L’utilizzo della regressione multipla nelle indagini estimative condotte in mercati fondiari attivi: il caso studio di oliveti e vigneti in un territorio siciliano

The present study aims to provide a further contribution to the knowledge about the mechanism of price formation concerning olive orchards and vineyards in a land market of south-west Sicily. Firstly the main characteristics of a sample concerning 42 land properties recently sold in Partanna territory were surveyed and afterwards their relationships between the most relevant among them and the correspondent market prices (both total and unitary sales prices) were investigated through the Multiple Regression Analysis. Finally some propositive remarks were formulated in order to create and successively keep up to date a database of land market prices, necessary tool to improve the quality level of professional valuers in the field of agricultural market

Consumers of flowers and ornamental plants: an eploratory survey in the Italian «Mezzogiorno» regions

This paper aims to provide further knowledge of purchase and consumption behaviours with regard to flowers and ornamental plants in the regions of Italian «Mezzogiorno», as an acknowledgement of the centrality of final demand in the chain process. The knowledge of consumption process is fundamental either to the firm – in order to improve commercial strategies – or to competition authorities – with the purpose of implementing more effective policies. From the analysis carried out it emerges that flowers and ornamental plants consumption in the «Mezzogiorno» regions is characterised by a high penetration index and – just with regard to some commodities – by a low purchase frequency. Purchase – mainly in specialized flower shops – is made both to satisfy personal requirements and as a present for special occasions. With the only exception of flowers, consumption is not tied to specific occasions. In the «Mezzogiorno» regions this sector is actually showing a good growth potential in both productive and consumption terms. It is of primary importance to carry out actions consisting in an improvement of information and awareness among consumers about flowers and ornamentals, and a more diversified supply of products in order to get into the modern distribution chains.Cette étude vise à offrir une connaissance plus approfondie des comportements d’achat et de consommation de fleurs et de plantes ornementales dans les régions du « Mezzogiorno » d’Italie, en reconnaissant l’importance de la demande tout au long de la filière. La compréhension du processus de consommation a une très grande importance soit pour les entreprises, afin d’améliorer leurs stratégies commerciales, soit pour les autorité qui gèrent la concurrence, pour la mise en place de politiques plus efficaces. L’analyse empirique montre que, dans les régions du « Mezzogiorno » d’Italie, la consommation de fleurs et de plantes a un taux élevé de pénétration mais, pour certains produits, une faible fréquence d’achat. En particulier, l’achat, réalisé surtout dans les magasins spécialisés dans la vente de fleurs et de plantes, vise à satisfaire, d’une coté, les besoins des consommateurs, et, de l’autre, les besoins d’achat des cadeaux dans des circonstances spécifiques. Dans les régions étudiées, le secteur des fleurs et des plantes montre des potentialités de développement de plus en plus croissant sur le plan productif mais aussi en termes de consommation. Dans ce scénario, il serait souhaitable de mettre en place des actions et des outils pour à améliorer l’information et la sensibilisation des consommateurs sur les caractéristiques des produits concernés, mais aussi, de diversifier l’offre, de façon à pouvoir accéder aux nouvelles chaînes de la distribution

Monetary Valuations of Monumental Trees and Other Natural Resources between Demand for Conservation and Recent Requirements for Outdoor Activities: Some Case Studies in the Madonie and Nebrodi Regional Parks of Sicily

The focus of this paper is on the valuation of the benefits that local communities living in protected areas may perceive with regard to some specific natural resources, and in particular to Monumental Trees. The current economic crisis which involves countries at world level, leads to think that in the near future the financial resources to be destined for interventions in favour of these environmental goods will be more and more scarce, with the result that most monumental trees will not be protected and this natural heritage will be totally degraded and therefore lost to local communities. Three Sicilian case studies were investigated, two concerning the Madonie Regional Natural Park, and the third one referring to an area of the Nebrodi Regional Natural Park. The monetary valuation of these environmental goods was carried out by using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM ), which belongs to the category of Direct Methods and of Expressed Preferences Method. For each of these case studies a survey was designed, identifying the targeted population from which to select a sample, from two to four different questionnaires were structured, with the description of the current and proposed supply of these environmental goods, where a suitable payment vehicle for the bids (expressed as Willingness to Pay, WTP) was chosen, where WTP elicitation “open” and “payment card” formats were used. A pre-testing of the CVM survey was carried out in order to check the questionnaire as to timing, flow of the questions, ease of understanding and delivery, and to identify any specific problem areas. The three CVM final surveys have the ultimate aim of estimating average and median WTPs expressed by local resident households and day-trippers to purchase the qualitative improvement of monumental trees supply and the additional services offered in the surrounding scenario of nature trails

Stima della disponibilità a pagare per la salvaguardia di un'area protetta siciliana dagli incendi boschivi

Forest fires are a major concern in the Mediterranean regions and decision-makers devote large financial resources of the overall public forestry expenditure to their management. The research aims to provide an empirical contribution to the knowledge about the economic benefits deriving from fire protection of forest ecosystems. A case study is presented where we measured the TEV of reducing fire hazards to a cork-oak forest localised in a Sicilian protected area, using a dichotomous choice question in a Contingent Valuation Study. The magnitudes of the annual aggregate WTP estimates obtained range from € 32,745 to € 42,953, corrispondent to € 712 and € 934 per hectare, in order to protect the forest from fires, and are an evidence of the little interest of local community in the forest ecosystem protection

