ISMEA (Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market) has announced the opening of the seventh edition of the Banca Nazionale delle Terre Agricole starting from 29 May 2024.
This initiative represents a significant opportunity for those wishing to invest in agricultural land. This initiative offers for sale 428 landresulting from unsuccessful land transactions, for a total of over 11 thousand hectares.
Starting auction prices vary significantly, from less than 100 thousand euros to over 1.5 million.
But what are the methods and requirements to participate? And what makes this initiative so important for the Italian agricultural sector?
History and operation
Established in 2016, the Banca Nazionale delle Terre Agricole has as its main objective the reintroduction into the production circuit of agricultural land not used due to bankruptcies.
From the official website of the Bank it is possible to consult the list of available land, view the technical sheets with detailed descriptions and send expressions of interest. Access to the portal it's free and aimed at all users interested in purchasing.
Particular attention is paid to young farmers, who are offered favorable conditions for accessing mortgages.
Land requirements and conditions
The National Agricultural Land Bank is updated semi-annually, including land that meets specific conditions. Here are the main requirements for inclusion in the sales procedure:
- Judgment of contractual termination
Land for which a final judgment of contractual termination has been pronounced, indicating that the contract has been legally terminated. - Contractual breach
Land with a certificate of contractual breach noted, in accordance with the provisions of the art. 13, paragraph 4-bis, of Legislative Decree 193/2016. This indicates that the assignee has not complied with the terms of the contract. - Consensual resolution
Land for which a consensual termination deed has been stipulated, upon reasoned request of the assignee, indicating a mutual agreement to terminate the contract. - Revocation or forfeiture of benefits
Land that has undergone a definitive revocation or forfeiture provision from the benefits, making them no longer beneficiaries of incentives or economic support previously granted.
These lands, once included in the Bank, are made available for sale through a competitive procedure that allows interested parties to participate and make their offers. The Bank guarantees transparency and accessibility, allowing buyers to evaluate the characteristics of the available land and participate in auctions in an informed and conscious way.
For further information, you can consult the PDF document dedicated to the criteria for sale.
Who can participate
Participation in the competitive procedure of the Banca Nazionale delle Terre Agricole is open to all subjects who satisfy certain legal and moral requirements. Here are the main eligibility criteria:
- Absence of inability to bargain
Participants must not be subject to the additional penalty of inability to contract with the public administration. - Lack of preventive measures
Participants must not be subjected to prevention measures pursuant to art. 67 of Legislative Decree 6 September 2011, n. 159, nor be involved in mafia infiltration attempts, as provided for by art. 84, paragraph 4, of the same decree. - Absence of exclusions for negligence or bad faith
Participants must not be in the conditions referred to in the art. 68 of the RD 23 May 1924, n. 827, which excludes participation due to negligence or bad faith in previous award procedures or contractual relationships. - No previous canceled awards
Participants must not have been declared forfeited or renounced without the right to a refund of the security deposit in previous attempts to sell the same land. - Solvency status
The participants must not be in a state of bankruptcy, forced liquidation, composition with creditors, nor must there be ongoing proceedings for these situations. - Absence of criminal convictions
Participants must not have final convictions, irrevocable criminal conviction decrees or applications of punishment upon request for serious crimes against the State or the Community, which affect professional morality. Offenses decriminalized or with completed rehabilitation do not preclude participation.
For legal entities, the requirements must be met by the legal representatives and administrators at the time of submission of the offer and until the signing of the sales contract. This includes the owner or technical director for sole proprietorships, managing partners or technical director for partnerships, and members of the board of directors for joint-stock companies.
