What are the factors driving the adoption and intensity of sustainable irrigation technologies in Italy?

This paper aims to analyse the determinants of Italian farmers’ adoption of sustainable irrigation technologies such as micro-irrigation (drip and sprinklers) and sub-irrigation technologies. To improve farmers’ water management, climate variability adaptive behaviour should be incentivized. Italy, like other Mediterranean countries, has suffered the most for an increase in frequency and intensity of droughts, higher temperatures and fewer precipitations. Applying innovative irrigation systems, water scarcity and water stress may be overcome. Water conservation and saving technologies may help in supporting water-saving behaviour, increasing water conservation in the natural environment and reducing water stress to cultivations. However, accurate analyses of the determinants of adoption and intensity of these techniques are still scarce. This study fills this gap by using a micro-level approach which combines yearly Agricultural Accounting Information Network (RICA) datasets with climatic variables from the ERA-Interim dataset. Based on an unbalanced panel dataset for the period 2012-2016, the decision of a farmer whether to adopt an irrigation saving technology or not is estimated applying a logit and a probit model, while the intensity of adoption is estimated through a Tobit model. Our main findings confirm that crop typology, education, geography and climate are all relevant factors influencing the sustainable irrigation technology adoption choice as well as the adoption intensity given that most farmers adopt water-saving technologies only partially

AGROECOLOGIA E STABILIZZAZIONE DEL REDDITO NELLA PRODUZIONE FAMILIARE DI CAFFE' IN MINAS GERAIS (BRASILE)

ItalianoLo studio si basa sulla comparazione, condotta attraverso un’analisi costi-benefici, di metodi produttivi convenzionali e agroecologici nelle produzioni di caffè nella regione Leste dello stato di Minas Gerais in Brasile. Sono state analizzate e confrontate 13 attività agricole nella loro capacità di generare reddito. Uno dei maggiori rischi produttivi per i piccoli produttori impegnati nella produzione di caffè è l'alta volatilità del prezzo alla produzione. L'analisi, condotta tenendo conto di prezzi variabili, mostra come le pratiche agroecologiche permettano di garantire redditi più stabili e di ridurre i rischi di produzione rispetto alle pratiche convenzionali.EnglishThe study is based on a quantitative comparison through a Cost Benefit Analysis of conventional and agroecological agricultural methods in the production of coffee in the Leste region in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. 13 agricultural properties have been analyzed and compared in their income generation capability. One of the biggest production risks for small producers engaged in coffee production is the high volatility of coffee price. The analysis, conducted with reference to variable coffee prices, shows that agroecological practices guarantee more stable incomes and reduce production risks with respect to conventional practices

Environmental policies, waste and circular convergence in the European context

This work explores the transition process towards a circular economic model in the European context. By placing the role of policies and waste as a focus of the debate, it first examines the possible effects that a stringent policy can generate and, secondly, how much waste and its management can influence the goodness of the transition process. By analyzing European data on major indicators of circularity, waste generation, and management, this paper attempts to provide a snapshot of the European situation and its different speeds along the transition path. In light of the recent development programs established by European institutions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that strained the world economy, the trends show how program resources should be directed towards key sustainability sectors that can stimulate European countries towards a common circular pathway

Agroecologia e agricoltura convenzionale a confronto. Un’analisi di sostenibilità socio-economica e ambientale nella produzione familiare di caffè in Brasile

Working Paper Ircres-CNR 07/2017. This paper aim at comparing agroecological and conventional practices for small coffee producers in Leste Region of Minas Gerais state (Brazil). Six production units have been deeply analyzed and compared in: income generation with price volatility, productivity, working conditions, product diversification, agrobiodiversity, cost composition, environmental impacts and forest conservation. The results show that agroecology practices help local small farmers in stabilizing and diversifying incomes, reducing production risks and improve working conditions. Furthermore agroecological practices both reduce the use of chemical inputs and improve forest conservation. According with the results of this study agroecology is a cost-effective and sustainable alternative of conventional monoculture agriculture for smallholder farmers of the examined region.     

L’agroecologia come nuovo paradigma per l’agricoltura sostenibile. Un breve quadro teorico

Working Paper Ircres-CNR 05/2016. This paper aim at analyze the concept of sustainable agriculture developing the base of agroecology as scientific multifunctional approach to obtain sustainable agroecosystem. Agroecology has been recognized as both a scientific method and a set of practical activities to study and project sustainability in agriculture at several scale, but unfortunately it is still unknown or restricted to the international cooperation sector. At the beginning of this paper it is studied the theoretical framework of agroecology as an holistic system of study and the evolution of its concept along time. Then it is examined the concept of agroecosystem showing some agroecological practices and examples of agroecology experiences realized around the world. 

