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La dimensione locale del cibo, espressione della connessione tra comunità ed economia territoriale, può assumere forme diverse, come i mercati contadini, gli orti urbani e le comunità a supporto dell’agricoltura (CSA). Le CSA sono iniziative caratterizzate da un elevato coinvolgimento tra agricoltori e consumatori, che cooperano nelle varie attività connesse alla produzione agricola condividendo risorse, idee, rischio imprenditoriale e lavoro.

Alternative food networks (AFNs) are commonly defined by attributes of local production and short supply chains, which integrate dimensions of spatial and social proximity. This new form of food chain is emerging as a response to the crisis in conventional agribusiness. This article presents a systematic review of the academic literature on the alternative food network and short supply chain in order to understand the main elements and topics explored in the empirical studies conducted from 2014 to 2021. This review only considers research using a single or multiple case study approaches. The Scopus and Web of Science databases were used for the literature search. The identification and eligibility processes were performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analysis (PRISMA) method. Six core topics were identified: motivation of actors; collaborative governance; social relations and trust; sustainability; boundary negotiation; and resilience. Most of the studies were developed in European countries. The results show that motivation to join the AFN and sustainability are the more explored topics, followed by the study of the different models of governance that characterize the AFN. In addition, the connection between different actors emerges, in a transversal manner, as an important pillar of AFNs. AFN features may change depending on social-economical, cultural, and geographical factors. There is therefore a need to explore other forms of AFNs; future research should conduct cross-analysis on AFNs in different countries and socio-economic contexts.

The Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, introduced in the Venice lagoons in 1983 and rapidly spread to the nearby coastal lagoons represents one of the most important commercially-exploited resources of this area. Abundance, size-class and biomass distribution of the wild population living in the Pialassa Baiona lagoon were assessed and related to the hydrological and sediment characteristics. Despite the lagoon being affected by eutrophication, chemical and thermal pollution, the clams were harvested by about thirty professional fishermen until 2003. The commercially available stock was estimated at 36.8 10 3 kg in July 2002, 29.3 10 3 kg in April 2003, and 10.3 10 3 kg in October 2003. Stock estimations and observed mortality were in good accordance with the fishermen data. The decline of the available stock could be due to both overfishing and the extraordinary summer heat wave occurred in 2003, which may have reduced larval recruitment and increased the mortality. Overall, the juvenile recruitment appeared insufficient to annually restore the natural stock. Although the national and regional high relevance of clams market, local harvesting of wild populations appeared marginal and inadequate to support a remunerative commercial activity, due to the variability and unpredictability of the annual yield and the lack of a sustainable management based on a production chain’s approach.

The diffusion of community supported agriculture (CSA) in Italy is a very recent phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current status and the evolution of this reality, understanding the social, environmental, and economic benefits for CSA members and the local context. Based on access to CSA data and participant observation during a CSA meeting, a thematic network analysis was adopted to analyse a large piece of information spanning from social, economic, and environmental topics as well as existing relationships between different CSA. Later, we interviewed CSA representatives about CSA production structure and several issues concerning their sustainability, including the role played by CSA members; the economic self-sufficiency; the environmental impact associated with food production. Findings highlighted that in general, the CSA phenomenon in Italy meets sustainability goals, even with different levels of members' involvement, working conditions, economic viability, and environmental impact from a community to one another, with desirable further improvements along all dimensions for most of them. Social transformations in which consumers take the role of producers and consumers at the same time with increased responsibility have been observed. In this context, the members' degree of responsibility contributes to distinguishing CSA in its full sense from CSA initiatives somehow started as ethical purchasing groups, with lower levels of commitment by members, then trying to trigger a higher involvement. The lack of policy support is containing further CSA diffusion and consolidation: new mechanisms are necessary at least to figure out, recognise, and reward the mitigation of environmental impacts characterising local food production and distribution.

The objective of the research is to explore Italian customers’ perceptions of fish and seafood fast-casual foodservice restaurants, so to identify expected food, environmental, and organizational attributes’ importance. The sample includes 600 fish and seafood customers interviewed face to face. Data elaboration included an exploratory factor analysis on fast-casual food and restaurant attributes, followed by chi-square and ANOVA to profile customers’ perception towards the level of importance of the factors. Hygiene, personnel, and sensorial attributes are the three most important factors for all groups of customers. Gender and age are the most differentiating socioeconomic characteristics. This study is a pioneering research on a restaurant format expanding in European countries and validated an attribute assessment scale for fast-casual restaurants. Results suggest the following managerial implications useful to define investment strategies: guaranteeing high hygiene standards, investing on personnel quality, offering tasty and good food, and targeting strategies focused on customers’ lifestyle.

There are many research on consumer perception of fish product attributes. To increase fish consumption, as recommended by international health organizations and dietary guidelines, there is a need to better understand what drives consumers to fish consumption behaviour. The objective of the research is to explore determinants of fish frequency consumption, with focus on healthy attitude and socio-demographic or family structure characteristics. The research interviewed 740 consumers face-to-face. Data elaboration includes a factor analysis, with PCA and Varimax rotation, and multiple multivariate linear regressions. Results show that consumer health-orientation and social influences are better drivers to increase fish consumption frequency, compared to socio-economic characteristics, including households with children. Easing consumer time constraints and fish purchasing favor convenience and at home fish consumption frequency. Given the health advantages of higher fish consumption, government initiatives should support fish food industry marketing strategies.

