Effetto dell'integrazione della dieta di vitelloni maremmani con lino estruso sull'ossidazione dei lipidi intramuscolari della carne refrigerata

Lo scopo dela tesi è determinare come l'introduzione del lino, in qualità di integratore alimentare, nella razione di bovini di razza Maremmana modifica le caratteristiche nutrizionali e la shelf life della carne

Assessing the ex-ante impact of the CAP post 2013 reform on land market. A case study in Tuscany region

Several Authors pointed-out positive effects of CAP measures on productive factors demand, driving both structural change and farm growth. Moreover, the effects of CAP on farm size and land markets are the most studied structural factors. The objective of this contribution is to conduct exante analysis of the impact of the new CAP policy instruments on the land demand and then to simulate the reform impact on land market. In particular in the paper the effect of greening payments and the introduction of regionalized payments will be investigated, through the implementation of mathematical programming model. The results of our work highlight the relevance of new CAP instrument in changing land demand. Our results can to contribute to the national debate by providing a better to understanding the potential effects of the CAP reform on the value of land and on the changes in land demand

Sustainability of farm biogas diffusion in Italy

This paper considers the diffusion of agricultural biogas installations in Italy as a treatment to plant-host municipalities; provided comparable farm features, non-adopters form the control group. The aim of the paper is to estimate the impact of spatial spillover from plant-host municipalities on neighbouring municipalities, to evaluate the contribution of farm biogas’ diffusion to the viability of rural areas. The methodology involves applying a spatial difference in differences model on a two-year panel. Data are from the last two Italian censuses of agriculture (2000 and 2010) and population (2001 and 2011), made available by ISTAT, the Italian statistical office; details about single biogas plants are from CRPA, the Italian research centre on animal production. Preliminary model results highlight that the diffusion of biogas across Italian municipalities impacts on farm number, utilised agricultural area, and livestock units of the neighbouring municipalities, which can result in increased intensification of agriculture and marginalisation of small farms

Understanding the role of the Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation System in the Italian agroenergy sector: the case of biogas adoption in Tuscany

The European energy strategy towards 2020 involves increasing the production of renewable energy by agriculture (agroenergy) for moving towards a bio-based economy. The climate deal reached at the COP 21 conference in Paris (2015) supports the position of the EU concerning the sustainable promotion of agroenergy, as it allows save greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil-based energy. However, the diffusion of agroenery in the Mediterranean area is modest and uneven, compared to northern European countries, may be due to the low endowment of productive factors. Besides policy, the debate around the diffusion of agroenergy is particularly lively within the academy. To date, agricultural economists have mainly approached the process of agroenergy adoption on farm through econometric or mathematical programming models. The former aim at explaining the underlying determinants of farmers’ investment choices (revealed or stated). The latter simulate the choices of profit-maximising farmers under different policy or market conditions. Beside rational behaviour, both methodologies assume that farmers can access perfect information, thus missing to investigate knowledge transfer and the role of research and extension services in technology adoption and diffusion. Against this background, this paper deals with knowledge transfer in the agroenergy sector and focuses on the role of networks in that transfer. We also consider the impact of those networks on the transaction costs associated with agroenergy adoption. The aim of this study is understanding the process of biogas diffusion in a region of the Mediterranean area. The paper would add to the literature on innovation in agriculture by depicting the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System behind the diffusion of agroenergy and by identifying the structural components of that system. With this objective in mind, we consider the diffusion of biogas in Tuscany, a NUTS3 region in Italy. We selected Tuscany because prospective biogas adopters should radically change the structure of their farms and because geography and farming systems of Tuscany allow use that region as a proxy for northern areas of the Mediterranean basin. The methodology involves social network analysis, which allows pinpoint the role of the different interest groups in knowledge transfer and the extent to which knowledge management has shaped the biogas sector in Tuscany. Preliminary results highlight the central position of few major knowledge producers from the research sector, which, however, poorly interact among them and with intermediary organisations. In turn, knowledge transfer downstream seems a weakness of the network. Apparently, adopters are self-sufficient in terms of knowledge gathering during the innovation-decision phase. Missing significant intermediaries, adopters may become reliant on technical support and face high transaction costs. Given the irreversibility of biogas adoption, disconnection could significantly affect the costs for daily management. When evenly distributed, small biogas-to-electricity plants may help the distributed generation, while allowing comply with EU’s Renewables Directive. However, the lack of coordination among the components of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System may hinder the sustainable diffusion of biogas, with the rise of intensive entrepreneurial agro energy farming

Linking Sustainability with Geographical Proximity in Food Supply Chains. An Indicator Selection Framework