Un’analisi multidimensionale della sostenibilità per l’agricoltura familiare. Il caso dell’area amazzonica peruviana

Working Paper Ircres-CNR 11/2017. In the last century the agricultural sector grown exponentially with outstanding increase in food productions that released poverty and malnutrition in many parts of the world. These important results have been achieved to the detriment of the environment and equity caused by massive externalities that the new productive paradigm had generated. Since 1992 sustainability in agriculture is one of the main cornerstone of the international agenda for reaching global sustainable development and reducing poverty. One of the main challenge in designing sustainable agricultural policies is the use of effective measurement of sustainability that would encompass the intrinsic multidimensionality of small farming agriculture that is characterized to be a complex socio-ecological system in which social, economic and environmental aspects strictly interacts. This paper examines the application of an experimental method of sustainability assessment using HESOFI, a measurement framework developed in Central America for small scale agriculture. The paper analyzes by the use of several indicators of sustainability thirty mixed small farms located in Peruvian Amazon. In addition, the assessment has been developed with different categories of agricultural units divided by ethnic origin (Andean or Indigenous) and by certification (Fair Trade and Organic) in order to compare the different levels of sustainability reached by each category

Environmental policies, waste and circular convergence in the European context

This work explores the transition process towards a circular economic model in the European context. By placing the role of policies and waste as a focus of the debate, it first examines the possible effects that a stringent policy can generate and, secondly, how much waste and its management can influence the goodness of the transition process. By analyzing European data on major indicators of circularity, waste generation, and management, this paper attempts to provide a snapshot of the European situation and its different speeds along the transition path. In light of the recent development programs established by European institutions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic that strained the world economy, the trends show how program resources should be directed towards key sustainability sectors that can stimulate European countries towards a common circular pathway

Participatory assessment of sustainability in smallholding agriculture: the agroecological case in Central America.

Within the Uni.Coo project, a partnership research project between the Turin University and the Italian Ngo Re.Te has been developed. A participatory process has been carried out to assess the sustainability of agroecological small-scale agricultural systems in Central America considering all relevant stakeholders. A participatory process was initialized firstly to develop a shared definition of sustainability and secondly to design a user-friendly and indicators-based framework for the assessment of the sustainability of agroecological farming systems. This paper aims to describe and analyze the steps of the participatory process giving insights for further research in the field of sustainability participatory assessment tools for small-scale farming

Effects of anticipatory humanitarian cash assistance to households forecasted to experience extreme flooding: evidence from Bangladesh

The 2020 monsoon floods in Bangladesh were among the most severe and protracted in decades. Instead of waiting for disaster to strike, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society used impact-based forecast data to reach nearly 3,800 vulnerable households along the Jamuna River with a one-off unconditional cash transfer of BDT 4,500 (about $53) before peak flooding in July 2020. Anticipatory action to help at-risk populations avoid or mitigate extreme weather event impacts has become widely used by governments and humanitarian organisations worldwide. However, robust evaluations of the effectiveness of forecast-based assistance are limited. This assessment follows a quasi-experimental approach, drawing on survey data from a sample of cash recipients and equally vulnerable and flood-affected households that were not reached by BDRCS before the flood. Our analysis finds robust statistical evidence that the intervention was effective in helping households evacuate the flood-affected area, protecting personal health and well-being, and safeguarding people’s productive assets and livestock. It was also effective in enabling beneficiaries to avoid taking on high-interest loans and selling valuable assets during and after the flood. The intervention does not appear to have helped cash recipients avoid food-based coping mechanisms or regain their productive capacity sooner after the flood

Waste management and Italian provinces: Why pay more for less?

This work investigates the role of waste treatment methods and separation policies in explaining the Total Waste Management Costs (TWMC) at NUTS 3 level, Italy, between 2015 and 2018. In this context, northern provinces generally have high efficiency and circularity, while central and southern provinces lag behind. It is unclear how much of the difference is motivated by socioeconomic factors and how much by political entrenchment in low circularity policies. Panel data models have been estimated using provincial and regional fixed effects targeting TWMC as the dependent variable. Two main independent variables are considered as drivers. One is a composite policy indicator that gives higher weight to circular methods and waste-to-energy treatments. Lower weights have been given to increase landfill, generic incineration, and biological and mixed treatments. The second independent variable is the ratio between separated waste and total municipal waste flow. The estimations' results indicate that the composite indicator of circular policies reduces TWMC while separation policies increase them. Furthermore, it is estimated that provinces need to improve their composite performance significantly to offset the cost increases derived by separation policies. Thus, perseverance in pursuing an incomplete circular policy might be a driver of TWMC at the local level