scarcity that penalizes above all crops in areas less served by efficient irrigation systems. In this scenario, adaptation to climatic change emerges as a strategic priority: the Campanian agricultural sector is called to strengthen practices of water resource management, crop diversification, and resilient techniques to face a context in which climatic risk is by now structural, constituting a threat to the competitiveness and sustainability of agricultural businesses.
ZERO WASTE: REDUCTION AND VALORIZATION
The third area of investigation, which saw the scientific coordination of Andrea Segrè, Full Professor of Circular Economy – University of Bologna and the participation of Giuseppe Rosario Mazzeo, Enrico Amico, Valentina Carfora, Giorgio Casagranda, Paolo Conte, Guido Coppola, Emilio Ferrara, Matteo Morvillo, Simona Pelliccia, Raffaele Sacchi, Giovanna Sangiuolo, Amedeo Valestra, Fabio Verneau, was that of food waste and of the valorization of resources, an area that intertwines environmental sustainability, competitiveness of supply chains, and social responsibility.
The research highlights how waste manifests along the entire agri-food chain, with different modalities: food loss, linked to the phases of production and transformation, and food waste, concentrated in distribution and in final consumptions. At the global level, it is estimated that in 2022 13% of the food produced in the primary phase and 19% in the final phases of the food chain went lost or wasted. In Europe, Italy places itself among the Countries with more contained waste levels, but remains in the high bracket of the classification with 139 kg per capita per year, against an EU average of 129 kg. In detail, 53% of the waste in Italy happens at the domestic level, 12% in catering, and 18% in manufacturing.
The Campanian photograph brings to light specific criticalities: in 2023 almost half of the fresh fruit produced in the region (46%) remained in the field, together with 21% of vegetables cultivated in greenhouses and 17% of those in open air. This quota of non-harvested production represents a significant economic loss for agricultural businesses and at the same time a missed value for the entire supply chain. The multi-year analysis shows, furthermore, that in the last four years the quota of fruit left in the field remained stably high, with a peak of 45.9% already in 2020. On the front of domestic waste, the data reveal that every Italian family throws away on average 618 grams of food per week, with a growth of 16% compared to 2021.
The products most subject to waste are fresh fruit (24 grams per week), bread (21 grams), and vegetables (20 grams), followed by salad and onions. In Campania the weight of food spending is particularly relevant: in 2022 families destined on average 552 euros per month for food goods and non-alcoholic beverages, against a national average of 481 euros, with an incidence of 25% on total spending. These data confirm how the reduction of waste and the valorization of surpluses must be considered priorities for the regional agri-food system. Targeted interventions in the logistical field, incentives for the transformation of non-harvested productions, and awareness programs for consumers can generate environmental, economic, and social benefits, strengthening the sustainability of the Campanian model.
RURAL COMMUNITIES AND RESILIENT TERRITORIES
The second [fourth] area, which saw the scientific coordination of Teresa Del Giudice, Lecturer of the Department of Agriculture, University of Naples Federico II and the participation of Katja Aversano, Ferdinando Gandolfi, Marcello Murino, Veronica Barbati, Angelo Barone, Valerio Calabrese, Davide Della Porta, Roberta Garibaldi, Gennaro Granata, Francesco Nardone, Teresa Panico, Gaetano Pascariello, Margherita Rizzuto, Eligio Troisi, Italia Valentino, concerned rural communities and resilient territories.
Here the analysis brought to light the demographic trend and the economic dynamics that affect the inland and hilly areas of the region. The analysis highlights a trend of progressive depopulation: between 2019 and 2024 the region lost on average 4% of the population, with more marked peaks in Naples (-5.8%) and in Benevento (-5.1%), while Salerno and Avellino recorded drops around 3%. This phenomenon reflects directly on the vitality of rural communities, on the availability of agricultural workforce, and on the stability of services in small municipalities. On the economic plane, Campania shows an average income per taxpayer of 16,834 euros, significantly lower compared to the national average, which exceeds 20,000.
Such a gap translates into lower investment capacities and in a more accentuated fragility of families in rural areas. The dynamics of the utilized agricultural area (UAA) confirm the structural difficulties: between 2010 and 2020 a contraction of 10% is recorded, with particularly evident reductions in the hills (-15.4%) and in the plains (-11.9%). The loss of cultivated surfaces, associated with the depopulation, accentuates the risk of abandonment and of landscape degradation, but at the same time stimulates reflection on the necessity of policies of valorization of inland areas. In this context, the resilience of territories depends on the capacity to conjugate social cohesion, environmental sustainability, and economic innovation.
The research highlights how the strengthening of rural communities requires a targeted support to agricultural businesses, to short supply chains, and to proximity services, so as to contrast the demographic hemorrhage and guarantee new opportunities of local development.
