Agricultural policies

Question 1

ruralism

Answer 1

1927 announced

connected to battle for births; Mussolini believed decline in Italy’s birth rate was tied to industrial urbanisation and modern city life; must boost population to maintain traditional values
Italy must protect peasant population and agricultural industry
Mussolini exalted traditional values of rural population in contrast to decadent and corrupt pleasure-seeking lifestyle in modern city, where majority of working class were socialists

Question 2

1928: empty the cities campaign launched

Answer 2

Prevent internal migration from rural areas to cities
Massive land reclamation to encourage peasants to stay in rural areas; ‘bonifica integrale’
Marsh draining, irrigation, road building, house building, aqueduct construction to provide more arable land
Government claimed this would be carried out on 475M hectares and provide land for peasants
peasants carefully selected for working and childbearing qualities; Italian countryside repopulated and agriculture more productive

Question 3

ruralisation failure

Answer 3

In areas where draining needed (eg. Pontine Marshes), land reclamation was successful
In south, intense irrigation and complex work required; reclamation barely attempted
5% claimed 475M hectares improved, 10,000 landless peasants given land
draining of marshes educed malaria by 50%
provided work during depression
more than 500,000 people left rural areas; 50% population not involved in agriculture