A/HRC/43/44/Add.6 over 6513. The law was also designed to foster the passage of know-how from one farming generation to the other, including training for a period of three years and the division of generated income between the two parties. 55. A commendable effort by the Government to make more land available to youth engaging in agriculture and social farming activities is represented by law 109/96 on the confiscation of goods (including land) from mafia into the national patrimony of the State so that they cannot be the object of sale and privatization but only distributed in concession. 14 Further to this measure, an initiative along the same lines is represented by the Apulia Land Bank,15 on the mapping and concession of empty private land along with empty public land owned by the Region or regional authorities. The Apulia law also introduced environmental sustainability and organic production as a premium criteria in the process of selection, 16 applying a more prominent right to food approach to land distribution. These initiatives need to be further expanded and elaborated, particularly to make sure that the time of each land concession is sufficient to incentivize medium to long-term agricultural practices and the integration in sustainable value chains. Comments: Since 2014, Italy has put in place initiatives to promote the sale or concession of state-owned land. In 2014 the first decree called “Terrevive” was approved. As of 2016, the initiative “Terrevive” became part of a wider national project, since law 154/2016, art. 16, established the "Bank of the agricultural lands", with the aim of enhancing public land heritage and bring back to agriculture also the uncultivated areas, mainly encouraging the generational turnover in the sector. The Bank, is managed by ISMEA, the Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market. Almost all regional governments have enacted laws on “land banks”, with the aim of making public land available through rental or concession operations. For further information, please see: Povellato A., Vanni F., Nuovi strumenti per le politiche fondiarie. Banca della terra e associazioni fondiarie, in Agriregionieuropa, anno 13, n. 49, giugno 2017. D. Small holders and industrial farming 56. The current agricultural landscape presents an important dichotomy: on one side, the large land holdings and intensive production systems, mostly located in the North, with an average of 80/100 hectares per farm; (ii) on the other side, a large group of smallholder farmers, particularly located in the South, where average farm size is 5 to 8 hectares. 57. Small- scale farms, mostly family farms, represent 98.9% of total farms, thus cultivating 89.4% of the total utilized agricultural area. 17 Family farms play an important role in the urban and rural economy as they contribute to food safety, provide many highquality products, improve the dynamism of the rural economy, and their interest in the care of the environment fosters the production of local goods. 58. To support locally produced food, across the country, the “Zero km food concept” is being increasingly practiced to ensure that the food is produced, sold and eaten locally, travels zero kilometres and does not go through global trade chains. Nevertheless, small-scale farmers are confronted to an increase of intensive agriculture, the control of the agrifood market by major distribution chains, and the establishment of large buying centres, which increase the pressure on farmers imposing very low prices. Italy’s landscape is characterised 13 14 15 16 17 10 Contratto di affiancamento (mentorship agreement), as defined by the Budget law 2018, art 1, c. 119120 L 205/17. Legge 7 marzo 1996, n. 109 Disposizioni in materia di gestione e destinazione di beni sequestrati o confiscati. Regional law n. 15/2017 implemented with regional regulation n.16 of 31 October 2018. Art.7 (3)(g)(h) of regulation 16/2018. FAO, Family farming knowledge platform. Available at: http://www.fao.org/familyfarming/countries/ita/en/ .