Finding the right price: supply chain contracts as a tool to guarantee sustainable economic viability of organic farms

The aim of this study is to analyse the volatility of agricultural commodity prices and assess the effectiveness of supply chain contracts as possible tools to prevent it. The study refers to the cereal sector, which is of vital importance for the agri-food system of the Mediterranean area. Since Italy is the world’s largest producer of durum wheat semolina, the proper functioning of the Italian durum wheat supply chain is central to this investigation. The study was conducted following two different paths of analysis: (1) the calculation of volatility indices using annual and monthly data of durum wheat prices, both organic and industrial, observed in the Bologna Commodity Exchange (AGER); (2) the analysis of two organic durum wheat supply chain contracts, defined by a cooperative involving hundreds of Italian farms mainly from the Marche region and by an agricultural consortium operating in the Adriatic regions. Despite the limited number of cases examined, the present study shows how supply chain contracts can be valid tools for building stable relationships between the various players, from production to processing and distribution, guaranteeing farms fairer and more remunerative raw material purchase prices and higher quality standards

MODELS FOR DISSEMINATION AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF INNOVATIONS FOR ORGANIC FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS

With the implementation of the “Farm to Fork strategy”, the European Union aims to convert at least 25% of land to organic farming, which is the main alternative to the industrial/intensive production model, with many positive implications also in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this dissertation is to first analyze the main factors that can drive farmers towards sustainable agri-food systems while also investigating the role of consumers, in order to suggest useful tools to facilitate this transition. After the theoretical and context analysis, through an analysis of several factors we find that an important variable that hinders the transition to the organic system is the lack of support for farmers. In addition, we verified how the Covid 19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have affected the agri-food system, increasing production costs, prices of commodity and their volatility and consequently affect the most vulnerable economic agents of agri-food supply chain, i.e. farmers and consumers. The system's transition to more sustainable production can also be driven by consumers' food choices, and so we investigate which motivations drive their consumption of low/high emission products. The final analysis on the propensity to innovate, conducted on a sample of farmers in the Marche region, underlines how organizational innovation and investments in collaboration and integration, such as supply chain contracts and advisory services, could be key elements in facilitating the transition towards a sustainable agri-food system capable of overcoming the main global challenges

How to ensure the sustainability of organic food system farms? Environmental protection and fair price

With the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Union aims to drastically reduce the use of synthetic chemical inputs and convert at least 25% of land to organic farming, which is the main alternative to the industrial/intensive production model, with many positive implications also in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, the agri-food system is facing market problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with increases in production costs, prices of agricultural products and their volatility, affecting the most vulnerable actors in the supply chain, namely farmers and consumers. The objective of the paper is to analyse the effectiveness of organizational innovations in facilitating the process of converting agribusinesses to organic farming, with a focus on the supply chain, territorial coordination, and advisory services

How to ensure the sustainability of organic food system farms? Environmental protection and fair price / Come garantire la sostenibilità delle aziende agricole del sistema alimentare biologico? Protezione dell'ambiente e prezzo equo

With the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Union aims to drastically reduce the use of synthetic chemical inputs and convert at least 25% of land to organic farming, which is the main alternative to the industrial/intensive production model, with many positive implications also in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  Currently, the agri-food system is facing market problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with increases in production costs, prices of agricultural products and their volatility, affecting the most vulnerable actors in the supply chain, namely farmers and consumers.  The objective of the paper is to analyse the effectiveness of organizational innovations in facilitating the process of converting agribusinesses to organic farming, with a focus on the supply chain, territorial coordination, and advisory services.   Con l'attuazione della Strategia Farm to Fork, l'Unione Europea punta a ridurre drasticamente l'impiego degli input chimici di sintesi e a convertire almeno il 25% dei terreni in agricoltura biologica, che rappresenta la principale alternativa al modello di produzione industriale/intensivo, con molte implicazioni positive anche in termini di riduzione delle emissioni di gas serra. attualmente, il sistema agroalimentare sta affrontando i problemi di mercato causati dalla pandemia di Covid-19 e dal conflitto tra Russia e Ucraina, con aumenti dei costi di produzione, dei prezzi dei prodotti agricoli e della loro volatilità, che si ripercuote sugli attori più vulnerabili della filiera, ovvero agricoltori e consumatori. L'obiettivo del documento è analizzare l'efficacia delle innovazioni organizzative nel facilitare il processo di conversione delle aziende agroalimentari all'agricoltura biologica, con particolare attenzione alla filiera, al coordinamento territoriale e ai servizi di consulenza.

Consumer concerns over food insecurity drive reduction in the carbon footprint of food consumption

Food security is increasingly a societal concern, also in developed economies. While originally developed through a nutritional lens, food security is also increasingly incorporating the environmental quality of diets. This study develops a Structural Equation Model to examine how consumers concerns over food insecurity – in terms of its impact on health and poverty – and environmental beliefs influence the carbon footprint of diets. Using data from a survey representative of the Italian population, this study shows that health-related food insecurity concerns increase the use of health motives when shopping for food, in turn reducing the carbon footprint of the diet. Conversely, poverty-related food insecurity concerns are associated to diets higher in carbon footprint, as they reduce health motives, and increase private shopping motives (e.g., taste, low price). Overall, the study highlights how shifts to more sustainable food systems require a better understanding of what motivate consumers to make more sustainable food choices

Finding the right price: supply chain contracts as a tool to guarantee sustainable economic viability of organic farms

The aim of this study is to analyse the volatility of agricultural commodity prices and assess the effectiveness of supply chain contracts as possible tools to prevent it. The study refers to the cereal sector, which is of vital importance for the agri-food system of the Mediterranean area. Since Italy is the world’s largest producer of durum wheat semolina, the proper functioning of the Italian durum wheat supply chain is central to this investigation. The study was conducted following two different paths of analysis: (1) the calculation of volatility indices using annual and monthly data of durum wheat prices, both organic and industrial, observed in the Bologna Commodity Exchange (AGER); (2) the analysis of two organic durum wheat supply chain contracts, defined by a cooperative involving hundreds of Italian farms mainly from the Marche region and by an agricultural consortium operating in the Adriatic regions. Despite the limited number of cases examined, the present study shows how supply chain contracts can be valid tools for building stable relationships between the various players, from production to processing and distribution, guaranteeing farms fairer and more remunerative raw material purchase prices and higher quality standards

Factors fostering and hindering farmers' intention to adopt organic agriculture in the Pesaro-Urbino province (Italy)

Current global problems such as the loss of soil fertility and biodiversity and the growth of the world's population for which health and food sovereignty must be guaranteed, make it clear that it will be essential to spread innovations to increase not only productivity but also the quality of production in order to meet these challenges. However, this will not be enough if profound changes are not made in all systems and more sustainable food systems are not built. Organic agriculture is widely considered a more sustainable production system. However, despite the growing attention of consumers towards organic products and the increase in the area devoted to organic farming in recent years, its growth is not homogeneous among and within countries. Therefore, in this work, we investigate the main drivers and barriers to adopting organic farming, first analysing the literature and then administering a questionnaire to a sample of 202 conventional farmers in the Pesaro-Urbino province (Italy). The survey data show that the adoption of organic farming is fostered by the farmer's attitude towards this production method's social and environmental sustainability. The main hindering factors are the farmer's personal characteristics, such as old age, lower education level, perception of bureaucracy, and the farm's inadequacy of technical structures