The work is focused on Italian Millennials, currently representing one of the most interesting target for wine producers. In the US, Millennials’ wine consumption behaviour is already well surveyed; however, in the Old World, this phenomenon is an unexplored area. The aim of this study is to identify wine consumption and purchasing behaviour of Italian Millennials and to explore their reluctance or readiness to purchase and try unfamiliar or new wines or wine styles. The methodology includes two steps: (1) an explorative analysis, carried out through focus groups; and (2) a quantitative survey based on a specific questionnaire submitted vis a vis to consumers in 2017. Wine Neophobia Scale studied by Ristic et al., 2016, has been applied to assess whether Italian Millennials are neophobic or neophilic. Data elaboration includes an Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify latent factors on wine consumption and purchasing habits and a multivariate linear regression to explore the level of Neophilia and wine consumption and purchasing habits. Results show that Italian Millennials are rather neophilic, that is have a positive approach to unfamiliar or new wines. The wine purchasing and consumption habits show an uncertain Millennial consumers’ approach to wine novelties.

none 3 no Published online: 29 Dec 2017 We analyze the relevant quality attributes of apples which drive and influence consumer choice in the city of Bologna (Italy). A hypothetical choice experiment was conducted to elicit Italian consumer’s willingness to pay for apple attributes and was included as a part of a questionnaire survey. A group of 301 consumers were surveyed in Bologna in July and August 2016. Data were analyzed using a multinomial logit model. Results suggest Italian consumers are willing to pay more for yellow apples and for apples harvested in Trentino-Alto Adige region, compared with other Italian areas. Furthermore, results highlight a preference for locally produced apples, whereas organic apples are only slightly preferred to the not organic alternative. Results of this study could be used to develop marketing strategies for apple differentiation or for a new product development and target the right product to the right consumer. mixed Ceschi, Silvia; Canavari, Maurizio; Castellini, Alessandra Ceschi, Silvia; Canavari, Maurizio; Castellini, Alessandra

L’analisi della filiera alimentare in generale è oggetto di attente riflessioni da parte della Commissione europea. Numerosi eventi ne hanno messo a rischio il corretto funzionamento suscitando interrogativi in merito alla sua efficienza e regolarità. Nella circolare COM(2009) 591 la Commissione europea ha avviato una riflessione attenta in merito, evidenziando alcuni elementi su cui agire ai fini di un riequilibrio della situazione: a. promuovere relazioni tra gli operatori della filiera impostate su accordi di lunga durata e pari capacità contrattuali; b. perseguire la trasparenza della filiera; c. promuovere la competitività e l'integrazione della stessa nei partner europei. Alla base di tali azioni deve però essere presente una attenta conoscenza della tematica a cui si fa riferimento. Infatti, si ritiene che una piena comprensione dei problemi che si possono verificare sul mercato siano ascrivibili anche a criticità e punti di mancata efficienza che una filiera alimentare può presentare al suo interno. Sulla base delle considerazioni sopra riportate, l'obiettivo della relazione è quello di fornire un inquadramento metodologico/operativo per l’analisi di una filiera alimentare al fine di effettuare una valutazione complessiva dei meccanismi di funzionamento e collegamento al suo interno e, attraverso l’individuazione di eventuali elementi di vantaggio competitivo, delineare linee strategiche di valorizzazione del prodotto e un miglioramento delle performances della filiera stessa. Il caso di studio su cui si concentrerà l’attenzione per lo svolgimento dell’analisi empirica è la filiera del pesce azzurro. Il perseguimento degli obiettivi generali delineati è stato ricercato attraverso lo svolgimento di alcune fasi operative, quali: • descrizione della filiera del pesce azzurro nelle sue diverse componenti in una chiave from sea to fork che comprende non solo tutti i passaggi seguiti fisicamente dal prodotto ma anche gli agenti, intermediari e operatori coinvolti, cercando di portarne alla luce i meccanismi di coordinamento e di integrazione, il movimento delle informazioni e dettagli inerenti agli aspetti più prettamente logistici; • traccia e analisi della catena/sistema del valore che consente di osservare in modo evolutivo la costruzione del margine e del relativo prezzo lungo la filiera e i momenti in cui si ha la potenziale “costruzione” del valore . La predisposizione della catena del valore e la sua analisi sono un valido strumento per la valutazione in un’ottica competitiva delle performances e del funzionamento delle organizzazioni lungo la filiera e quindi per poter intervenire per ridurre i costi, migliorare i rapporti con i fornitori, perfezionare i processi operativi, ecc.; • approfondimento delle indagini in chiave di sistema del valore al fine di riscoprirne punti di forza e di debolezza utili in chiave competitiva di vantaggio strategico, possibili criticità e i cosiddetti bottlenecks quali strettoie in cui il passaggio del valore tende a essere ostacolato e a subire perdite; • analisi dei fattori di vantaggio/svantaggio competitivo da utilizzare come strumenti di riflessione strategica per la valorizzazione del prodotto ed un miglioramento della competitività della filiera. La performance della stessa sarà oggetto di valutazione principalmente negli aspetti legati alla fase a monte di produzione-commercio all’ingrosso.

