ORGANIC IN THE LOCAL VS GLOBAL ANTINOMY

Increasing attention is paid by European citizens to food chain characteristics, power relations and impacts. Distance travelled by food, its genuinity and capacity to convey cultural and landscape identity, fairness in the value chain and information robustness on quality specifications tend to assume a growing relevance in both public perception and business organisation. A triennial multidisciplinary and multicriteria study, funded under the EU 7th Framework Research Programme, aims to assess the performance of local and global food chains against economic, environmental, social, health and ethical dimensions. This paper examines how organic foods and method of production fits into the local/global discourse, as the subject emerges from an Italian literature review

Access to agricultural land in peri-urban spaces: social mobilisation and institutional frameworks in Rome and Valencia

[EN] Urban and peri-urban agriculture have gained worldwide momentum within the framework of the renewed food and nutrition security agenda. This has a special significance for Mediterranean cities, due to their traditional strong links with their agricultural surroundings. However, the renewed dynamism of peri-urban agriculture is constrained by the limited access to farmland of new farmers or already installed farmers. This paper explores how socio-political movements that aim to renew local food systems and introduce new models of urban-peri-urban governance are revitalising the debate on access to peri-urban farmland. A comparative analysis was conducted in two Mediterranean metropolitan areas (Rome in Italy and Valencia in Spain), in which different policy frameworks shape the conditions of access to farmland. Despite the institutional differences between these two cases, the results show that, for the organisations involved in these movements, facilitating access to farmland is now a crucial challenge in achieving their multiple objectives. The paper also addresses the supportive role (and the constraints) of the local authorities in facilitating access to farmland for those producers willing to adopt alternative business models that can give rise to the transition towards more democratic and sustainable local food systems.This research is part of the project "Assessment of the impact of global drivers of change on Europe's food security" (TRANSMANGO), granted by the EU under 7th Framework Programme; theme KBBE.2013.2.5-01; Grant agreement no: 613532.Cerrada-Serra, P.; Colombo, L.; Ortiz-Miranda, D.; Grando, S. (2018). Access to agricultural land in peri-urban spaces: social mobilisation and institutional frameworks in Rome and Valencia. 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Role of Small farming in food security and sustainability: a case study for Tuscany (IT)

The debate on the size of farming, and its relevance for policy purposes, has come back to the fore in recent years. The “International Year of Family Farming and Smallholder Farming”, held by FAO in 2014, aimed to raise the profile of family and smallholder farming worldwide”. During EXPO 2015, a debate followed on structural developments in agriculture and the implications for the competitiveness and sustainability of the agri-food sector and rural areas. Despite a declining number of agricultural holdings and a gradual increase in average farm size, the agricultural sector is largely composed by farms with less than 5 ha of agricultural land and a standard output below 4 000 euro per year. Beyond economic size and value of production, other criteria (e.g. labour units and family involvement can be adopted), alone or in combination, to define size of farming. Academic literature provides a mixed picture on weather a declining number of farms, and a gradual increase in size should be welcomed or contrasted. Oppositional arguments contrasting smaller and larger farm structures with respect to sustainability and food and nutrition security, are nourished by the lack of sufficient or unambiguous scientific evidence. A first line of thought stresses the distinctiveness of smaller farms in delivering food security and sustainability (Rabinowicz, 2014) and the capacity of small farms to mobilize resources additional to those procured through market exchange (van der Ploeg, 2013). A second line of thought considers size as a nonrelevant criterion to assess the performance on food security and sustainability (OECD, 2005), supporting the view on steering behaviours oriented towards improved sustainability, regardless of size. Dualistic debates often focus on some aspects of sustainability and neglect others (Kirwan et al. 2017) or overlook the importance of complementarity between complex agro-food systems and territoriality, as local context largely affects what structural change is desirable at territorial level (Darnhofer et al. 2010). This contribution presents the conceptual and analytical framework adopted in a research project named SALSA, “Small farms, small food businesses and sustainable food and nutrition security (FNS)”, and provides an illustration on one of the 35 reference regions selected. The analysis considers Lucca province in Tuscany and aims at generating preliminary insights in relation to the role of small farms in food and nutrition security

