The new Cap and the irrigated agriculture in Italy - The Cap reform process begun in 2003 has changed many Common Market Organisations related to a group of irrigated crop that accounts for a large share of ir143 rigated agriculture in Italy. The decoupling of support from production is affecting the relative profitability of the crops and farmers’ production decisions. The impact of these reforms is assessed on the basis of available data on cropped area and of an estimation of the irrigated land by crop. A not-negligible decline in irrigated area has already happened and this trend is stronger in Central and Southern Italy rather than in Northern Italy. Because of the Cap reform, part of the Italian irrigated agriculture is facing a reduced number of production opportunities and becomes more sensitive to likely increases of water cost.

Simone Severini, in "QA Rivista dell’Associazione Rossi-Doria" 4/2007, pp. 129-144, DOI: