Conditions for operating in marginal mountain areas: The local farmer’s perspective

Agriculture and local food products can have a significant impact on the economic development of rural areas. However, in critical environments as marginal mountain areas it may be difficult to find the right conditions to start a new production. This contribution aims at presenting the posi-tive and negative circumstances for starting and operating agricultural activities in minor moun-tain contexts, assuming the mountain farmer’s viewpoint. With reference to the Soana Valley, in the North-western Italian Alps, four semi-structured interviews to mountain farmers have been carried out in order to state strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Preliminary results state land availability, lack of marketing skills, high level of bureaucracy and financial overexpo-sure are the main difficulties in starting a new economic activity. The adoption of quali-ty/provenience labels, multifunctionality in agriculture and tourism as the end market can be con-sidered as potential flywheels by operators. Therefore, to support local residents for both starting or maintaining agricultural activities, local policy makers can support farmers by firstly reducing land fragmentation and secondly by providing for technical assistance for achieving financial fundings.