Italian Senate passes ColtivaItalia farm law with over €1 billion for agriculture

What the Senate approved

The Senate gave final approval to the ColtivaItalia bill on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, with 76 votes in favour, none against and 64 abstentions. The opposition abstained, as it had announced and as it had also done in the Chamber of Deputies. The bill now becomes law, and implementing decrees will be drawn up so that the funds can be spent in the first months of 2027.

The measure allocates more than one billion euros to the sector. According to the bill text reported by ANSA, 70 million euros go to the Food Sovereignty Fund (soft wheat, barley, maize and plant proteins), 300 million to Italian livestock farming, and 300 million to the competitiveness of local supply chains. Another 300 million is earmarked for the new National Olive Growing Plan for 2026-2030, and 150 million for youth and women's entrepreneurship in agriculture.

Measures for farms and supply chains

The agriculture ministry lists seven lines of intervention totalling 1,184.3 million euros. Beyond the funds for supply chains and livestock, the bill bans uprooting olive trees bearing protected designations of origin (DOP and IGP) to make way for solar or wind installations. For cereals, 10 million euros are set aside for wheat supply contracts, with a tax credit of 20% to 40% for agreements lasting three to five years.

The bill also creates a national extraordinary commissioner for Xylella, in office until 31 December 2028, supported by a five-person structure and three deputy commissioners, with 3 million euros of funding. A moratorium on business loans affected by plant diseases in 2025 is also introduced.

Generational renewal and land

For young farmers, 150 million euros will be split 65% into subsidised loans and 35% into non-repayable grants. Ismea will make 8,417 hectares available under free loan for 10 years to people aged 18 to 41, with the option to buy at 50% of the initial value at the end of that period. Municipalities will be able to list unused land in a municipal land bank.

The Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) will hire 50 new staff for research, and the bill supports experimental farms with investment in precision farm machinery, artificial intelligence and sensors.

Political reactions

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the vote on X.

“Con l'approvazione definitiva del ColtivaItalia, diventa legge, an important measure in support of our farmers.”

Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, speaking to reporters at the Senate, said the bill was presented in 2025 and that Parliament had examined it carefully at the request of both majority and opposition. He called it the largest plan for agriculture in the history of the Republic, passed without a single vote against, and cited the figure of more than 1.15 billion euros in interventions.

Aldo Mattia of Fratelli d'Italia, the party's agriculture department head, said the government and majority had secured a strategic sector. Regional agriculture assessor Carmine Cicala of Basilicata called the approval good news for the region's olive and livestock sectors, and urged companies to learn about the available tools and access requirements.

What comes next

The ministry says the decrees implementing the law are to be prepared so the money can be spent in early 2027. Il Messaggero reports that more than 1.5 billion euros are expected from the new budget law, and that the bill also includes lighter bureaucracy.

Food Sovereignty Fund70

Italian livestock300

Local supply chains300

Olive plan 2026-2030300

Youth and women entrepreneurship150

Wheat supply contracts10

Food Sovereignty Fund

70 million euros

Italian livestock

300 million euros

Local supply chains

300 million euros

Olive plan 2026-2030

300 million euros

Youth and women entrepreneurship

150 million euros

Wheat supply contracts

10 million euros

Data from the article text