L’amministrazione del catasto italiano. Il processo di decentramento delle funzioni catastali

The present study aims to reconstruct the decentralization process of the cadastral functions to town municipalities to date and to trace out the future prospects of cadastral management in Italy. Besides organizational structure, functions and informative patrimony of the Land Agency, the national regulatory framework and the operational steps of decentralization were here investigated. In the meantime, after over ten years from its start, cadastral decentralization has partially lost its original importance in physical terms, either to citizens or to public institutions, due to the strong speed-up given by the National Land Agency to the use of Internet and data communications, which allows to provide a range of internet cadastral services

La competitività del comparto florovivaistico delle regioni del mezzogiorno sul mercato internazionale

In the last few years the Italian flower and ornamental plant sector has been characterized by a significant dynamicity, becoming one of the most important sectors of the Italian agricultural system. In terms of competitiveness, however, the above sector has faced several market crises due to the globalization process which has produced has brought about an increasing supply of flower and ornamentals in the world market. In a national context, Mezzogiorno is an important area in terms of production source for flowers and ornamental plants, in relation to both extremely favorable climatic conditions and specific economic situations which positively affect profitability of firms operating in some productive sub-sectors (e.g., the ornamental plant sector). The paper points out the apparent growth signs of the Mezzogiorno flower and ornamental plant sector, though its contribution to the specialization of agrofood products is still marginal. Within the single items belonging to chapter 6 “Living trees and flowers”, the analysis carried out shows a specialization in the category of live plants as a consequence of a growing demand of such products from foreign markets. The competitiveness analysis has pointed out that these Italian regions are characterized by a strong comparative advantage mainly with some countries of the Balkans area (Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Erzegovina and Croatia), and with some EU countries (Romania, Greece, Malta and France). A heavy competitive disadvantage comes up with the Netherlands and, less important, with Thailand, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Among the main factors which affect the competitive performance of Mezzogiorno regions, it is clear that a crucial role is played both by farm pulverisation, which limits the development and the implementation of new productive technologies, and by an inefficiency of the distributive system. A strategy which certainly needs to be carried out is the adoption of high qualitative standards in order to reach new and important markets, particularly those characterized by high presence of rich consumption segments.Competitiveness, Flowers and Ornamental Plants Sector, International Trade, Mezzogiorno, F140, Q170,

Explorative study of multifunctional agriculture in a Sicilian inland area

The study investigates the agricultural multifunctional activities carried out in a Sicilian typical rural area, the motivations for entrepreneurial choices and the overall level of satisfaction. An exploratory survey was therefore carried out on a selected group of 13 farms localized in 3 Sicilian provinces, with the goal to identify strengths and weaknesses of their multifunctional activities. From the farm survey, several positive results came to light, among which a wide variety of services and activities, an increase in farm workforce and a high level in communication and Internet services. On the other hand, some criticalities emerged in the transition process, such as heavy delays in the administrative authorizations or in plant construction, as well as long Pay-Back periods, due to both an increased local competition in the supply of multifunctional activities and a generalized financial crisis

Sustainability initiatives and experiences in the Sicilian wine industry

The Italian wine sector shows an increasing interest towards sustainability issues. As a result, a wide number of programs and initiatives concerning environmental, social and economic sustainability has been developed in recent years. The aim of this manuscript is to describe the adaptation of the Sicilian wine sector to the new scenario of sustainable productions. To this purpose a direct survey of 5 Sicilian wineries involved in two different sustainability programs, SOStain and Magis, was carried out. The findings of the study reveal that the sustainability path undertaken by the wineries analyzed has led to management awareness that company activities can ensure social and human benefits, as well as fulfill environmental and economic objectives in the long term

Development and management of winemaking sustainability: an explorative survey in Sicily

Sustainability is reshaping the global wine industry. This paper provides a fact-finding contribution to the knowledge on how the Sicilian winegrowing sector is facing the challenge of the new scenario of sustainable productions. To reach this goal we carried out an explorative analysis of those Sicilian wineries involved in 2 important sustainability programs in the Italian wine sector, Magis and SOStain, aimed at improve the implementation of sustainable viticulture and wine production. The results of our research concerning 5 wineries in Sicily reveal that adopting sustainable productive methods has lead in general to good technical and financial results by improving their business efficiencies and management systems, with positive socio-economic implications at a local level

‘Green’ Wine through a Responsible and Efficient Production: A Case Study of a Sustainable Sicilian Wine Producer

Sustainability is progressively gaining importance in the winegrowing sector. Implementing this concept implies environmental soundness, social equity and economic feasibility. A proliferation of initiatives to develop the sustainable production of wine started officially in Italy since the year 2010. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the reshaping of Sicilian winegrowing according to the ‘Triple bottom line’ approach to sustainability. By analyzing the case-study of the Tasca d’Almerita firm, pilot farm of various national projects in wine-sustainability, we found that adopting sustainable operative, organizational and competitive strategies has lead to a well-managed and growing business with positive socio-economic implications at the local level