Land's Constraints and Possibilities–High-Altitude Farmers in the Eastern Alps

Abstract

High-altitude farmers in South Tyrol (Italy) live and work in the mountain belt of the Eastern Alps and are the focus of an ongoing research project on which first results are presented here. Located between 1200 and 1900 m above sea level, some of their farmsteads are among the highest in Western Europe. This historico-political development of the region accounts for the relatively favorable situation of these farmers. Since the 1970s, the regional government has regularly subsidized these smallholdings, to ensure that the farmers can remain on their land and market their produce. Keeping the mountain sites cultivated is crucial for ecological reasons but also for the tourist industry on which the region and its people depend heavily. How do farmers approach the apparent contradiction between self-sufficiency that lies at the core of their work, and, the resources that they need and receive from external agencies?