Italy's farmers find green gold in kiwi

As unlikely as it sounds, cultivation of the kiwi is booming in Italy, with farmers lured by high profits, the ease with which it can be planted in former vineyards and the cachet of growing an exotic product.

As the name suggests, green fields stretch in every direction here in Campoverde. But where grapes once dominated, the landscape now has a new king: kiwi.

Somewhat improbably, Italy has grown to become the world's largest producer of the odd furry fruit, according to the National Institute of Agricultural Economics, surpassing even New Zealand, which coined the name for the fruit once known as the Chinese gooseberry.