One Health Approach per lo Sviluppo Rurale Sostenibile: Le Sfide di Ricerca dell’Economia Agraria Italiana

Sustainable agricultural systems are taking on a leading role in addressing key issues such as climate change, zoonotic diseases, and food insecurity, making the One Health approach particularly relevant. Twenty-first-century agriculture must therefore contend with the impact of climate change, the depletion of natural resources, and the need to feed a growing population, while not neglecting the environmental consequences arising from these transformations. This paper analyses the structural challenges characterising the Italian agricultural economy and rural development through the lens of the One Health approach, highlighting how the multidimensional complexity of the rural system necessitates integrated intervention strategies that simultaneously consider human, animal, and environmental health. The empirical analysis, based on Eurostat and ISTAT data for the period 2014–2024, reveals a deep structural crisis, marked by farm fragmentation, an ageing workforce, training deficits, undercapitalisation, and technological lag. The theoretical model proposed combines the cornerstones of the agri-forestry economics literature with the latest developments in interdisciplinary research, outlining innovative pathways to revitalise the sector’s competitiveness by identifying strategies to overcome barriers to integration. In particular, strategies are explored to address the main obstacles to sectoralintegration—namely, the synthesis between agriculture, digital technologies, public health, and environmental policy—through a coherent long-term approach. This includes: the role of emerging technologies (precision farming, IoT, artificial intelligence) in fostering sustainable and resilient agricultural practices, in line with recent bibliometric analyses on digital agriculture; the importance of local community participation, as key stakeholders and territorial stewards capable of promoting sustainability and traceability processes along supply chains; and the dimension of strategic policymaking, understood as coordinated governance between public, private, and scientific actors, able to promote innovation, territorial cohesion, and environmental resilience. Therefore, the theoretical framework outlined supports an integrated approach focused on innovation, strengthening local capacities, and multisectoral governance—essential elements for ensuring the green-digital transition of the agri-forestry sector in a One Health perspective. Finally, and by no means least, the educational and research profiles of SSD AGR/01 (Rural Economics and Appraisal) represent the ideal disciplinary context for promoting economic analyses, assessments, and appraisal tools to support policies and entrepreneurial models from a One Health perspective, integrating sustainability, environmental governance, and territorial innovation.