Structural and Economic Overview of the Italian Agri-food System: A Focus on Food Prices

An analysis of the main items characterizing the agri-food system highlights the existence of a strong demand for a politically-correct decisional process. This paper analyzes the value of the agri-food sector at national level in terms of Gross Domestic Product, Value Added at basic and current prices (ISTAT), comparing data with the EU level (Eurostat). Farms’ structure and production are analyzed in order to highlight the current situation and future development of the agri-food sector. After an overview of the main structural characteristics of farms, the study focuses on a direct survey (FADN/RICA sample): in order to collect specific data an “ad hoc” questionnaire was drawn up to identify farm characteristics, productive potential and main market regulatory mechanisms. With the objective of highlighting the farmers’ point of view, a case study on an Italian region is presented to evaluate three main topics: a) sales prices: main factors occurring in the price fixing phase; b) distribution channels and commodities prices: perception of strength in terms of trade agreement; c) rules and checks: actions to enhance and increase price transparency through supply chain rings.Agri-food System, Farms, Market, Prices., Agricultural and Food Policy,

The economic value of olive plantation in rural areas. A study on a hill region between Italy and Slovenia

This study was undertaken with the primary purpose of assessing the welfare gain to local residents resulting from olive trees. A secondary but important aim was to underline the multifunctional role of olive farming. In fact, we know that olive plantation has potentially socially benefits. In particular, it has potentially a lot of positive social effects in rural areas depending on plantation characteristics and farming practices. Therefore, the first section of this paper reviews the main features connected to the multifunctional role of olive farming. Multifunctional role of olive farming is well known in the EU, but it is still needed the institutional intervention in favour of farmers, due to the structural difficulties of olive production sector. Later sections concentrate on a survey carried out in order to estimate the economic value of the rural landscape, focusing in particular on olive trees in a hill region between Italy and Slovenia. From the conducted survey we gauged citizens’ WTP to introduce olive trees in the landscape. Survey data was collected by means of questionnaires. We applied the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) in order to assess the citizens’ Willingness To Pay (WTP) for specific rural landscape features. The paper ends with some conclusions about the positive results obtained in olive plantation valuation questions.olive plantation, multifunctionality, willingness to pay, rural landscape valuation, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Organic vs local claims: substitutes or complements for wine consumers? A marketing analysis with a discrete choice experiment

This study aims to understand people's preferences concerning five different extrinsic characteristics of wine and among them organic production. Consumers' preferences were assessed by means of a choice experiment on a sample of people living in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia (north-eastern Italy). The wines considered in the hypothetical market were differentiated considering the area of origin, landscape features, production method (organic or conventional), wine denomination of origin label and price. According to our results, denomination of origin labelling is the most important factor considered by all respondents. More than one quarter of the sample is interested in purchasing organic wine and willing to pay more for it. In this respect, organic production combined with a good communication strategy in order to increase the knowledge about its benefits can be a good marketing diversification strategy. Therefore, organic production seems to be a necessary (for at least 27% of people) but not sufficient condition in characterizing wine quality: it should be supported by an appropriate promotion of the product characteristics

Mercosur e politiche ambientali-agroforestali: conservazione della biodiversit\ue0 come leva d\u2019integrazione

I fenomeni di integrazione economica regionale degli ultimi decenni originano dalla volont\ue0 di liberalizzare gli scambi commerciali, come premessa di coordinamento pi\uf9 ampio e di creazione di un\u2019unione politica. La realt\ue0 latinoamericana del Mercato Comune del Sud detto MERCOSUR viene spesso osservata attraverso la lente \u201cordinaria\u201d del \u201cgrado di integrazione\u201d economico-commerciale; in particolare assume rilievo l\u2019analisi della maturazione dell\u2019approccio decisionale intergovernativo, che sembra limitarne l\u2019emancipazione, verso una sopranazionalit\ue0 assente nei trattati costitutivi. L\u2019importanza che il MERCOSUR riveste nel contesto mondiale non riguarda solo il potenziale economico, ma concerne la \u201cricchezza ambientale delle nazioni\u201d che in esso si integrano: in particolare, la regione costituisce un biodiversity depository unico al mondo, la cui importanza si riverbera dai fabbisogni e opportunit\ue0 per le comunit\ue0 locali (in particolare rurali) agli equilibri ambientali globali. La conservazione e gestione della biodiversit\ue0 e dei servizi ecosistemici assurge a prospettiva di osservazione \u201coriginale\u201d sul percorso d\u2019integrazione, in quanto elemento portante attorno a cui essa si \ue8 sviluppata, sfida imprescindibile per il futuro e (si cercher\ue0 di dimostrare) premessa originaria, a complemento delle ragioni commerciali e politiche. Il coordinamento delle politiche ambientali e agroforestali pu\uf2 rivelarsi un\u2019opportunit\ue0 di consolidamento della regione, cos\uec come pu\uf2 aver costituito un vero e proprio \u201cagente integratore\u201d sviluppatosi attorno alla gestione di importanti risorse condivise

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

Organic vs local claims: substitutes or complements for wine consumers? A marketing analysis with a discrete choice experiment

This study aims to understand people\u2019s preferences concerning five different extrinsic characteristics of wine and among them organic production. Consumers\u2019 preferences were assessed by means of a choice experiment on a sample of people living in Friuli Venezia Giulia (north-eastern Italy). The wines considered in the hypothetical market were differentiated considering the area of origin, landscape features, production method (organic or conventional), wine denomination of origin label and price. According to our results, denomination of origin labelling is the most important factor considered by all respondents. More than one quarter of the sample is interested in purchasing organic wine and willing to pay more for it. In this respect, organic production combined with a good communication strategy in order to increase the knowledge about its benefits can be a good marketing diversification strategy. Therefore, organic production seems to be a necessary (for at least 27% of people) but not sufficient condition in characterizing wine quality: it should be supported by an appropriate promotion of the product characteristics