PDO ECONOMY AND MADE IN CAMPANIA: IDENTITY, QUALITY AND GLOBAL MARKETS
The fifth table, which saw the scientific coordination of Chiara Giovoni, Expert in Marketing and Communication and the participation of Claudio Ansanelli, Luciano D’Aponte, Emiddio De Franciscis Di Casanova, Addolorata Ruocco, Ettore Bellelli, Salvatore Ciardiello, Gianluca Compare, Giuseppe Di Martino, Stefano Di Marzo, Carmine Fusco, Giovanni Giugliano, Gennaro Masiello, Angela Pisacane, Giovanni Rago, Maria Manuela Russo, Floriana Schiano Moriello, Salvatore Schiavone, took into examination the theme of the PDO Economy and of Made in Campania, returning a framework that highlights the solidity and the perspectives of the regional agri-food sector on international markets.
In 2024 the agri-food export of Campania reached a value of 5.7 billion euros, with an increment of 111% compared to 2014 and of 63.8% compared to 2019, positioning the region in fifth place at the national level for value of exports.The growth concentrated in a particular way in transformed food products, which represented 87% of the total, while agricultural exports affected 12% and beverages 1%. The commodity structure of the export highlights the strong specialization of Campania in transformed fruit and vegetables, which alone represent 37% of the total exported, followed by bakery and farinaceous products (17%) and by dairy products (10%).
This composition highlights the capacity of regional supply chains to express excellence recognized at international level, strongly anchored to productions with denomination of origin. On the geographical plane, Campania shows a balanced orientation toward markets, with a quota of 45% directed toward the EU and 55% destined for extra-European Countries. The United States confirmed themselves as the first outlet market with 16% of the export, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany (12% each), France (7%).
To emphasize the particularly dynamic performances on new markets (Austria, Spain, and the Netherlands), which testify the expansion of the Campanian presence in strategic European contexts. At the same time, the agri-food trade balance records a positive balance of 1.5 billion, thanks above all to transformed food, while the agricultural sector still presents a deficit. These results demonstrate how Campania has known how to build a competitive model founded on territorial identity, certified quality, and recognizability of the PDO and PGI brands, capable of sustaining the export and strengthening the reputation of Made in Campania at global level.
THE BLUE ECONOMY
The sixth table, which saw the scientific coordination of Giovanni Fulvio Russo, Full Professor of Ecology University of Naples Parthenope and the participation of Maurizio Cinque, Teodolinda Toderico, Aniello Anastasio, Teresa Di Nardo, Fabio Di Nocera, Carmine Farnetano, Maurizio Giordano, Fulvio Giugliano, Giuseppe Greco, Danilo Guida, Giuseppe Palma, Valentina Stinga, Yari Vecchio, placed attention on the link between sea and agri-food, underlining the role of the blue economy in the regional development strategy.
Campania has a fishing fleet composed of 1,021 boats, which represent 8.6% of the national total. Campanian vessels are on average lighter and less powerful than the Italian average: the average tonnage stands at 8 tons against the national 12 tons, while the installed power is equal to 59.5 kW, well below the 78 kW recorded at Country level. This framework describes a fleet oriented above all to coastal fishing, with structural characteristics that define its modalities of use. In 2023 regional fish production was equal to 5,001 tons, for a total value of 37.3 million euros, placing Campania in ninth national place both for quantity and for value of catches.
The main techniques used are trawling and rapids (22.2% of catches) and surrounding (41.1%), which together constitute over half of the regional catch and affect in a determining measure the value of production. This sector, although with smaller dimensions, represents a relevant piece of the regional agri-food system, especially in terms of economic diversification and of valorization of the local fish supply chain.
FOOD AND HEALTH
The third [seventh] table, which saw the scientific coordination of Mauro Minelli, Doctor, Specialist in Clinical Immunology and Allergology – Coordinator South Italy, Foundation for Personalized Medicine and the participation of Gianni Ruggiero, Giovanni Silenzio, Giorgia Borriello, Margherita Ceparano, Angelo Corallo, Giovanni Feola, Massimiliano Gervasi, Antonio Limone, Dominga Maio, Annamaria Mastrantuono, Ludovico Montebianco Abenavoli, Marina Reale, Ilaria Vergallo, Marianna Visone, examined the link between food and health, highlighting how food consumptions, production modalities, and lifestyles affect directly the well-being of the population.
The analysis of domestic spending shows a differentiated dynamic: between 2014 and 2023 spending for bread and cereals, fruit and vegetables grew in current values, but if evaluated at constant prices reveals a contraction, signaling a drop in purchased volumes. In particular, in 2023 real spending for fruit results were lower by 23.3% compared to 2014, while that for vegetables marked a -4.9%. On the other hand, spending for oils and fats recorded an increase of 30.8% in real terms over the same time span, confirming a change in purchase habits. For products of animal origin the framework is analogous: current spending for meat, fish, milk, and derivatives grew in the last decade, but in constant values highlights significant contractions.