This special double issue of the Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing is based on a selection of papers that were originally presented during the 105th seminar of the European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) on "International Marketing and International Trade of Quality Food Products". This seminar was held at the Faculty of Agriculture in Bologna on March 8-10, 2007. The 105th EAAE Seminar was organized by the Department of Agricultural Economics and Engineering in concurrence with the third meeting of the BEAN-QUORUM project (Building a Euro-Asian Network for Quality, Organic, and Unique food Marketing - TH/Asia-Link/006) funded by the European Union's Asia-Link Programme. The Asia-Link Programme is dedicated to the promotion of regional and multilateral networking between higher education institutions in European Union Member States and South Asia, South-East Asia and China. The BEAN-QUORUM consortium is composed of five Asian and European Universities, aiming at setting up long-term relationships and enlarging the initial network to other Higher Education Institutions, companies, governmental bodies, or any other subjects in the food industry who are interested in the topic of marketing for quality food. The EAAE seminar raised a good deal of interest. Approximately one hundred scholars from twenty-five Countries attended the many plenary and concurrent sessions where sixty contributed papers and posters were presented. The main motivation for this initiative was the increasing relevance for agricultural and food products of the keywords "Marketing," "International Trade" and "Quality" in the scientific debate among agricultural economists. These three keywords raise many controversial issues. The word "Marketing" may be interpreted in many ways, by which the specific topic of the agricultural and food marketing may be considered. "Quality" is a controversial word too. It is apparent that an overall improvement of the quality of agri-food products is a strategic task for agriculture and rural economic development and has become a policy priority. Finally, “International Trade,” the related actions for its development and regulation, and the magnitude of the traded volumes of commodities within and between the main trade blocks are undoubtedly hot issues. In this context, however, we focus our attention on trade of food products as differentiated goods, rather than as commodities. Rather than gathering the issues linked by these three keywords, the aim of the EAAE seminar was to link them together and consider connections, overlaps, contradictions and complementarities. The intimate link between marketing and quality is a matter of fact, and the specificity of the food industry has highlighted the need to develop a conceptual approach that could be more consistent with the peculiarities of both the organization of the food sector and the behavior of food product consumers. The publication of numerous studies on consumer preferences and behavior considering quality and value-adding attributes of food is a demonstration that this link is already a cornerstone of recent research in agricultural and food economics. The analysis of trade still mainly focuses on commodities in the economic literature, but the issue of quality and the related marketing problems are also gaining ground. The present special issue contains articles that cover several aspects of food quality in an international context and the related marketing issues. This special issue opens with the article "Food quality and product export performance – an empirical investigation of the EU situation", authored by Christian Fischer, which provides a general framework for the context outlined above. This article investigates the relationship between product quality (as indicated by unit value) and export performance, measured in both absolute (per capita) and relative terms, in five EU countries. Fischer find...

This work presents an overview of the chestnut cultivation sector in Italy, with particular reference to the chief economic and market aspects. The main purpose is to adequately quantify the significance of a species which, although of marginal consequence in Italy's agri-food industry is, however, of vital importance for the areas in which it is cultivated, ensuring that the local communities can remain there. In Italy, which is the fourth most important chestnut producer in the world and the first in Europe, there are about 800,000 ha of chestnut woods of which 150,000 are orchards. The areas dedicated to cultivated chestnuts are progressively decreasing and currently amount to 54,000 ha distributed amongst some 30,000 enterprises. The annual production of chestnuts is approximately 55,000 tons on average and amounts to a basic value of 60-65 million Euros, which can rise to as much as 165 million Euros considering the (whole chain) Unclear Significant additional revenue from ancillary sources also contributes towards this result to the tune of 15-25 million Euros per year and is obtained from woodland by-products, timber, transport but especially from the numerous wine and food festivals that attract crowds of visitors to all parts of the country. Thus the chestnut becomes a true attraction medium and a valid marketing incentive for these areas. The fact that these results have been achieved is mostly due to the great attention paid to quality, as testified by the seven Community trademarks obtained to date. Future worries include the drop in the supply noted in 2007 and 2008 (up to 30-40% according to estimates and due to the adverse weather conditions) and the aggressive new pathogens, such as the chestnut gall wasp.

The aim of the research is to estimate the potential demand for certified clams in Italy and to investigate the determinants of maximum amount that respondents are willing to pay for this product. Quantitative analysis was used based on 1,067 face-to-face interviews collected in 3 Italian regions in the north bordering the Adriatic Sea (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna) carried out during 2008. The consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) is measured using a contingent valuation method. In order to estimate separately the determinants of the probability that respondents are willing to pay and the maximum that they are willing to pay, a generalization of Tobit model was adopted. The results indicate that consumers are willing to pay a premium price mainly to purchase better quality products. The research provides some initial insight into consumers' WTP that can be useful for certified fish farming. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

