Young Italians ditch partying to dedicate time to farming
- 01 Jul 2020
Gulf Today Report
Few years ago, farming wasn’t seen as a career option for young people. It was something older people do or those less educated.
However, things are slowly changing for young generation of Italians.
23-year-old Vanessa Peduzzi is one of a lot of young Italians that has ditched the fast life of clubbing and partying to dedicate her time to growing her farm.
"It's a tiring, demanding job, but I like it," she told media as she walked through the wood-lined pastures high above Lake Como in northern Italy to show off the building she is slowly restoring and transforming into a farmhouse.
A chef by training, Peduzzi has put her apron aside to tend to animals.
"I chose this life. This is where I want to be, surrounded by nature and animals," she said.
The young animal breeder owns 20 donkeys with 15 out of them being pregnant. She also has 10 cows, five calves and five heifers.
"I started last year with two little donkeys. I didn't have any land or a stable, so I had a friend lend me a meadow," she said.
In the last five years, there has been a 12 percent rise in the number of people under 35 at the helm of agricultural businesses in Italy, mentioned Italy’s agricultural union.
According to Jacopo Fontaneto, a member of the union, the sector was seen as "ripe for innovation" and working the land "is no longer considered the last resort of the uneducated" but something parents would be proud of.
Young people joining the profession are believed to be the pioneers of the change needed for the profession.
Youngsters can also help modernise the profession by bringing in new technologies or investing in online sales, added Fontaneto.
Though it can be a lonely existence, Peduzzi has made friends on the job: all of her donkeys and cows have names, she said fondly, as she introduced Beatrice, Silvana, Giulia, Tom and Jerry.
"I've had this passion since I was a little girl," she said, stroking a black cow with dramatic white-ringed eyes.
