“SOCIAL AGRICULTURE”: A PATTERN BETWEEN FARM INNOVATION, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND MULTIFUNCTIONALITY

Rural context and agricultural process are assuming growing credibility as a mean to promote well being and social inclusion in the population as a whole. Fattoria solidale del Circeo” constitutes one of the many examples of social agriculture that have risen in the recent years in Italy. Differently from the general case, it is a large farm which is moving from a conventional an intensive farming system to another model, without abandoning its entrepreneurial nature. Even if it is not easy to assign a theoretic paradigm, it could be useful both in order to understand it and to give correct instruments to policy makers. So we can try to put the Fattoria Solidale del Circeo’s experience in a theoretic context. It seems to us that at least three different models can be applied: the well-established Schumpeterian model of innovation; the Corporate Social Responsibility, the Multifunctionality of agriculture.Social agriculture, Innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Multifunctionality of Agriculture, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Labor and Human Capital,

Our products are safe (don't tell anyone!). Why don't supermarkets advertise their private food safety standards?

Large retail chains have spent considerable resources to promote production protocols and traceability across the supply chain, aiming at increasing food safety. Yet, the majority of consumers are unaware of these private food safety standards (PFSS) and retailers are not informing them. This behavior denotes a pooling paradox: supermarkets spend a large amount of money for food safety and yet they forget to inform consumers. The result is a pooling equilibrium where consumers cannot discriminate among high quality and low quality products and supermarkets give up the potential price premium. This paper provides an economic explanation for the paradox using a contract-theory model. We found that PFSS implementation may be rational even if consumers have no willingness to pay for safety, because the standard can be used as a tool to solve asymmetric information along the supply chain. Using the PFSS, supermarkets can achieve a separating equilibrium where opportunistic suppliers have no incentive to accept the contract. Even if consumers exhibit a limited (but strictly positive) willingness to pay for safety, advertising may be profit-reducing. If the expected price margin is high enough, supermarkets have incentive to supply both certified and uncertified products. In this case, we show that, if consumers perceive undifferentiated products as “reasonably safe”, supermarkets may maximize profits by pooling the goods and selling them as undifferentiated. This result is not driven by advertising costs, as we derive it assuming free advertising.Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

EU Preferential Partners in Search of New Policy Strategies for Agriculture: The Case of Citrus Sector in Trinidad and Tobago

The paper assesses the competitive position of T&T's citrus industry and explains the declining productivity. It covers supply chain and agricultural trade policy issues and involves assembling two Policy Analysis Matrices, either with full cost of production or excluding establishment costs. Domestic and trade policy support shows significant for the sector. Production is internationally competitive, or possesses comparative advantage, only if costs of establishment are excluded. These results suggest that free trade agreements under the FTAA and the ACP-EU would work against the planting of new orchards and reinforce the decline of the sector.competitiveness, policy analysis matrix, agricultural trade policy, citrus industry, Agricultural and Food Policy, Q12, Q13, F13,

Strategic behaviour of Italian fruit and vegetables importers from South Mediterranean Countries faced with food safety standards

The aim of this study was to analyse the heterogeneity of Italian specialized importers in Southern Mediterranean Countries. We analysed a national representative sample and defined a profile of companies according to the safety of fruit and vegetable im- ports, organization of chain by suppliers and clients and efforts in safety controls. We showed that the type of supply chain affects the importers’ strategies encouraging them to implement stricter standards, such as private standards, with respect to pub- lic law in order to meet customer needs and provide a sufficient degree of differentia- tion. These strategies, however, are not always aimed at obtaining a price premium, but are taken above all to ensure the maintenance of the reputation of the companies towards the most demanding customers and stabilize its market share

Our products are safe (don’t tell anyone!). Why don’t supermarkets advertise their private food safety standards?

Large retail chains have spent considerable resources to promote production protocols andtraceability across the supply chain, aiming at increasing food safety. Yet, the majority of consumers areunaware of these private food safety standards (PFSS) and retailers are not informing them. This behaviordenotes a pooling paradox: supermarkets spend a large amount of money for food safety and yet they forgetto inform consumers. The result is a pooling equilibrium where consumers cannot discriminate among highquality and low quality products and supermarkets give up the potential price premium. This paper providesan economic explanation for the paradox using a contract-theory model. We found that PFSSimplementation may be rational even if consumers have no willingness to pay for safety, because thestandard can be used as a tool to solve asymmetric information along the supply chain. Using the PFSS,supermarkets can achieve a separating equilibrium where opportunistic suppliers have no incentive to acceptthe contract.Even if consumers exhibit a limited (but strictly positive) willingness to pay for safety, advertisingmay be profit-reducing. If the expected price margin is high enough, supermarkets have incentive to supplyboth certified and uncertified products. In this case, we show that, if consumers perceive undifferentiatedproducts as “reasonably safe”, supermarkets may maximize profits by pooling the goods and selling them asundifferentiated. This result is not driven by advertising costs, as we derive it assuming free advertising.[...

