Technical Efficiency in the Sheep Dairy Industry: an Application on the Sardinian (Italy) Sector

Sardinia (Italy) is one of the most important European regions for sheep dairy and sheep milk cheese production. However the Sardinian sheep dairy industry is currently going through a dramatic crisis, and verifying whether it can recover part of its profitability is now a priority. Attention is now focused on estimating whether the sheep dairy firms can improve their productivity by more efficient use of their available technical resources. This paper aims to estimate technical efficiency in the Sardinian sheep dairy industry. A stochastic frontier analysis approach was used on panel data from 36 sheep dairy firms over the period 2004-2009 in order to assess whether there are some margins for technical improvements in productivity, given the existing level of technology. A comparative analysis of private firms and cooperatives was also carried out, in order to establish if there were differences in the technology they used and/or their efficiency in using technical inputs. Our findings suggest that there is technological homogeneity among the firms and between private firms and cooperatives. Technical efficiency is equal to 0.905 and it is significantly different between private firms (0.933) and cooperatives (0.877). Our findings have certain implications for what policies should be implemented in order to improve efficiency in the sector and on the orientation of decision makers strategies.Sheep dairy industry, technical efficiency, stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), private firms and cooperatives, Sardinia, Livestock Production/Industries,

Technical efficiency and total factor productivity changes in European dairy farm sectors

This paper aims to evaluate the technical efficiency and the total factor productivity change of dairy farms in EU countries. Analyses were carried out in order to determine which countries showed the best performance adaptations when the quota regime was relaxed and to evaluate the technical conditions of European farmers at the starting point of the new regime (milk quota abolition). A data envelopment analysis (DEA) was applied on aggregate data related to 22 European countries for the period from 2004 to 2012. The findings suggest that milk farms show small scope for improving efficiency using their own technical input. The estimation of total factor productivity and its components suggest that the European milk sector has suffered a decline in productivity. This means that external factors, independent of the farmers’ capacity to use technical inputs, can play a greater role than efficiency in conditioning productivity and profitability in the near future

Technical efficiency in the sheep dairy industry: an application on the Sardinian (Italy) sector

Sardinia (Italy) is one of the most important European regions for sheep dairy and sheep milk cheese production. However the Sardinian sheep dairy industry is currently going through a dramatic crisis, and verifying whether it can recover part of its profitability is now a priority. Attention is now focused on estimating whether the sheep dairy firms can improve their productivity by more efficient use of their available technical resources. This paper aims to estimate technical efficiency in the Sardinian sheep dairy industry. A stochastic frontier analysis approach was used on panel data from 36 sheep dairy firms over the period 2004–2009 in order to assess whether there are some margins for technical improvements in productivity, given the existing level of technology. A comparative analysis of private firms and cooperatives was also carried out, in order to establish if there were differences in the technology they used and/or their efficiency in using technical inputs. Our findings suggest that there is technological homogeneity among the firms and between private firms and cooperatives. Technical efficiency is equal to 0.905 and it is significantly different between private firms (0.933) and cooperatives (0.877). Our findings have certain implications for what policies should be implemented in order to improve efficiency in the sector and on the orientation of decision makers strategies

Stated Preferences for Consumption of Sea Urchin: A Choice Experiment in Sardinia (Italy)

In Sardinia sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) roe is a basic ingredient for several dishes (e.g. pasta, pizza, croutons) and its demand is constantly increasing. However marketable value of local sea urchin appears to be potentially higher than the current value. This paper aims to estimate the value of a based sea urchin dish according to the stated preference of consumers. A Choice Experiment (CE) analysis on 475 consumers was carried out in order to estimate their willingness to pay (WTP) for consuming sea urchin. Seafood was proposed as alternative to sea urchin. CE regarded two attributes: certification of local origin and place where dishes are consumed. Findings suggest that WTP for a generic dish is significantly higher for sea urchin (11.65 Euros) than for seafood (7.94 Euros) based dish. Furthermore, we found that WTP is higher when both foods are consumed with spaghetti and as raw fresh product, whereas an opposite effect is associated to pizza. Finally, the influence of some socio-economic characteristics of responders on their preferences was estimated

Stated Preferences for Consumption of Sea Urchin: A Choice Experiment in Sardinia (Italy)