In the last decade, the durum wheat-pasta production chain was been, with the other food chains, vulnerable to prices volatility, that became stronger in the last five years due to the unfavourable economic condition. The supply chains internal competition and the unwillingness to cooperation, directly linked to lack of trust between actors on different levels, represent barriers for the efficiency this economic structure (the chain), that have to deal with the actual economic condition and the global market competition. The Italian durum wheat-pasta production chain is characterized by a high level of vertical integration for the downstream stages (mills and pasta industries) and by a farms-pasta industries contracts increase; whereas very high is the upstream stage firms' fragmentation. The study aims to examine the Apulian durum wheat-pasta production chain, by means of the netchain analysis methodology, to point out its organisational set-up and its degree of integration and evaluate the horizontal and vertical existent relationships. The geographical location of the study is due to the importance that durum wheat has for the Region; that is in the first place of the national production ranking (almost the 20, 65% in 2011), and have a great territory specialisation (almost the 87, 68% of cereals regional uaa). The study started from the analysis of a quality product chain that can be considered as a best practice into the area because both the final product (dry pasta) is made from local durum wheat flour only, and the whole chain are certified ("Prodotti di qualità di Puglia" and dnv Business Assurance). The results obtained, show an high horizontal integration for farms. However, they are able to create ties only with selling cooperatives. The latter on the other hand, show the capability to promote cohesion between farms and mills for the supply of high quality raw materials. This chain, observed for its peculiarity of being a best practice, show the relevance of pasta industries in promoting strong horizontal and vertical relationships, and theirs importance in improving chain market competitiveness. Further studies are still necessary, since a more comprehensive analysis of the entire Apulian chain, considering also those one located into areas with an higher number of pasta industries (eg. Emilia-Romagna), can provide essential information that can be used to drive innovation in chain governance at the regional or national level.

Currently, for organic wine it is meant a product obtained from organic raw materials that i) uses products and (if available) substances authorised in Annex VIIIa of Reg. 203, obtained as well from organic raw materials and ii) is subject to processes and oenological treatments provided in Reg. 203. Even before this Regulation, in the wine sector many stakeholders had shown a growing interest for organic production. In Italy, and in many other countries, in recent decades a movement of producers has grown, who have started referring to their wines as “natural”, and to rely on official certification model and on Origin Based Labels (PDO and PGI). Considering the equivalence arrangement established between EU and US, organic certification from EU Reg. 203 must be totally accepted from the US market without any other kind of document: this is very important for the organic wine export because US consumers appear really interested in organic wine purchase (Vastola et al., 2009; www.winemonitor.it).This paper aims to analyse the main characteristics of the organic wine sector in Italy before Regulation 203 entered into force, taking into account also biodynamic and similar productions. In particular the study focuses on marketing practices, either in promotional and in strategic terms, adopted by wineries. By reflecting on the survey results, it may be possible to define the potential of European certified organic and biodynamic wine on the Italian market.

In 1991 the eu implemented the Nitrates Directive (Council Directive 91/676/eec) concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources. The compliance to its requirements represent today a critical step for the Italian farms, particularly those involved in the livestock business sector which suffers also the burden of a worrying market crisis. Difficulties for the farms involve economic and technical aspects. First are linked to the added costs deriving from the respect of the rules in terms of nitrogen burden per area and the sewages disposal. The technical problems are mainly represented by the new classification of the areas in vulnerable (vzs) and non vulnerable zones (nvzs). This facts have represented an important obstacle for farms’ management, particularly if they are located in vzs because it has became necessary find new solutions to spread the farm sewages. The paper offers an empirical analysis aimed at trying to optimize the compliance procedures to this directive for a livestock farm, trough the predisposition of an economic account for two typical chains: the red (bovine) and pork meat production. The calculation comprehends all the phases from the meat production to the sewages handling and management after a denitrification and the nitrogen storage. The evaluation consider different alternative systems. Through this process it could be possible obtain the commutation of the bovine and swine sewages, representing an expensive burden, in a new resource for the farm. This fact permits to achieve also an environmental result in terms of a pollution restraint and an economic advantage as raw material for energetic transformation. Finally the Authors complete the paper with some reflections.

The Impact of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreements on the Italian Fruit and Vegetables - Sector: some Results Since 1995, the Barcelona Process aims to establish a free trade area between Mediterranean countries by 2010. The most commercialized products from Mediterranean countries are fruit and vegetables. The agreement defines, only for some products, preferences at the entrance of the eu market, limited concession for each partner for single products, limited quantities and calendars. This work tries to analyse the impact of the liberalization on the Italian products applying a gravity model in order to asses the Italian import flows from eight Mediterranean countries which signed the Barcelona agreement. The econometric estimation includes fruit and vegetables at the aggregate level and some specified products that enter in competition with typical Italian Mediterranean production such as citrus, melons, potatoes and tomatoes. Since these Mediterranean countries appear as a highly heterogeneous block related to historical, cultural, political and geographical factors, the gravity equation controls these factors by an augmented gravity equation. JEL Code: Q17 - Agriculture in International Trade Parole chiave: accordi euro-mediterranei, mercato italiano, ortofrutta, competitivita, gravity model