Despite policymakers’ promotion of food relocalization strategies for burden mitigation, the assumption that local food chains are more sustainable than the global ones might not hold. This literature review tries to highlight a possible framework for exploratory analyses that aim at associating sustainability with the geographical proximity of food supply chains. The purpose of the article is identifying a set of communicative and information-dense indicators for use by evaluators. Bread is the selected test food, given its importance in human nutrition and the relevance of some of its life cycle phases for land use (cereal farming) and trade (cereal commercialization). Article searching (including keyword selection, explicit inclusion/exclusion criteria, and computer-assisted screening using the NVivo® software) was carried out over the Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, and returned 29 documents (refereed and non-refereed publications). The retrieved literature shows varied research focus, methods, and depth of analyses. The review highlighted 39 environmental, 36 economic, and 27 social indicators, along the food chain. Indicators’ reporting chains are heterogeneous; even the comparison of standard procedures, e.g., Life Cycle Assessment, is not straightforward. Holistic approaches are missing

Sustainability Performance of Local vs Global Food Supply Chains: a Comparative Assessment for Bread in Italy

There is an increasing interest in the potential of local foods and short food supply chains to overcome the unsustainable practices of global/industrial food supply chains. The opposition between local and global food systems is being questioned together with the actual sustainability performance of food chains. The assessment of the sustainability of food chains is challenged by the multiple dimensions to be considered, the diversity of actors involved, and the lack of a shared methodology. This paper presents a preliminary result of the EU research project Glamur (Global and Local Food Assessment: a multidimensional performance based approach) and develops a comparative assessment among three wheat-to-bread chains in Italy in relation to their degree of localness and different dimensions of sustainability. We develop a comparative assessment on two critical attributes of sustainability: nutritional value of bread and biodiversity preservation. The assessment is based on a set of indicators selected within a DPSIR framework. This allows to shed light on synergies and tradeoffs between local and global chains and potential paths for sustainability improvement

A reflection of the use of the life cycle assessment tool for agri-food sustainability

In pursuit of agricultural sustainability and food security, research should contribute to policy-making by providing scientifically robust evidence. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an excellent candidate for generating that evidence, thereby helping the selection of interventions towards more sustainable agri-food. The purpose of this article is proposing a basis for discussion on the use of the LCA tool for targeting and monitoring of environmental policy interventions in agri-food. The problem of reducing the environmental burden in agri-food can be tackled by acting on the supply and/or demand sides and may benefit from the collaboration of supply chain stakeholders. Agri-food policies that most benefit from LCA-based data concern cross-border pollution, transaction costs following the adoption of environmental standards, adoption of less polluting practices and/or technologies, and business-to-consumer information asymmetry. The choice between the methodological options available for LCA studies (attributional, consequential, or hybrid models) depends on the purpose and scope of the study. The possibility of integrating the LCA with economic and social impact assessments-e.g., under the life cycle sustainability assessment framework-makes LCA an excellent tool for monitoring business or sectoral-level achievements with respect to UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

PAC 2014-2020: analisi dell'efficienza didisegni alternativi del greening in provincia di Grosseto