Small farms’ strategies between self-provision and socio-economic integration: effects on food system capacity to provide food and nutrition security

Small farms’ contribution to food and nutrition security (FNS) is widely acknowledged; however, the diversity of context-specific characteristics of small farms is still barely documented in terms of farm strategies and household dynamics. The paper analyses this contribution in connection with the strategies related to the destination of the produce, with specific attention to the balance between food self-provisioning and economic integration. The analysis of self-provisioning relies on the assumptions that (i) production and consumption decisions cannot be analysed separately when they are attributed to the same entity and that (ii) family farm strategic choices are influenced by both business outcomes and household’’s welfare. The analysis of economic integration hinges on Polanyi’’s categories of market, reciprocity and redistribution as the three main modes of economic integration of a farm within its environment. We have collected information from a range of farmers in the Lucca province (northern Tuscany, Italy) and key stakeholders, through interviews, focus groups and field visits. The results of our analysis highlight the different ways small farms’ contribution to FNS in relation to each mode of economic integration adopted by the small farms. The different forms of this contribution can be identified at two levels: (i) internal to the farming household and (ii) external (i.e. referred to the community and broader society). A concept of food quality encompassing local sustainability, cultural heritage and social cohesion, is crucial to valorise, through appropriate policies, the specificities of small farms’ contribution to FNS

Tools for the assessment of short food supply chains’ sustainability

The following represents a summary of tools applied in a working group (WP5) of the EU‐project SUPURBFOOD (“Towards sustainable modes of urban and peri‐urban food provisioning”, www.supurbfood.eu). Within WP5, three research partners, three SME’s of short food supply chains and one food consultancy from Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK commonly explored logistical strategies that aim to make regional food delivery systems more sustainable while remaining economically viable, including addressing issues of scale. For more detailed information on the tools applied and also practical examples, this summary might be used alongside the SUPURBFOOD Report (WP5) ‘Short chain delivery of food in urban and peri‐urban areas’ that is available for download at the SUPURBFOOD project website [www.supurbfood.eu]

Somatic variants for seed and fruit set in grapevine

Background: Grapevine reproductive development has direct implications on yield. It also impacts on berry and wine quality by affecting traits like seedlessness, berry and bunch size, cluster compactness and berry skin to pulp ratio. Seasonal fluctuations in yield, fruit composition and wine attributes, which are largely driven by climatic factors, are major challenges for worldwide table grape and wine industry. Accordingly, a better understanding of reproductive processes such as gamete development, fertilization, seed and fruit set is of paramount relevance for managing yield and quality. With the aim of providing new insights into this field, we searched for clones with contrasting seed content in two germplasm collections. Results: We identified eight variant pairs that seemingly differ only in seed-related characteristics while showing identical genotype when tested with the GrapeReSeq_Illumina_20K_SNP_chip and several microsatellites. We performed multi-year observations on seed and fruit set deriving from different pollination treatments, with special emphasis on the pair composed by Sangiovese and its seedless variant locally named Corinto Nero. The pollen of Corinto Nero failed to germinate in vitro and gave poor berry set when used to pollinate other varieties. Most berries from both open- and cross-pollinated Corinto Nero inflorescences did not contain seeds. The genetic analysis of seedlings derived from occasional Corinto Nero normal seeds revealed that the few Corinto Nero functional gametes are mostly unreduced. Moreover, three genotypes, including Sangiovese and Corinto Nero, were unexpectedly found to develop fruits without pollen contribution and occasionally showed normal-like seeds. Five missense single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified between Corinto Nero and Sangiovese from transcriptomic data. Conclusions: Our observations allowed us to attribute a seedlessness type to some variants for which it was not documented in the literature. Interestingly, the VvAGL11 mutation responsible for Sultanina stenospermocarpy was also discovered in a seedless mutant of Gouais Blanc. We suggest that Corinto Nero parthenocarpy is driven by pollen and/or embryo sac defects, and both events likely arise from meiotic anomalies. The single nucleotide polymorphisms identified between Sangiovese and Corinto Nero are suitable for testing as traceability markers for propagated material and as functional candidates for the seedless phenotype