In Europe the demand of functional foods varies remarkably from country to country, on the basis of the alimentary traditions, the enforced legislation and the different cultural heritage that people have acquired. The opportunities of expansion on the market seem to be quite favorable and the interest of the consumers is rather high. But the diffusion of these products in the community area is slowed down by some obstacles. One of main ones is the lack of an official law-recognized definition for these references, necessary in order to clearly assign these products to the food sector rather than to the pharmaceutical one. In a such situation, we note that nowadays it is impossible to carry out a complete survey of this world, due to the lack of homogeneous and trustworthy statistical data and to the confused definition of the sector. In fact, every country adopts his own national legislation and includes in this class different products. The variable meaning assumed by the term “functional food” in the EU member states, can also hinder the free trade even within the EU boundaries. In fact, pursuing the safeguard of human health, each partner can block the admission of a product, even if it comes from an other EU member country. This lack of clarity at the production phase is reflected in a difficult control at the consumption phase. The disinformation of the trade operators and, consequently, of the consumers can involve some risks for these last ones due to not only to the deficiency of benefits, using functional foods, but also possible damages to the health. Ambiguous definition and gaps of knowledge about the composition and the effects of these products, in fact, can interfere with an aware choice of purchase and an organized development of the sector.

The wine industry is currently shifting toward more sustainable production practices. Due to the growing globalized wine market and the increasing environmental impacts, producers have begun to pay more attention to organic and biodynamic products. Using a systematic literature review, this review aims to investigate the biodynamic production system in the viticulture and winemaking process. In particular, the review examines, 1) the biodynamic practice and its main characteristics including the certification system; 2) the biodynamic market characteristics and the recent trends, the production costs and the marketing strategies adopted by wineries; 3) the demand attributes and wine consumers’ perception on sustainable practices and “green products” such as biodynamic products; and 4) the association between the biodynamic wine chain and the environment. The review highlights the research progress in this field and reflects on the potentiality and needs of the biodynamic viticulture and wine sector. The literature clearly indicates the lack of knowledge regarding, mainly, the biodynamic farming concept and the label. Moreover, while it is clear that consumers are willing to spend more for an organic wine than for a conventional one, there are no data about the willingness to pay for biodynamic wines. Finally, the review concludes with implications and suggestions for further research.

Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are alternative food chains that have gained ground and contribute to the global food system's sustainable transition. To explore how to enhance their capacity to act and benefit society at large, we turned to scholarly and policy work on Social Innovation (SI). We concentrated on understanding what SI in SFSCs is and how it may stimulate their potential, following a two-phase approach. In Phase 1, employing a two-step systematic literature review, we generated a rich database of SI definitions, but no suitable definition was found. We proceeded to craft a domain-specific systems-centred definition, positing that SFSCs can be seen as social living systems, while SIs in SFSCs may be seen as processes that bring about change (e.g., new mentalities) and result in the creation of sustainable value for the actors involved and beyond. With the aid of an additional scholarly review, we also determined that the drivers of SI that matter are those that secure actor engagement in the co-design and co-development stages of SI (e.g., training). In Phase 2, we attempted to empirically validate the findings from Phase 1 in 12 Community of Practice (CoP) events in nine European countries. We found partial support for the SI definition, strong support for the vital role of trust, and concluded that, in any SFSC, it is critical to have a group of dedicated actors that have realized their role as (co-)leaders in co-shaping their own future.

In recent years, Italy has been seriously affected by meteorological events characterised by intense precipitations in a short period, causing significant damages (such as landslide, erosion and so on) especially where the territory management has been neglected for a long time; it must be considered that with climatic change these events will worsen over time. Given this situation the Public Administration should pursue the urgent goals of reducing risk and ensuring water safety, studying and executing appropriate solutions and measures to contain surface water such as detention basins and similar. These structures should ideally be located in extensive level agricultural areas (cultivated or not), choosing strategic sites along the rivers’ or streams’ bedwaters in order to manage the water runoff and control extreme floods. An event of flooding shows irregular frequency and it cannot be forecast certainly. Regarding the land involved by flooding prevention measures, a part of it may host permanent structures and/or tools for water detention, the other surface will contain waters which permanency on this land limits the landowner’s property right and firm’s economic activity, also damaging sometimes current and future crops. Acquiring suitable areas through an expropriation act is often a difficult burden to sustain for the Public Administration also because of their expensive management and maintenance costs. In this case flood easement may be a good balance between the exploitation of areas located in a strategic position for flooding detention and the usual agricultural activities carried out on that land. Most importantly, easement is only a right to use the land leaving the property right to the owner of that land. In Italy, easement is regulated by law (the Italian Civil Code considers different types of easement) and widely dealt with in the literature but there are still no national regulations about the particular type of agreement surveyed in this paper (flood easement); As yet, we still have no calculation criteria for the landowner’s compensation. In this work, which is still at a preliminary stage, the Authors analyse the legislation and the available literature and propose a methodology of calculation in case of flood easement compensation, viable in different areas and situations

L’evoluzione del comparto agricolo in Europa occidentale sta avendo un riflesso diretto sull’uso dei fertilizzanti con una tendenza verso un consumo intelligente dei nutrienti minerali. Le previsioni per i prossimi anni vedono un incremento nel consumo di fosforo e potassio.

