Italian farmworker housing initiatives

In early August 2026 the Italian government began rolling out housing measures aimed at curbing caporalato and improving living conditions for seasonal and migrant agricultural workers. On 5 August the Council of Ministers approved a plan for the Mantova province that repurposes vacant public buildings and unused rural structures, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and coordinated with local authorities and farm associations.

Later the same day a separate decree allocated €150 million from the Development and Cohesion Fund to convert public facilities in the Puglia region into decent accommodation for foreign farmworkers. The funding responds to a regional request after previous PNRR projects were defunded and is part of the “Puglia Accogliente” model, which seeks to dismantle the large Mezzanone migrant settlement and address broader housing shortages.

Also on 5 August the Chamber of Deputies passed the Coltiva Italia bill, earmarking more than €1 billion for agriculture and including a €150 million rural‑housing programme to convert unused barracks, slaughterhouses and other public buildings into legal accommodation for seasonal migrant workers. The legislation, backed by the Ministry of Agriculture and farm organisations, extends the housing effort to additional regions such as Veneto and Lombardy and sets implementation to begin in early 2027 after the required decrees are issued.

Together these coordinated actions demonstrate a national strategy that leverages public assets and substantial funding to improve farmworker housing and combat exploitation across multiple Italian regions.