In Sardinia sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) roe is a basic ingredient for several dishes (e.g. pasta, pizza, croutons) and its demand is constantly increasing. However marketable value of local sea urchin appears to be potentially higher than the current value. This paper aims to estimate the value of a based sea urchin dish according to the stated preference of consumers. A Choice Experiment (CE) analysis on 475 consumers was carried out in order to estimate their willingness to pay (WTP) for consuming sea urchin. Seafood was proposed as alternative to sea urchin. CE concerned two attributes:certification of local origin and place where dishes are consumed. Findings suggest that WTP for a generic dish is significantly higher for sea urchin (11.65 Euros) than for seafood (7.94 Euros) based dish. Furthermore, we found that WTP is higher when both foods are consumed with spaghetti and as raw fresh product, whereas an opposite effect is associated to pizza. Finally, the influence of some socio‐economic characteristics of responders on their preferences was estimated

Economic performance of agritourism: an analysis of farms located in a less favoured area in Italy

AbstractFarms that operate in less favoured areas (LFAs) often suffer in achieving adequate profits. Diversification strategies, such as direct selling and offering recreational services, can play an important role in integrating earning sources and, as a consequence, increasing farm profitability. Such opportunities would depend on the efficient distribution and use of farm resources among different activities as well as the added value creation of farm output. However, achieving positive results is not obvious in LFAs due to different types of inherent constraints (geographical, social, economic). The paper aims to evaluate the role of agritourism in affecting the economic performance of multifunctional farms located in a less favoured area of Sardinia (Italy). To be more precise, using so-called working farm income as the main indicator resulting from balance sheet analysis, production factor rewards are determined for 15 agritourism farms. The results show controversial performance but basically highlight the difficulty agritourist farmers have both remunerating their work at market price levels and being profitable. This research contributes to the debate on LFAs and offers useful reflections for policy-makers and practitioners about the potential and critical aspects of agritourism in LFAs

Una Valutazione comparata delle leggi regionali sull'attività agrituristica

Lo scopo essenziale del presente lavoro è quello di verificare, dalla disamina delle singole normative regionali disciplinanti l'attività in esame, in quale misura le varie autorità locali abbiano saputo, attingendo all'autonomia loro concessa, costruire un impianto normativo in grado di indirizzare l'agriturismo secondo gli intendimenti del legislatore nazionale. Più precisamente, assunto come dato di fatto il modello proposto dalla legge-quadro, si desidera confrontare le differenti normative elaborate in sede locale in rapporto alla loro capacità di configurarsi più o meno efficacemente come potenziali generatrici di una tipologia di sviluppo agrituristico pienamente valorizzante il paradigma nazionale, e perciò massimamente incidente sulle finalità date all'agriturismo

Il Quadro normativo dell'agriturismo in Sardegna: un'analisi critica

Il presente contributo fornisce una rassegna critica sulle principali peculiarità della Legge Regionale n. 18 che, dal 1998, funge da principale riferimento normativo per gli operatori e le istituzioni coinvolte nell'attività agrituristica ed é orientato ad evidenziare le più significative implicazioni economiche che da tali peculiarità possono derivare. Lo studio prevede l'esame delle finalità complessive della legge e dei compiti che la medesima affida all'agriturismo, soffermandosi sulla trattazione degli aspetti normativi inerenti l'accesso alla pratica agrituristica. Sono trattati gli aspetti connessi alle iniziative di promozione e valorizzazione dell'agriturismo e analizzate alcune proposte di modifica della legge. Alcune considerazioni finali, con la formulazione di proposte di carattere politico-economico, concludono il lavoro

Public perception of ecosystem and social services produced by Sardinia extensive dairy sheep farming systems

AbstractDairy sheep farming systems provide a great range of ecosystem services (ESs) and social services (SSs). These are Agro-pastoral Secondary Outputs (ASOs), the promotion of which can help the survival of the systems and the rural regions in which they exist. However, little attention has been paid to understanding which ASOs are recognized by the public, which is the first step to adequately promote them. This study first aims to review previous literature on ASOs relating to livestock in general and dairy sheep farming systems in particular. The literature review, conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, revealed significant gaps. Second, the research provides evidence of public perception of ASOs of a given dairy sheep sector—i.e. that developed on the region of Sardinia (Italy)—via a questionnaire distributed to a composite sample of 525 stakeholders. We found that cultural and landscape services are the most appreciated services. Multiple correspondence analysis suggests that appreciation of a specific secondary output would imply the appreciation of all the other outputs. Furthermore, we ran a set of logit regressions where each ASO was related to several socio-economic variables. Findings showed, among others, that the 'subjective knowledge' of the Sardinian agro-pastoral reality positively and significantly affects appreciation of all the ASOs. Several implications for practitioners, academics and policymakers are derived from these findings