A tutt’oggi non esiste ancora un quadro completo sulle valutazioni economiche-estimative nel caso di calamità naturali, è un campo di studio e di ricerca che, da pochi anni, si va sviluppando in modo condiviso e partecipato. Ciò sembra incredibile se si pensa che, una delle caratteristiche basiche delle calamità naturali è il fatto di interessare vaste aree su scala mondiale, in tutti i continenti. Eppure, gli approcci e le metodologie di valutazione sono ancora in fase di discussione e di sviluppo, con rilevanti differenze tra loro e nella maggior parte dei casi generano risultati diversi rendendo difficoltosa l’emissione di dati e informazioni di stima corretti, precisi e soprattutto condivisi. In tal modo viene meno anche la possibilità di comparazioni tra indagini compiute in paesi diversi ovvero seguendo differenti metodi; allo stesso modo la mancanza di serie storiche e banche dati complete sul tema ostacola la conduzione di studi atti a rilevare aspetti comuni o di periodicità su tali eventi, utili poi per studiare eventuali piani di prevenzione. A rendere difficile lo studio di questo tema è anche la sua vastità: spesso le ricerche compiute fanno riferimento all’analisi economica solo di un singolo tipo di evento ovvero di una specifica area, tralasciando considerazioni di carattere più generale o trasversale. Da un punto di vista prettamente economico, la bibliografia a disposizione non è vastissima e spesso di carattere settoriale nell’affrontare la tematica, focalizzandosi di preferenza su di un evento in particolare e sugli aspetti ad esso relativi ovvero su di un territorio circoscritto e ben delineato. Difficile dunque rinvenire un quadro teorico e metodologico generale a cui fare riferimento nel momento in cui si decide di avviare una trattazione dell’argomento. Le metodologie e gli approcci di valutazione sono differenti tra loro, molti di essi suscitano ancora incertezze e perplessità e spesso danno risultati diversi rendendo difficile l’emissione di dati e informazioni di stima corretti e precisi. Peraltro, i risultati ottenuti in genere non sono tra loro comparabili. Il testo di riferimento da cui molte considerazioni riportate in questo scritto sono tratte, è un working paper del dicembre 2010, promosso dal World Bank Sustainable Development Network: S. Hallegatte e V. Przyluski (2010) “The economics of natural disasters. Concepts and methods”, Policy Research Working Paper 5507. Tale scritto, pur essendo sostanzialmente breve, ha il pregio di riprendere in mano la materia relativa all’analisi economica di una calamità con l’obiettivo di darne un quadro complessivo e trasversale, non focalizzato su un certo tipo di evento ovvero su di una specifica area geografica. Uno degli obiettivi è anzi quello di tracciare un sentiero comune da seguire per le analisi dei costi derivanti da large scale disasters. Tra l’altro, esso suggerisce ambiti di approfondimento e di studio piuttosto vasti su cui a tutt’oggi è sempre più importante lavorare: per esempio la ricerca, l’individuazione e l’applicazione di appropriati metodi e modelli valutativi. Attraverso l’analisi bibliografica compiuta, che non vuole certo vantare meriti di completezza, si nota una certa eterogeneità nel condurre studi e valutazioni in questo campo e la mancanza, evidenziata poi dallo stesso report della World Bank nonché da alcuni articoli internazionali in merito (Costanza, 2007; Okuyama, 2003), di una base teorica comune di partenza. Sono soprattutto gli aspetti economici quelli considerati dalla bibliografia, poiché l’estimo, ancora considerata da molti pratica esclusivamente professionale, presenta un supporto di studi e articoli accademici piuttosto povero. Da non sottovalutare il fatto che dati utili a condurre valutazioni possono essere desunti da riviste del settore immobiliare e assicurativo. Si cita il rapporto CRESME che a tutt’oggi rappresenta una fonte ufficiale abbastanza completa e aggiornata di informazioni in merito allo stato del territorio italiano, riportando anche dati economici relativi a tali eventi. Per tale motivo, in questo lavoro si è fatto abbondantemente ricorso a questa fonte e ai suoi contenuti. Il titolo del lavoro mette in evidenza la duplice natura della valutazione: si ritiene, infatti, che esaminando la questione relativa ai danni da calamità, contemporaneamente da un punto di vista economico e da uno estimativo si possano osservare e rilevare aspetti differenti, strettamente integrati tra loro, utili a tale proposito. Lo studio può essere condotto a livello micro (per es. danno e costi per la singola azienda) ma anche macro considerando il sistema economico nel suo insieme (per es. interruzione nella produzione di PIL, impatto su di un intero sistema economico in un’area/regione...). I due elementi sono strettamente collegati perché, quando un disastro naturale colpisce un’area, l’insieme delle unità colpite va a creare un vulnus nel flusso economico complessivo della regione nonché, in considerazione del fatto che non si tratta di sistemi isolati, ne risentono tutti i circuiti relazionali presenti in cui l’elemento colpito è coinvolto. Nell’analisi economica si dovrebbe concentrare sulla considerazione non solo delle rilevazioni legate ai costi (attenzione alla natura degli stessi, diretti e indiretti) ma anche sugli aspetti sociali coinvolti, le ripercussioni sul benessere della popolazione colpita. Naturalmente secondo un’ottica economica. Se si considera poi quanto sostiene Costanza «an economic system should allocate available resources in a way that equitably and efficiently provides for the sustainable well-being of people by protecting and investing in all four types of capital (built, natural, social and human capital)» (Costanza, 2007) si coglie il legame