Fino alla presente riforma della Pac, il perseguimento di finalità ambientali passava principalmente attraverso i finanziamenti dei Psr, mentre, ell’ambito del primo pilastro (pagamenti diretti, PD), la condizionalità assicurava il rispetto di regole ambientali minime. Con il Regolamento (UE) 1307/2013, la Pac 2014-2020 ha esteso gli obblighi di natura ambientale a tutte le aziende che ricevono PD. Infatti, il nuovo PD aziendale è costituito da varie componenti, tra cui “pagamento base” (58%) e “greening” (o inverdimento) (30%) sono maggioritarie. Il pagamento base è calcolato su base “regionalizzata” tenendo conto dei pagamenti storici, secondo un meccanismo di convergenza parziale verso il valore medio nazionale dei titoli (circa 179 euro all’ettaro (Frascarelli, 2014)). Il greening prevede il contemporaneo rispetto di tre pratiche benefiche per il clima e l’ambiente sulla superficie a seminativo, ossia diversificare le colture, mantenere i prati permanenti esistenti ed avere aree di interesse ecologico. La diversificazione colturale si applica ad aziende con più di dieci ettari a seminativo; in particolare, fino a 30 ettari sono richieste due colture diverse, tre oltre quella soglia. Per quanto riguarda la seconda condizione, in base al Regolamento, gli Stati membri assicurano che il rapporto tra gli ettari investiti a prato permanente nel 2012 (più quelli dichiarati dagli agricoltori investiti dall’obbligo del greening nel 2015 e non dichiarati nel 2012) e quelli dichiarati come superficie agricola totale nel 2015 non diminuisca più del 5%. Infine, le aree di interesse ecologico sono obbligatorie per aziende con oltre 15 ettari a seminativo; in particolare, tali aree devono occupare almeno il 5% della superficie a seminativo. Le superfici agricole investite a colture permanenti o certificate biologiche sono esentate dall’obbligo di inverdimento. Inoltre, il Regolamento prevede un’ampia lista di pratiche equivalenti alla diversificazione colturale ed alle aree di interesse ecologico, le più rilevanti delle quali consistono nel lasciare a riposo almeno il 75% della superficie a seminativo ammissibile oppure dedicarlo a colture sommerse, prato permanente, erba o altre colture erbacee da foraggio. Il 25% residuo non deve eccedere i 30 ettari. Il mancato rispetto del greening comporterà la perdita della componente d’inverdimento (2016) e graduali decurtazioni del PD, fino ad un massimo del 25% (dal 2018) (Regolamento (UE) 1306/2013). Data la variabilità agricola inter- ed intra-nazionale (ad esempio tra le province italiane), l’applicazione delle nuove regole a livello comunitario comporterà costi differenziati ed avrà diversa efficacia negli stati membri. Infatti, alcuni Autori sottolineano l’importanza di mettere a punto norme ad hoc e non generiche per l’UE. D’altro canto, la crescente domanda di trasparenza della spesa pubblica e le pressioni per la riduzione delle risorse da destinare all’agricoltura richiedono maggiore efficienza nel disegno delle politiche comunitarie. In fase di approvazione del disegno definitivo della nuova Pac, sono state pubblicate molte valutazioni sul probabile impatto della riforma. Ad esempio, Hart and Little (2012), Matthews (2013, 2014) e Hauck et al. (2014) hanno analizzato l’adeguatezza di strumenti di politica alternativi a quelli proposti, mentre Schulz et al. (2014) si sono concentrati sulle preferenze degli agricoltori tedeschi in merito a diversi progetti di greening. Più recentemente, Lizin et al. (2015) hanno valutato i costi subiti dagli agricoltori per le restrizioni sulla scelta dell’uso del suolo introdotte dalla nuova Pac, determinando la loro disponibilità a pagare per l’acquisto di terreni agricoli affetti od esenti da tali obblighi di legge. Tuttavia, nessuno studio confronta meccanismi alternativi di greening con la possibilità, per gli agricoltori, di rinunciare alla componente d’inverdimento del PD. Quest’ultima opzione consente di valutare la sola convenienza per le aziende agricole ad adottare le pratiche previste dal greening, considerando contemporaneamente la diversa incidenza del relativo pagamento dovuta al meccanismo di convergenza parziale. Difatti, aziende appartenenti alla stessa classe di ampiezza possono ricevere pagamenti significativamente diversi pur dovendo attenersi alle stesse prescrizioni. In questo quadro, il presente lavoro è stato realizzato con l’obiettivo di compiere un’analisi costi efficacia del greening e di diverse combinazioni di pagamento di base, al fine di isolare il contributo addizionale della sola misura alle creazione di aree ad alto valore naturalistico

Assessment of the Common Agricultural Policy 2014–2020 in Supporting Agroecological Transitions: A Comparative Study of 15 Cases across Europe

This article is aimed at analyzing the potential that CAP 2014–2020-related instruments have on supporting agroecological transitions in Europe by focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of key instruments. Through a stepwise participatory research methodology, 105 key stakeholders (farmers, advisors, academics, environment experts, administration representatives, and professionals from food chains) in 15 countries in Europe were engaged in the discussion of the potential of current CAP instruments to solve the barriers that constrain agroecological farming systems in their particular regions. The results of this comparative study show which CAP instruments are valued with a high potential to support transitions to agroecology. The analysis of the stakeholders’ perceptions contributes to an enhanced understanding of why CAP instruments have failed or succeeded to promote agroecological transitions.This research was funded by the European Union from the research and innovation program Horizon 2020 under the Grant Agreement No. 773901 (Call: Sustainable Food Security—Resilient and resource-efficient value chains; Topic SFS-29-2017: Socio-eco-economics—socio-economics in ecological approaches)

L’analisi del ciclo di vita come strumento di supporto alle decisioni evidence-based in agricoltura

Il presente articolo propone una discussione sul contributo del metodo Life Cycle Assessment alle politiche evidence-based, soprattutto per favorire l’adozione di innovazioni più ecologiche e ridurre l’asimmetria informativa B2C, nell’ottica degli obiettivi 2030 di sviluppo sostenibile (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs)