Water management and irrigated agriculture in Italy: multicriteria analysis of alternative policy scenarios

Irrigated agriculture in Europe is facing major changes, due to the reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy and the coming into force of the new Water Framework Directive (60/2000). The objective of this paper is to evaluate the perceived outcome of different scenarios from the point of view of different stakeholders, as an instrument to support policy in the sector of irrigated farming. The methodology is based on the multicriteria analysis of water and agricultural policy scenarios and is applied in five study areas in Italy. The pay-offs for different stakeholders differ greatly between scenarios. Basic contrasts between farmer-related and environmental/water institutions are emphasised when facing different futures. This shows that greater coordination is necessary to provide consistent policies and appropriate incentives to farmers.