Factors Influencing Consumers’ Attitude Towards Biopreservatives

Biopreservatives have received considerable attention in recent years as natural alternatives to synthetic preservatives. This seems to be a response to an increased demand for natural and organic foods. This study investigates the potential market for products enriched with biopreservatives in Italy. Data were collected from a sample of Italian consumers (N = 479) using a web‐based survey. The main results indicate that 64% of respondents declared themselves to be willing to consume biopreservatives only if they replaced synthetic preservatives. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to reduce the number of variables. The factorial scores of the components obtained from PCA were used for a Cluster Analysis related to consumers’ perceptions about biopreservatives. Moreover, the survey highlights that the respondents had positive opinions about biopreservatives, although they showed difficulty in perceiving the exact meaning of the term. The study could provide useful implications for food manufacturers and facilitate the design of marketing strategies for foods enriched with biopreservative

Heterogeneous Organizational Arrangements in Agrifood Chains: A Governance Value Analysis Perspective on the Sheep and Goat Meat Sector of Italy

In the Italian agrifood sector, one observes heterogeneity in the types of quality certification processes. This heterogeneity cannot be explained by standard governance theories like transaction costs economics (TCE). We use the governance value analysis (GVA) perspective that synthesizes TCE and a resources-based view (RBV), to suggest that the observed heterogeneity in organizational forms is a result of heterogeneous differentiating strategies that farms have pursued in the face of competitive pricing pressures. To empirically test GVA, data are obtained using a survey methodology on lamb meat produced by local farms in the Abruzzo region of Italy, challenged by price-costs squeeze. Our empirical test evidences the relevance of the adopted approach, enlightening different organizational arrangements, strictly linked to both the strategic positioning and to the farms’ resources and core competencies

How do food safety regulations influence market price? A theoretical analysis

Purpose This study is in line with the debate concerning the compatibility between the qualitative and quantitative food production objectives. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causal relationship that may exist between public food safety regulations (specifically, the maximum authorised levels of chemical or microbiological contaminants), and the expected price in the spot markets (wholesale markets, for example). Design/methodology/approach The authors propose a theoretical industrial economic model that identifies the causal link which may exist between public food safety regulations (e.g. the maximum authorised levels of chemical or microbiological contaminants), the expected price in domestic markets, and the rate of exclusion of local producers. This general model allows one to characterize the price formation process in markets subject to maximum residue level constraints by focusing on the role of the official inspection systems established by public authorities. Findings The authors show how strengthening official controls does not systematically impact negatively on producers’ participation and does not always decrease supply. Moreover, the authors show that reinforcing the maximum permitted contamination thresholds is not always sufficient for ensuring consumer health. Originality/value The originality of the model is that it shows how all variables (economic and sanitary variables) interact in the formation of agricultural prices and determine the final size of the productive system (number of active producers). The characterisation of the market price as a function of producers’ investment efforts and of the level of official control reliability allows one to determine both the total supply and the proportion of this supply that is contaminated (i.e. does not comply with the maximum threshold of contamination)

Consumer understanding of upcycled foods – exploring consumer-created associations and concept explanations across five countries

To secure future protein demand in a sustainable food system, protein needs to come from a variety of alternative and novel sources, amongst others otherwise wasted side-streams. Such upcycled food is yet relatively unknown to consumers which makes it difficult for producers to decide on the best approach to communicating the product benefit to consumers. In a unique mixed-methods approach, we quantify qualitative data from a consumer survey of 2,405 respondents in five European countries to explore which type of associations emerge to the new concept and explore examples of how consumers with different associations would choose to explain it to a peer. We also test whether abstract or concrete presentation of the concept and different types of framing of the benefit (climate, frugal and taste) influences the associations and explore how this differs among socioeconomic consumer groups. Results show that consumers have mainly positive associations about the concept of upcycled food using words like innovation, recycling, avoid food waste, sustainability, while negative association include terms like sceptical, dislike, disgusting. Concrete (rather than abstract) presentation of upcycled foods leads consumers to provide fewer negative associations. Depending on the type of benefit framing, consumers have different associations towards upcycled foods: A climate framing of upcycled food leads to associations of innovation and environment and appears to steer associations away from ‘waste’. Moreover, socio-demographic characteristics affect consumers associations to upcycled foods; Overall, females and younger consumers are more positive. Findings provide insights into communication of upcycled food to different target groups