The formation of professional identity: Italian Fascism and agricultural technicians

Agriculture plays a key role in the history of Italian fascism. In 1925 Mussolini proclaimed the "battle for wheat" to reduce grain imports, and between 1928 and 1933 the laws of "integral land reclamation" were passed to have new land for cultivation. These measures fostered the professional and political growth of technicians in agriculture, agricultural economists who graduated from universities but also experts trained in technical middle schools (periti agrari). This article presents an exploratory account of how agricultural professionals understand the relationship between the fascist state and their professional identities. Like all professional groups, it was engaged in building a specific union for agricultural technicians during Fascism, even with the goal of creating some of the most emblematic expositions held in the country. The agricultural expositions were to demonstrate the triumphs achieved by Fascist Italy also thanks to technology.