The present condition of Italian agricultural areas and pastures is complex. Despite
possibilities for further increasing land productivity, conventional agricultural systems
cannot generate enough income to improve the wealth of the people living in marginal
areas. Further land abandonment will occur, unless higher incomes can be generated
and better conditions of life achieved. The development of new links between the rural
economy and emerging sectors of the national and regional economies are necessary,
as rural development will not occur in marginal rural areas in isolation from the rest
of the economy (Lusigi 1995). Closer relationships with the rest of the economy will
push the agropastoral communities into a more dynamic state, that will possibly
increase their incomes and improve their overall social integration while, in turn, contributing
to preservation of the traditions related to agriculture, forestry and animal
rearing (Perevolosky and Etienne 1999). The challenges of bringing the migrant rural
labour force (such as shepherds), properly within the legal framework is an important
part of the integration process. While sometimes limiting agricultural intensification, the diversity of the Italian landscape
has helped preserving the beauty of the territory and its biological wealth. These
assets can be used nowadays to develop complex agro-silvo-pastoral systems, to
include the important role played by the association of trees, herbaceous resources and
livestock. The management of these systems, based on the variety of land resources
and services, strengthens the economic diversification of rural activities and their further integration within the overall national economic development (Gomez-Sal
1997).