Il difficile ritorno all’agricoltura: analisi etnografica di una scelta imprenditoriale

The article focuses on the new small-scale agricultural entrepreneurship in Italy. Based on case-study research conducted in southern Piedmont, the article explores the socio-cultural and economic factors determining the return to agriculture in a context of abandonment of the rural areas. Specifically, it highlights the role of family support, individual’s work experience, and landownership in undertaking this enterprise. However, the research suggests the “return to agriculture” is limited by the difficult access to land, the high costs of start-up, and a low level of technical knowledge. All these aspects suggest reading the new rural entrepreneurship as a professional experience deeply embedded within the logics of the market economy, rather than an alternative to it.