The Set Aside Programme as self-criticism of the CAP; the Province of Pisa case study

The impact of the European Community integration process on the landscape has not been approached by historical research yet. This paper focuses on the “Set Aside Program” (1988-1993), which is a scheme included in the Common Agricultural Policy. It foresaw to farmers the possibility of withdrawing lands from cereal production in exchange of a payment. The Set Aside Program shows a fundamental importance since it represented one of the first occasions of self-criticism for the CAP: thereby the Community became aware of the consequences of previous policies and sought to identify new ways of development. The case study of this article is the Province of Pisa. The analysis is carried on through official statistics, newspaper articles and bibliography on the topic. The newspaper articles show the public debate about Set Aside among the farmers and environmental associations. The research findings show that farmers and politicians have not exploited the opportunity offered by Set Aside Program, i.e. the diversification of the production; on the contrary they persisted in the agriculture disarmament of marginal rural areas.