Between 2014 and 2023 real spending for meat reduced by 9.8%. A positive signal arrives from organic agriculture, which in Campania has experienced a strong expansion: the organic surface passed from 21 thousand hectares in 2014 to 103 thousand hectares in 2023, equal to 20% of the regional UAA, in line with the national average. Important also the diffusion of certified integrated production (SQNPI), which in Campania affects over 100 thousand hectares, equal to 14% of national surfaces, with a particular concentration in tree crops such as vine, olive, and citrus. On the front of public health, Italy maintains an incidence of obesity lower compared to the European average: in 2019 the quota of obese population was equal to 10.5%, against 16% of the EU-27.
However, regional data highlight critical situations, above all in the Mezzogiorno, where a greater prevalence of overweight and obesity is recorded, with direct repercussions on health spending and on the well-being of communities. These elements outline a framework in which food choices and production modalities intertwine strictly with the health of citizens. The research highlights how the valorization of the Mediterranean Diet, the promotion of certified productions, and the diffusion of sustainable agricultural practices are fundamental levers to conjugate competitiveness of the sector and improvement of the quality of life.
INNOVATION AND KNOWLEDGE FOR AGRICULTURE
The eighth line of deepening concerns the theme of innovation and of knowledge for agriculture coordinated exactly by our prof Alex Giordano who in these years has been the Coordinator of the thematic group dedicated to “Innovation, aims, new entrepreneurship and digitalization”, within the Committee for the New Agricultural Programming (CNPA) of the Assessorate for Agriculture of the Campania Region.
The table saw the contribution of: Ferdinando Gandolfi, Giuseppe Malferà, Domenico Carputo, Giuseppe Cilento, Umberto Comentale, Enrica De Falco, Davide De Nicolò, Annalisa Gramigna, Angelo Marino, Concetta Menna, Michele Nunziata Rega, Rosa Pepe, Andrea Ricciardiello, Melania Carmela Santarcangelo, Antonio Santoro, Anna Vagnozzi.
The Nomisma photograph reveals that in 2020 over 60% of Campanian agricultural managers had a study title not superior to the middle school diploma, while only 9% graduated, against a national datum of 12%. This educational level directly affects the possibility of introducing innovations and of receiving advanced technological tools. An encouraging signal arrives however from continuous training: 29% of Campanian managers attended at least one update course, with a concentration in Naples (31%), Benevento (26%), Caserta (25%), Avellino (23%), and Salerno (17%).
The school and training system shows a significant rooting: in Campania 69 agricultural institutes operate, equal to 8% of the national total, with a growth of enrolled students of 55% compared to 2015. The regional incidence of agricultural path students is equal to 7.1% of the Italian total, placing Campania among the first five regions for weight of agricultural training.
These elements show how the future of Campanian agriculture passes through the strengthening of human capital, highlighting how the competitiveness of the Campanian system depends on the capacity to train new skills, attract young entrepreneurs, and disseminate modern practices of management.
YOUNG PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Finally, in a table that saw the scientific coordination of Roberto Mazzei, Head of Innovation Service and AKIS Coldiretti and the participation of Carlo Coduti, Giuseppe Gorga, Alfredo Lassandro, Liana Agostinelli, Virgilio Buscemi, Giovanni De Sio, Francesca Luisa Fedele, Salvatore Loffreda, Concetta Nazzaro, Raffaele Pezone, Giuseppe Russo, Bruno Striano, the challenges and opportunities for young people in agriculture were analyzed, returning a framework that highlights at the same time fragility and potentiality of the Campanian system.
In 2020 9.3% of Campanian agricultural companies were led by a company head under 40, a datum slightly lower than the national average of 10.9%. The distribution by age classes shows a strong aging of the sector: over 37% of companies are conducted by people between 60 and 74 years, while only 3% is entrusted to entrepreneurs with less than 29 years. On the gender plane, Campania expresses a significant datum: agricultural companies under female conduct represent 38.8%, among the highest quotas in Italy. In absolute values, over 30,700 Campanian businesses are led by women, a datum that highlights the centrality of the female component in rural development strategies.
The number of companies owned by the youths however recorded an important decline: between 2019 and 2024 Campania lost 24% of businesses conducted by under 35s, a more marked drop compared to the national -10.8%. Despite this, the region continues to represent about 10% of Italian young businesses, confirming a non-marginal role in the overall scenario. The territorial structure adds further elements of analysis: in Campania 50% of agricultural companies are placed in the hills, 33% in the plains, and 17% in the mountains. Average sizes result lower than the national average in all altimetric brackets, with 9.6 hectares in the plains against the national 13.5, and just 4.7 hectares in the mountains compared to the 6 of the Italy average.
