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The European Union agri-food system has faced major challenges in the last years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war. In a scenario where millions of people all over the world suffer from hunger, the uncertainty of food availability and commodity price surge have made it difficult for them to find and afford food on a large scale even in countries, which apparently are not exposed to those risks. Within the European Union (EU), this has depended upon the vulnerabilities and dependencies inherent in the agri-food system. In order to react and cope with emergency scenarios, the European Institution has adopted some temporary measures. The present paper, verifies the level of the EU agri-food Self-Reliance system through the development of Self-sufficiency calculation and the Import Dependency Index as well as the EU comparative advantage through the Gerard-Lafay Index and the relative comparative advantage (Vollrath). On the basis of the achieved results, recommendable actions have been suggested in order to secure the food supply on one hand, and satisfy the EU demand even in case of future adverse events, on the other. In addition, further actions that need to be taken, recommended by the European institutions, have been described.

Historically, both governmental and private sectors have significantly underinvested in the agriculture industry. Increasing agricultural and food system investments is necessary to enhance food security and nutrition, reduce poverty, and adapt to climate change. To achieve long-term benefits, it is crucial to ensure not only that more investments are made, but also that these investments are responsible. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review of financial sustainability and ethical investing in the agriculture industry. The findings indicate that the academic community has begun to focus on these concerns in recent years. Specifically, issues concerning finance in developing nations and the management of irrigation systems are attracting attention. This paper’s goal is to encourage more financial institutions, financial services managers, policymakers, and universities to participate in sustainable development projects in the financial services sector.

The fresh-cut sector has shown a positive trend in recent years, due to the “ease of use” and the increasing innovation in the quality and safety features of these products. However, in Italy, a negative trend was observed during the lockdown Covid-19. The objective of this study is to investigate consumer preferences for fresh-cut products and to identify the sensory and extrinsic attributes that influence consumer choice. It also examines whether consumer behaviour has changed during the lockdown Covid-19. An online questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 427 consumers. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to identify preferences for specific types of fresh-cut products; then, a factor analysis was conducted to highlight key socioeconomic variables and product attributes. Finally, a cluster analysis was conducted to identify homogeneous consumer groups. The results indicate that some attributes, including “ease of use”, “texture” and “colour” show a high level of interest and appreciation by consumers. The outcomes also reveal that there has been a change in consumer attitudes during the lockdown Covid-19, mainly for reasons related to the difficulty in food procurement, the fear of contagion during purchasing occasion, and higher prices. The findings of this research contribute to the knowledge of consumers’ behaviour towards fresh-cut products in the period of lockdown Covid-19.