Can
the Battle of Wheat be considered a positive
policy for Italy ?
In 1922 Italian economy was very bad and it
needed of foreign imports of grain to survive. In 1925 Mussolini placed high
taxes on bread imports to oblige Italian people to produce their own wheat for
bread. As it was so expensive to use the unfertile lands to grow crops, he
helped the farmers by giving them money to buy machinery and fertilizers. As we
can se, Benito Mussolini promoted wheat production because he wanted to: reach
autarky, reduce the balance of trade deficit, stop importing bread and to show Italy as a
major force. It can be described as a victory at a high price because although
the production doubled and the imports of grain were reduced by 75%, the
rearing of animals and the growing of vines decreased because they only concentrated
in the grain production. So, to conclude, we can say that to a certain extent
it was a positive policy for Italian economy.
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