Abstract
Social farming services have been established through a bottom-up approach in rural regions in Italy. This development was a practical and innovative response to societal needs and to complement institutionalised social services. One of the good practice examples is the social cooperative “Mit Bäuerinnen lernen-wachsen-leben” (learning- growing- living with women farmers) located in the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano, which was founded in 2006.
The first activity of the cooperative started in 2007, offering day care on farms for children, between the age of 0 and 4, with two objectives: (i) providing childcare by women farmers or their family members, and (ii) encouraging interaction with nature.
Providing new forms of environmental education, by allowing children to participate in farmrelated activities, has stimulated children’s awareness for the sustainable use of agricultural resources – animals and plants alike. The childcare service includes individually adapted care accommodating up to six children, with an annual average of 420 children3, flexible care hours (a total of 248.000 care hours in 2016)4, integration into the family structure, the passing on of traditional values, and the provision of environmental education. Currently, there are 106 qualified day care mothers, who are active in the social cooperative. This service is highly responsive to local demands, which is particularly important in peripheral areas. Another initiative, by women farmers, is an educational farm activity for school children, aged 6 and older, in which they spend 3 to 4 hours on a farm, learning about farm life and its environment. The number of school children participating in this practically orientated programme has increased from 5.700 in 2012 to 10.000 in 2016.
In 2014, the social cooperative expanded its social farming services by offering elderly care as a reaction to the growing number of elderly people in South Tyrol (i.e. from 43,500 in 1975 to 100,000 in 2015). This temporary, family orientated care service, actively integrates elderly people in farm life. At present, there are 33 women farmers offering elderly care services on request. Due to the valuable contribution the social cooperative offers society, it is planning to expand its current services to the entire South Tyrol area, and to develop new potential services such as rehabilitation for people with disabilities and special needs, horticulture and animal-assisted therapy for people.
Moreover, based on the implemented national framework law n. 141/2015 on social agriculture, a working group of regional stakeholders (representatives of the farmer and women farmer association, the provincial department of agriculture and social department, the social cooperative, University of Bolzano including Eurac researchers), is currently drafting a regional law for the province of Bolzano. It is evident, that the working group has had to deal with many challenges in the elaboration of the regional law including the following questions: Which new services should be included and regulated? What are the necessary requirements – e.g. training, qualification, infrastructure, number of people that can be cared for, level of the needs of candidates? How the financial aspect should be regulated between the agricultural and social sector?
Reflection on social farming initiatives has shown that these practices meet the objectives set forth in point 1 “Promoting Rural Prosperity” and point 3 “Investing in Rural Viability and Vitality” of the Cork Declaration 2.0 of 2016. Whereby point 1 stresses that innovative, inclusive and sustainable solutions for social inclusion should be recognised and diversification and entrepreneurship fostered, point 3 stipulates that society should benefit from the investment in private services, self-sustaining initiatives and the promotion of competitiveness in agriculture. In fact, social farming has a twofold benefit. On the one hand, it responds to the needs of society, and stimulates the personal development and independence of vulnerable people through individual, client-orientated services. It also promotes modern, family-orientated and innovative social services, empowering women farmers and creating horizontal and vertical collaboration, in both the private and public sector. On the other hand, it provides an extra income for women farmers in peripheral rural areas, whereby economic, sustainable development is fostered and services are provided for people in these areas.