The strategic role of agriculture in a development system of exploitation of territorial resources

The great difficulties Italy is facing with in order to overcame the crisis that began in 2008, lead us to reconsider the development models which have determined it. In the present context of increasing competitiveness, inducted by the globalization process, to avoid being marginalized or given up, Italian socio-economic systems need to think out models of differentiated development on a local level and based on the exploitation of territorial resources. In this context, taking into consideration that 92% of national surface is classified as rural, it is indispensable to think up models of development whose main reference point is agriculture. Agriculture is indeed the fulcrum of agribusiness system that counts for 15% of national wealth and it is the productive activity which more than others set the characteristics of a territory. It takes on both the role of producer of goods and promoter of a socio, cultural and environmental context able to put together the different territorial entities, making them operating as a system. It is therefore evident that agriculture is not a separate sector but an entity strictly integrated with the other components of the socio-economic system and thanks to this it is able to play a fundamental role for the territorial development. In this paper it is highlighted how the creation of an economic model revolving around the concept of “identity”, through the exploitation of territorial resources, if well organized and supported by incisive political actions can be an occasion of economic recovery. Identity and uniqueness can be the right answer to the homologation and standardization of globalization. The aim of the paper is to underline how agriculture operating in an integrated way with tourism, handcraft and the other territorial activities is strategic to develop and carry out a development model where the territory is the landmark.