Exploring urban gardening experiences in Europe and Asia: Rome vs Tokyo

Nowadays the trend of urban gardening can be observed in many parts of the world. This phenomenon responds to the demand of rurality and the requalification of abandoned urban green areas expressed by city residents. Recently, many researchers have investigated about different types of urban gardening but mostly referring to English speaking developed countries (Guitart et al. 2012). To grasp the worldwide trend of urban gardening, this paper aims to compare urban gardening experiences in Rome and Tokyo. In Italy, the analysis is conducted through a direct investigation while the Japanese experience has been analysed through secondary data. The study of these two quite different metropolitan contexts helps to understand: (i) motivations on why urban residents need to grow food by themselves; (ii) types of ecosystem services (i.e. safeguard of agricultural land, food culture, production system, leisure model, environmental education, social cohesion) provided to stakeholders (Langemeyer et al. 2018; Speak et al. 2015). By comparing the two areas in Europe and Asia, we found urban residents’ interests in self-harvesting in common. Yet, there were differences in the form of urban gardening. Urban gardening in Rome is characterized by voluntary community activities, while Tokyo has commercial services to provide opportunities to not only those who have eagerness to grow vegetables, but also those who have less time and skills of growing plants

Cause Related Marketing: Between Solidarity and Competition within the Italian Agri-Food System

Today’s consumers demand products and services not only with proven intrinsic quality features but also endowed with non-material attributes such as respect for the environmental and ethical values. These concerns are central to recent marketing developments. Cause related marketing (CRM) is a good example of the new entrepreneurial strategies able to achieve on the one hand utilitarian aims and on the other hand to contribute to a social cause through different forms of company donation. From the analysis it emerges that in Italian agri-food system three types of agents are applying CRM: companies producing widely consumed brands, with high sales volume; small companies producing high quality goods but with brands known within a limited market area; mass distribution companies. The use and aims of CRM strategies are different for each of the actors

Italian viticulture between tradition and innovation: a survey on the business decisions of wineries of Basilicata

Most of the Italian economy has been experiencing, since late last year, an economic recession. The only exception to this scenario is that represented by those industries for which the characteristic feature of made in Italy is recognized by the market as a value. In addition to some manufacturing sectors, the agrofood industry is showing a dynamic against the negative trend. In 2011, respect to the previous year, the turnover of the Italian wine sector has increased by 9,2% (Mediobanca, 2012); while the export value increased of 11,5% compared to 2010. About volumes of wine selled, in 2011, Italy continues to maintain the leading position worldwide with 23.8 million hectoliters (+10%). The forecast about the vintage 2012 indicates a decline in volumes of about 9%, partly caused by the bad year, while exports grew by about 7% compared to 2011. The data show a sector with a positive balance but the italian wineries have to take in account the changes in progress to define future strategies: the rising costs of non-renewable resources; the relationship between exchange rates; the new emerging countries (such example, Eastern European countries); new consumers (the Y generation, Asian consumers etc.); substitutive products (beers, wines with a lower alcohol content, dealcholized beverages etc.), the basic equilibrium between demand and supply of wine in the worldwide scenario (Oiv, 2012). In the last years, the Italian wine has been able to maintain and to strengthen its position on the international markets, that’s depends not only by the successful performance of the northern and central regions, historically suited, but also by an increase in both quality and quantity produced in the South and therefore also with the contribution of Basilicata. The wine sector in Basilicata, although quantitatively limited compared to the national production, at the regional level represents a driving force towards other agricultural productions, also thanks to the growing acknowledgment received at national and international level, in particular by the wine Aglianico. In fact, the vintage 2011 was the first one for the denomination “Aglianico Docg Superior”, that’s has allowed the flagship wine of Basilicata to enter in the circuit of prestigious Italian wines as Barolo and Chianti. The aim of this paper is to analyze, through an empirical survey carried out through a questionnaire to a sample of wineries in Basilicata, the business strategies of the past five years and their evolutionary dynamics in the context of this difficult economic environment. Innovate and differentiate are the strategies that more than others allow wineries to compete in a context of tremendous global economic crisis, uncertainty and markets instability. The combination of tradition and innovation is the winning strategy to address the change in the Italian wine industry. The tradition is tied to the value and image of made in Italy, from which the consumer expects a high level of quality and a high service content. Even if some data show that for small firms, the cost containment is still the only viable opportunity, tying the company strategies to a time horizon is often the short term, underestimating unconventional marketing initiatives (such as web marketing) and working, mostly, through conventional channels