Democratic directionality for transformative food systems research

Effective interfaces of knowledge and policy are critical for food system transformation. Here, an expert group assembled to explore research needs towards a safe and just food system put forward principles to guide relations between society, science, knowledge, policy and politics

Esperienze di diversificazione qualitativa degli alimenti: la ri-localizzazione dei circuiti produzione-consumo

Esperienze di diversificazione qualitativa degli alimenti: la ri-localizzazione dei circuiti produzione-consumo - Quality diversification in food production: initiatives of re-localisation of production-consumption networks In an era characterized by a tendency towards globalisation of food supply chains and standardization of consumption habits, many rural areas are witnessing initiatives based on the re-discovery of local food traditions and productions, and on their promotion towards distant markets. These initiatives mainly regard areas where a local food culture is still present, and some local supply chains have survived even in recent decades. In some other rural areas, on the contrary, standardization of food production and consumption led to a completely export-oriented primary sector and to the disappearance of almost any sort of local supply chains. In some of these areas, mainly in Northern European countries, grass root initiatives of re-localisation of the food supply chains have recently emerged, aiming at promoting the local consumption of locally produced food. This entails strengthening (or re-creating) local food productions, creating local markets and encouraging local consumption of the products . This phenomenon emerged also within the eu funded research "corason - A cognitive approach to rural sustainable development - the dynamics of expert and lay knowledges", in which about 30 case-studies of local food production from twelve countries have been investigated. Five of them represent initiatives of relocalisation: Cahir Farmers’ Market in Ireland, Skye and Lochalsh Horticultural Development Association and Food Link Group in Scotland, Eldrimner project in Sweden, and Netzwerk Vorpommern in Germany. All these initiatives share some basic aims: social sustainability at community level, environmental sustainability, local culture valorisation. Shortening the distance that food travels means sustaining local producers income and, often, delivering better quality food to consumers. At the same time it encourages diversification of agriculture, it supports environmental protection, and it provides opportunities for the revitalization of rural communities. Other evidences arise from a comparative analysis of these experiences. A relevant role of civil society has been noticed. Further, a strong ideological component is sometimes present, with initiatives promoted by actors belonging to, or inspired by, social movements. All the initiatives show a high degree of selfgovernance, with a central role played by pro-active local actors. There is a re-definition of food quality. Emphasis is given to localness, as a key attribute in itself as well as a condition influencing other attributes. An emphasis is also given to the positive relational and social aspects related to the establishment of local networks. These initiatives require specific knowledge dynamics, in particular the rediscovery of a traditional food culture (varieties, cultivation methods, recipes) that had been forgotten among local communities. JEL Codes: Q13, Q56, R12 Key words: local networks, food quality, food supply chains, traditional knowledge, Northern Europe

New market channels for a non-food agricultural product. The development of an alternative supply chain for the bergamot citrus in Calabria, Italy

The bergamot, a typical fruit of the Italian region of Calabria, contains an essence that is a basic component for the perfume industry. In the last decades bergamot sector declined dramatically, because of the introduction of an artificial substitute of the essence and for the producers' fragmentation. After describing the evolution of the industry and of the supply-chain structure, the paper analyses the experience of a group of growers who overcame the crisis through the creation of an alternative quality-based supply chain. The analysis is conducted in the light of the socio-economic literature on agricultural supply chains and industry analysis.industry analysis; alternative supply chains; five forces model; market positioning; agricultural marketing; non-food agricultural products; organic farming; trust; Italy; supply chain management; SCM; new market channels; bergamot citrus; agricultural supply chains.

Introduzione

Si tratta dell'introduzione di un volume sullo sviluppo rurale sostenibile in Aspromonte. Si illustra brevemente il contenuto del volume e si presentano alcune riflessioni sui temi chiave attorno cui si articola l'analisi delle iniziative di sviluppo rurale: il nuovo paradigma dello sviluppo rurale, la globalizzazione e il territorio, la conoscenza locale, la sostenibilità, le istituzioni locali nello sviluppo rurale in Aspromonte