An inquiry on north-eastern Italian farmers' perception of climate change and related risks to agriculture

Even though agricultural activities have always had to face systemic risk, increasing uncertainty linked to market conditions, policy revision and climate change require the adoption of extensive, functional and informed risk management strategies. Our study aims to investigate north-eastern Italian farmers’ perception of climate change-related risks and attitudes towards adaptation strategies, in order to promote the adoption of effective communication strategies and the development of more attractive insurance schemes to widen famers’ interests. Cross-sectional survey data were analysed using structural equation modelling to explore concerns over the impact of climate change on agricultural activities and identify the factors that promote the adoption of coping strategies. According to the results, the actual experience of negative consequences linked to specific extreme meteorological events is the main driver for the adoption of mitigation strategies. Further efforts on awareness of climate change and its consequences, coupled with the provision of simpler and more tailored insurance schemes, are required to support a widespread diffusion of adaptation strategies among farmers

Ethical and sustainable consumption in the Italian coffee market: a choice experiment to analyse consumers\u2019 willingness to pay

Consumers increasingly consider ethical and sustainable attributes of products in their purchasing decisions, in particular with reference to food consumption. Among agri-food products, coffee is a pioneering food for sustainability and ethical certification, such as organic and Fair Trade, whose success depends significantly on consumers\u2019 willingness to pay a premium price for these attributes. This study uses a choice experiment (CE) to investigate the attitudes towards organic and Fair Trade coffee among Italian consumers. The results show considerable heterogeneity among respondents, the majority of whom tend to be more interested in organic coffee than Fair Trade coffee, even if a large group of them are willing to pay a premium price to consume Fair Trade coffee

Ethical and sustainable consumption in the Italian coffee market: a choice experiment to analyse consumers\u2019 willingness to pay

Consumers increasingly consider ethical and sustainable attributes of products in their purchasing decisions, in particular with reference to food consumption. Among agri-food products, coffee is a pioneering food for sustainability and ethical certification, such as organic and Fair Trade, whose success depends significantly on consumers\u2019 willingness to pay a premium price for these attributes. This study uses a choice experiment (CE) to investigate the attitudes towards organic and Fair Trade coffee among Italian consumers. The results show considerable heterogeneity among respondents, the majority of whom tend to be more interested in organic coffee than Fair Trade coffee, even if a large group of them are willing to pay a premium price to consume Fair Trade coffee

Attitudes towards honey among Italian consumers: a choice experiment approach

Honey is becoming increasingly popular with consumers for its nutritional benefits as well as many other functions. The objective of this article is to determine which factors influence consumers' purchase intentions and to assess the importance of certain honey characteristics to enable identification of the constituents of an ideal honey profile. This information will lead to satisfaction of consumers' preferences and formulation of marketing strategies that support honey makers. We applied a choice experiment to the Italian honey market to define the preferences and the willingness to pay for key characteristics of the product. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted in 2014 (January-July) among Italian consumers; it was completed by 427 respondents. A latent class model was estimated and four classes were identified, with different preferences, illustrating that respondents seem to be heterogeneous honey consumers Results suggest the "organic" attribute was more important than others factors, such as the place where the honey was produced (landscape), but less important than the country of origin; local Italian honey was preferred to foreign honey. Respondents showed a higher willingness to pay (WTP) for honey from their country of origin versus the production method used. Our results suggest that while organic beekeeping might be an important strategy for diversification, if suitable communication is not taken into consideration, the added value of the production method might not be perceived by consumers