These data testify to a structural fragmentation that affects the profitability of companies and the capacity to innovate. A positive aspect concerns the presence of connected activities: 33.6% of Campanian companies have diversified their own incomes through agritourism, transformation, contract work, or energy production. In particular, 21.4% carries out transformation activities, 11.4% offers agritourism services or educational farms, and 16.9% operates in primary processing. This propensity to multifunctionality demonstrates the will of the youngest and most dynamic businesses to widen the sources of income and root themselves in the territories. The research highlights how it is crucial to favor the entry of new generations, sustain female entrepreneurship, and strengthen the paths of innovation and training, so as to transform criticalities into levers of relaunch for Campanian agriculture.
“The analyses published in the about 400 pages of the Campania Mater report return an articulated framework of Campanian agriculture and agri-food. From it emerges a system that faces complex structural challenges — linked to soil consumption, to water scarcity, to depopulation of inland areas, and to aging of the entrepreneurial base — but that at the same time shows solid points of strength, capable of orienting its development trajectory. The growth of exports, the expansion of organic and integrated productions, the diffusion of connected activities in agricultural companies, and the centrality of PDO and PGI supply chains testify to the capacity of Campania to enhance its own identity and to compete on international markets. The role of rural communities, the vitality of the fish sector, the significant presence of female businesses, and the contribution of young people outline a dynamic fabric that requires targeted policies to consolidate. The conclusions of the research underline how the resilience of the Campanian agri-food system depends on the integration of multiple dimensions: protection of natural resources, innovation and training, support to young and female entrepreneurship, strengthening of rural communities, and reduction of waste.
Only by holding together these factors will it be possible to guarantee competitiveness, sustainability, and inclusion, making agriculture not only a productive sector, but also an engine of cohesion and of territorial development. We have done a job in these years trying to go towards the real needs of the territory, it seemed duty-bound to us to leave to posterity the bases to be able to do even more in the conviction that Campania can represent a model of agriculture of the future.
We called this model Campania Mater with a path that saw the emerged data as the base for profound reflections that I held personally with the help of the team of researchers of Rural Hack with all the about 150 members of the 9 thematic tables, whose results will be presented on the occasion of the Campania Mater event, in the hope that this work can serve for the definition of new regional agricultural and agri-food policies, capable of strengthening the identity of the territory and of projecting it in a competitive way into global markets.”
Nicola Caputo, Assessor for Agriculture Campania Region
“The transition that is asked of agriculture is not only ecological and digital but also social. The innovation, the governance, the roles of many actors, some of whom [are] historical stakeholders while others [are] of recent introduction, must necessarily be rethought. Public intervention cannot escape such evolution, of which new objectives and new instruments are requested besides new boundaries of action. The widening of the areas of influence of the primary sector and the intensifying of its connections with the other sectors require policies with increasingly wide horizons of intervention. The political dimension of food, food security, nutrition and health, the social and environmental dimension of agriculture, the implications of the sector with the protection of resources and of fragile and marginal territories, require new, integrated, and systemic approaches of public intervention.”
Teresa Del Giudice, Scientific Coordinator Campania Mater Report
“For the months dedicated to this project, I always had in mind the symbology of the pomegranate, a symbol that I often had the chance to observe at Paestum, my place of choice. The pomegranate, associated with the cult of Demeter, has always been considered an emblem of prosperity and abundance. This fruit, which carries in itself the multiplicity of its seeds, has always confirmed to me the importance of working on biodiversity, not only natural, but also human and social. It is in the plurality, in the pluralism of voices and of experiences, that the value of biodiversity as an engine of life is hidden. As the pomegranate opens to show the multitude of potential lives, so also we, through cooperation and diversity of thought, can reveal the infinite possibilities that are born from the synergy between our experiences and visions. In this multiplicity resides the true prosperity, that which allows us to build a regenerated and sustainable future for everyone. The Campania Region, responding to the appeal of the European Union to rethink the agri-food system in an increasingly complex and interconnected global context, decided to undertake an ambitious path, which goes beyond simple adherence to European policies, but which aims to return the ingredients for a regional model that sinks its roots in local biodiversity, in territorial specificities, and in the experiences lived by the communities. This path, this toolbox, concretizes in the “Campania Mater” process, a collective work that intends to collect, analyze, and reinterpret what has been done in the last years in relation to agriculture and to the management of natural resources, to propose not only a critical analysis, but also a viable road for the future.”
Alex Giordano, Scientific Coordinator Campania Mater Report
The volume of about 400 pages, in Italian and English, was presented on September 17 and 18, 2025 at Palazzo Reale of Naples in a 24-hour event organized by the Fondazione Campania dei Festival https://www.campaniamater.it.