forte tra economia come allocazione di risorse e conseguente benessere sostenibile per la popolazione e la multidimensionalità del capitale, non solo in termini meramente produttivi. Per ciò che concerne l’estimo, esso è ormai riconosciuto come una disciplina di natura economica e non più solamente di carattere metodologico. Sosteneva Forte che «È proprio il trasporre le leggi economiche nel campo della logica estimativa a determinare una serie di principi e norme che possono non limitare l’estimo a sola metodologia, consentendo quindi di ammettere l’esistenza di una autonoma disciplina estimativa nella scienza economica» (Forte 1968). La bibliografia in merito si compone di numerosi manuali di teoria estimativa e documenti applicativi. È ancora abbastanza ridotto, invece, il numero di articoli e contributi scientifici in merito lasciando uno spazio decisamente più ampio a documentazione di tipo professionale. Peraltro risulta difficile una consultazione di fonti internazionali per le peculiarità che legano le pratiche estimative al territorio di riferimento. Oggetto del lavoro sono le valutazioni di danni da calamità naturali. La calamità (large scale disasters o disastri su larga scala) rappresentano un insieme di eventi molto differenti tra loro per modalità di manifestazione, effetti, periodicità, durata, la cui definizione si presenta alquanto complessa poiché coinvolge aspetti di natura estremamente eterogenea. Esso si declina in una serie estremamente differenziata e articolata di eventi, ciascuno portatore di proprie caratteristiche nell’origine, sviluppo e effetti finali che avranno ripercussione anche sull’analisi economica; tra questi: i terremoti, le alluvioni, le tempeste, gli uragani, i fenomeni di precipitazioni intense, la siccità e così via. Secondo Ball (1979) si definisce estremo l’evento a carico del sistema geofisico che manifesta valori che deviano significativamente dalla media a lungo termine. Il disastro naturale, invece, si può individuare come un rapido impatto dell’ambiente naturale sul sistema socio-economico umano che, a sua volta, non ha la capacità di rifletterlo, assorbirlo o respingerlo (White, 1974). Un tentativo di classificare tali eventi li divide in disastri a impatto brusco e a impatto lento (Alexander, 2008). I primi avvengono in un intervallo che può andare da pochi secondi a poche ore (un terremoto, una tromba d’aria), mentre i secondi hanno una durata prolungata nel tempo (mesi, anni e financo secoli come i fenomeni di erosione del suolo). Si sottolinea il fatto che la definizione di tali eventi si lega difficilmente ad una classe di magnitudo poiché anche un brevissimo evento potrebbe comportare un danno molto elevato se colpisce un’area particolarmente sensibile (Alexander, 2008). La collocazione geografica delle popolazioni umane e gli eventi geofisici determinano il rischio da calamità naturale (White, 1974). Le calamità naturali colpiscono, con frequenza difforme, aree estremamente diverse, in termini geografici e per caratteristiche ambientali ma anche in termini di livello di sviluppo sociale ed economico (elementi fondamentali in termini di capacità di recupero dopo un disastro naturale). Ne consegue che le ripercussioni generate a seguito dell’evento saranno estremamente differenziate da un territorio all’altro ma ciò non toglie che, per quanto un sistema sia in grado di assorbire o respingere l’impatto, subirà dei danni. Tra i paesi più colpiti, anche se i dati non sono recenti, si ricordano Cina, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Filippine, Perù (Alexander, 2008). L’impatto che i disastri su larga scala hanno sui paesi si differenzia decisamente sulla base del livello di sviluppo degli stessi. Secondo i dati della Banca Mondiale, a partire dal 1980 solo il 9% degli accadimenti calamitosi hanno riguardato paesi in via di sviluppo ma hanno fatto registrare quasi la metà (48%) delle perdite umane complessive per morti e dispersi (http://www.worldbank.org/). Anche in termini economici, l’effetto nei PVS è amplificato rispetto a quello dei paesi industrializzati: si è calcolato che l’impatto negativo sul GDPsia circa venti volte superiore nei primi rispetto a questi ultimi (http://www.worldbank.org/). Riconoscendo, dunque, il grave impatto che le calamità naturali hanno sui paesi in via di sviluppo (e quindi particolarmente vulnerabili con minore capacità di ripresa e ricostruzione), la Banca mondiale ha avviato una rete mondiale di supporto per fornire loro assistenza tecnica e finanziaria per la ripresa post-disastro ma anche per avviare politiche locali di prevenzione (The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery o GFDRR). Secondo l’ONU, attualmente, ancora 1 miliardo di persone vive in zone ad alto rischio di alluvioni e si ipotizza che tale numero potrebbe raddoppiare entro il 2050. Nel 2013 i disastri naturali hanno provocato 22 mila vittime (di cui oltre un terzo nelle Filippine per un tifone) e danni alle cose per 119 miliardi di dollari (www.meteoweb.eu). Se confrontato, però, con la media del decennio precedente 93mila morti per disastri naturali quali alluvioni e siccità), l’anno 2013 registra un miglioramento (meno danni a persone e cose). Ciò non deve far pensare che tali eventi si possano classificare secondo un gradiente di periodicità poiché la loro distribuzione nel tempo è casuale. Anche nell’UE la situazione è ancora critica e preoccupante per l’entità delle perdite registrate: i morti dovuti a calamità naturali negli ultimi dieci anni sono stati circa 80 mila, con un danno alle cose stimato intorno ai 95 miliardi di euro (www.ansa.it riportando i dati della Conferenza sui cambiamenti climatici e la qualità dell’aria che il Comitato delle Regioni dell’UE ha tenuto a Bologna nel 2014).