Non-conventional viticulture as a viable system: a case study in Italy

The food crisis of 2008 and the current financial crisis, coupled with concerns of climate change, have fueled a renewed interest in alternative food production systems, namely, local, organic and sustainable food systems. In many countries, research shows that in the medium to long run, organic and local food systems will be the most resistant and will provide an effective means to attain food security. Moreover, such systems also support social and cultural variables and can therefore be important in coping strategies in times of crisis. Reliable, and sustainable systems will help bear the burden of crises as well as be economically profitable as more people prefer to eat local due to environmental or economic concerns. Organic or biodynamic production systems in a local setting offer both economic and ecological advantages, from the producer and consumer perspectives. While wine is not food, it supports a wide range of people, industries, and activities, and therefore plays an important role in local economies, especially in countries like Italy. It is also deeply rooted in tradition, and is rich in local knowledge and techniques. Wine is also different in that its quality aspect is an important factor especially in terms of customer acceptance. Wine is often highly differentiated, even within the same region. The paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of the viability of the non-conventional (organic/biodynamic) viticulture and proposes a model for analysis of its economic, social and cultural context to measure impacts in an effort to evaluate the validity of the argument that these types of systems are viable and even superior options. Interviews with producers and local experts, and actual sales data will be used to identify the social, environmental and economic advantages of such systems, as well as problems, such as diseconomies of scale. Using selected indicators, the paper will also suggest policies to overcome these problems and propose some marketing strategies to render such systems more viable. In particular, the paper will evaluate for a given locality in Italy: (i) The profitability for the producer in the actual global and regional context, with competition from larger and conventional producers (ii) The probability of such methods to generate positive externalities from field to glass (iii) The feasibility of providing a higher quality product at a reasonable price for the consumer (iv) The direct and indirect impacts of this type of system for the local economy. (v) Social aspects in terms of trust and a closer connection between consumers and producers (vi) Environmental/ecological implications The above analysis will then be used to describe the particular viticulture system and select indicators for social, economic and environmental viability. These will be used in defining selected policy measures to minimize the costs and negative impacts and help define targeted marketing strategies

L'uso della crusca per promuovere circolarità nella filiera cerealicola

La produzione di cereali determina sprechi lungo tutta la filiera. Per ridurli è necessario ridefinire l’intero ciclo produttivo migliorandone l’efficienza e promuovendone la circolarità trovando nuove opportunità per output con un valore di mercato. A tal fine, attraverso l’Analisi Multi Criteriale (Amc) sono stati analizzati tre progetti alternativi per l’uso della crusca di grano (produzione di biogas, produzione di mangimi e produzione di carta) in Basilicata e Puglia. I risultati mostrano che promuovere la circolarità, in particolare usando la crusca per produrre biogas, è una soluzione efficiente per l’economia locale

The Sustainability of Agro-Food System and Natural Resource Systems in the Mediterranean Bacin

This book is focused on the challenges to implement sustainability in diverse contexts such as agribusiness, natural resource systems and new technologies. The experiences made by the researchers of the School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Science (SAFE) of the University of Basilicata offer a wide and multidisciplinary approach to the identification and testing of different solutions tailored to the economic, social and environmental characteristics of the region and the surrounding areas. Basilicata’s productive system is mainly based on activities related to the agricultural sector and exploitation of natural resources but it has seen, in recent years, an industrial development driven by the discovery of oil fields. SAFE research took up the challenge posed by market competition to create value through the sustainable use of renewable and non-renewable resources of the territory. Moreover, due to its unique geographical position in the middle of the Mediterranean basin, Basilicata is an excellent “open sky” laboratory for testing sustainable solutions adaptable to other Mediterranean areas. This collection of multidisciplinary case studies and research experiences from SAFE researchers and their scientific partners is a stimulating contribution to the debate on the development of sustainable techniques, methods and applications for the Mediterranean regions

Introduction - Sustainability and Sustainable Development: The Background and the Current Perspectives

This book is focused on the challenges to implement sustainability in diverse contexts such as agribusiness, natural resource systems and new technologies.The experiences made by the researchers of the School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Science (SAFE) of the University of Basilicata offer a wide and multidisciplinary approach to the identification and testing of different solutions tailored to the economic, social and environmental characteristics of the region and the surrounding areas.Basilicata’s productive system is mainly based on activities related to the agricultural sector and exploitation of natural resources but it has seen, in recent years, an industrial development driven by the discovery of oil fields. SAFE research took up the challenge posed by market competition to create value through the sustainable use of renewable and non-renewable resources of the territory. Moreover, due to its unique geographical position in the middle of the Mediterranean basin, Basilicata is an excellent “open sky” laboratory for testing sustainable solutions adaptable to other Mediterranean areas. This collection of multidisciplinary case studies and research experiences from SAFE researchers and their scientific partners is a stimulating contribution to the debate on the development of sustainable techniques, methods and applications for the Mediterranean regions

Sostenibilità economica della viticoltura non convenzionale: l’esperienza italiana

La sostenibilità economica della viticoltura non convenzionale: l’esperienza italiana. L’attuale crisi economica mondiale coinvolge tutti i settori produttivi costringendo le imprese ad una drastica revisione dei propri obiettivi di breve ma anche di medio-lungo periodo. A livello macroeconomico, tra le soluzioni proposte per uscire dalla crisi, la maggior parte delle economie industrializzate ha indicato come strategica l’adozione di tecnologie compatibili con lo sviluppo sostenibile del pianeta. Ciò implica, che nel medio-lungo periodo, per poter continuare a competere nel mercato globale, l’adozione di tecnologie a basso impatto ambientale e la produzione di beni/servizi rispettosi dell’ambiente sono tra le soluzioni più promettenti nei diversi paesi e per tutti i settori produttivi. L’adozione, nel sistema agroalimentare, di metodi produttivi/trasformazione non convenzionali come le produzioni biologiche e biodinamiche, è una valida risposta alle esigenze di sviluppo sostenibile. Scopo della ricerca è quello di dimostrare la sostenibilità economica della viticoltura non convenzionale (biologica e biodinamica) italiana. La ricerca analizzerà, attraverso interviste a produttori di uve biologiche/biodinamiche ed a esperti del settore: (i) la profittabilità economica per il singolo imprenditore nell’attuale contesto competitivo; (ii) la possibilità di questi metodi produttivi di generare esternalità positive lungo la filiera; (iii) la disponibilità, per il consumatore, di prodotti di qualità elevata ad un prezzo corretto; (iv) il contributo che queste produzioni possono dare ad uno sviluppo rurale sostenibile