Abstract

Organic farming is attracting growing interest all over Europe, mainly because of the diffuse interest on environmental protection, on food quality, on animal welfare and on resources preservation. This work analyses structure and characteristics of organic farming sector in the Italian Mezzogiorno, with special reference to the barriers that remain to its full development. In this perspective, the article starts by describing the current policy regime concerning organic farming; then proposes the desirable path for continuing the growth process within the sector and, finally, discusses the debate around the optimal design of future policies.