Sono relativamente pochi i Paesi che producono la maggior parte dei fertilizzanti minerali utilizzati nel mondo. Nell’ultimo decennio l’Italia ha diminuito l’import, anche per effetto di una razionalizzazione del loro uso o di una sostituzione con altri prodotti, principalmente di natura organica

The role of agriculture in the field of energy is part of a wider framework of services that it can provide to the community, integrating the concept of multifunctionality that has been attributed to it. Without forgetting that agricultural activity represents an excellent opportunity to protect and enhance the territory, the production of agro-energy could become an opportunity for farmers, who would find new outlets, not only for their crops, but also for by-products and agro-livestock waste/slurry. In fact energy production can represent an important opportunity for farmers to diversify their business, broadening the prospects and scenarios for the agricultural and livestock farms. The role of agriculture in the field of energy is part of a wider framework of services that can it can provide to the community, integrating the concept of multifunctionality that has been attributed to it. Without forgetting that agricultural activity represents an excellent opportunity to protect and enhance the territory, the production of agro-energy could become an opportunity for farmers, who would find new outlets, not only for their crops, but also for by-products and agro-livestock waste/slurry. In fact, people are aware that there cannot be a single rapid replacement of existing energy resources with other more sustainable ones, and that the possible complementarity of new renewable energy sources (RES) must be studied in relation to the vocation of the territory in which its development is to be planned. The energy potential of a rural area through the use of biomass produced in by agricultural activity will now investigated in depth. The Authors describe the agro-energy production chains using biomass specifically, while ignoring other technologies (primarily photovoltaic and solar thermal) that can be developed, even with a profit, by the farmer, but which are not directly related to the traditional activity of a farm. Faced with a proven technology, the main problems with this energetic chain are to be found in the procurement of the biomass, costs for transport and management of the biomass and digestate and in the regulatory framework which is often difficult to interpret at the local level. The biogas chain will be examined in detail, especially in relation to the significant growth in the number of plants constructed. Through the study of the main features characterising the chain -plant authorization procedure, taxation of energy production, by-products of organic and agro-livestock origin and incentives and tariffs for energy production activity- the economic sustainability of biogas production plants will be evaluated. Finally the Authors present a comparison between incentive rates before and after 2012 in order to analyse the risks for economic profitability of the chain.

The paper draws out the possibilities of development and increase of organic farmed fish in Italy, evaluating both technical and economic aspects, for breeding, market, political, regulatory and environmental issues. The survey has been conducted using a well-known foresight methodology, the Delphi technique, with a panel of national experts. The analysis offers interesting insights and useful suggestions addressed to the organic aquaculture sector. Authors chose Delphi methodology according to the paper’s objective: the study is in fact aimed at exploring the evolution dynamics (positive or absent) for a less-developed market like the one of the Italian organic fish. This method allows to create a forecast by collecting and evaluating experts’ opinions about the organic fish market; these experts are divided in homogeneous groups and selected as privileged observers of the phenomenon. Expert panel suggestions are worthy of consideration as a contribution to improve and to subsidize organic aquaculture, that may be further sustained by scientific research and technologic innovation

The role of agriculture in the field of energy is part of a wider framework of services that this sector can provide to the community, integrating the concept of multifunctionality already attribut - ed to it. Whilst agricultural activity is an excellent means for protecting and enhancing the appearance of the territory, the production of agro-energy could become an opportunity for farmers to find new out - lets, not only for their crops, but also for by-products and agro-livestock waste/slurry. In fact, energy pro - duction can be an important opportunity for farmers to diversify their business, broadening the prospects and scenarios for agricultural and livestock farms. The energy potential of a rural area through the use of biomass produced by agriculture will now be investigated in depth: the authors describe agro-en - ergy production chains that specifically use biomass, ignoring other technologies (primarily photovoltaic and solar thermal) that can be developed, with prof - it, by the farmer, but which are not directly related to the traditional activity of a farm. Given a proven technology, the main problems for this energy chain are to be found in the procurement of biomass, costs of transport and management of biomass and diges - tate, and in the regulatory framework which is often difficult to interpret at the local level. The biogas chain will be examined in detail, espe - cially in relation to the significant growth in the number of plants constructed. Through the study of the main features characterising the chain - proce - dure for authorization of plants, taxation of energy production, by-products of organic and agro-live - stock origin and incentives and tariffs for energy production, - the economic sustainability of biogas production plants will be evaluated. Finally the authors present a comparison between rates of incentive before and after 2012 in order to analyse the risks for the profitability of the chain.