L'agricoltura nell'economia nazionale: un'analisi attraverso indicatori macroeconomici

Un'indagine espolrativa sul consumo delle arance nella città di Palermo

Il presente lavoro analizza il comportamento del cosumatore di prodotti agroalimentari ed in particolare delle arance. Attraverso un''indagine esplorativa si sono messe in luce le abitudini dei consumatori e quello che cercano quando comprano le arance. Il lavoro mette in evidenza che i marchi attualmente presenti sul mercato non sono molto conosciuti dal consumatore.

Un'analisi esplorativa della domanda di consumo di arance nella città di Palermo

The Determinants of the Consumer Demand for Olive Oil

Economic aspect olive-growing and oil production in the Nebrodi rural areas

Olive trees have characterized the Mediterranean landscape for thousands of years. Their cultivation originated in eastern Mediterranean countries - known as ''fertile crescent'' -where oil production and trade became one of the main economic resources for the regions and peoples of the time. In fact, thanks to the work of Myceneans, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, olives came to be one of the major agricultural crops in the Mediterranean. With a value of 2,4 billion Euros (average of the years 2005-08), over 85% of Italian olive production is developed in the regions of southern Italy. In these regions, less encouraged by economic development, the olive and oil sector plays a fundamental s…

Entrepreneurial strategies of Etna wine farms

Viticulture, as well as agriculture in general, performs an environmental and landscaping function and it encourages rural development through the creation of income and job opportunities in the areas where wine is produced. The wine sector, in fact, is of great social and economic importance within the Sicilian agriculture and food industry, because of the job opportunities it provides and due to Sicilian pedoclimatic peculiarities, variety of grape wines cultivars and production process. The present study aims at assessing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises that cultivate wine grapes in the Etna area. In particular, it has been examined a sample of wine farms that p…

Determinants of Ready-to-eat Products Purchase Intentions: An Empirical Study among the Italian Consumers

The considerable diffusion of ready-to-eat products has focused attention on the reasons for their increasingly prominent success in the market. Although their prices are much higher than the prices of simple raw materials, their consumption has increased rapidly and with no end in sight, a situation that has challenged the conclusions of the classical literature on the importance of price and/or income in consumer decisions. In fact, more recent literature has broadened the classical vision by introducing potential additional variables that could influence consumer choice of certain foods. These variables, however, are not always easy and clear to identify because they reflect the cultural…

Organic farming: Territorial analysis and economic revival of organic agriculture – Analysis of select farms in sicily

All rights reserved.Organic farming represents one of the most distinctive phenomena among those characterizing the evolution of the Italian primary sector over the past two decades, especially in Sicily. In recent years, the Sicilian organic sector has come to prominence for the increase in both size and number of organic farms, which has allowed our country to rank among the foremost in this category at the international scale. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how organic farming may contribute to the economic revival of Sicilian agriculture, not only from an exquisitely economic standpoint, but also in terms of sustainable development and environmental protection. The latter two p…

Marketing strategy, social responsibility, and value chain in the agri-food system

The agri-food sector has changed significantly over the years, moving from a simple production system to a more and more industrialized one. For agents/operators involved in this sector, ensuring product quality and environmental externalities has become the key point to gaining a competitive advantage. In this context, corporate social responsibility (CSR) fits perfectly. This study analyzes the influence of CSR practices on the economic performance of a random sample of 130 agri-food companies in Italy. The results of an analysis of multiple linear regression models show that the economic performance (measured through value added and income) of agri-food enterprises seems to be influenced…

Riflessioni tra agricoltura ambiente competitività e multifunzionalità

L’Industria ittico conserviera del tonno in Sicilia

L''industria ittico-conserviera in Sicilia vanta una tradizione antica. Nel presente lavoro si sono analizzate le perfomances economiche di alcune imprese ittico-conserviere presenti nel territorio siciliano. L''analisi mette in evidenza le particolari criticità in cui si trovano ad operare tali imprese.

A methodological approach for assessing businness investments in renewable resources from a circular economy perspective

Abstract In this paper, we have analyzed a feasibility project for the realization of a biogas plant at a company in the viticulture sector located in south-central Sicily. Using engineering formulas, we identified the electrical power that the plant could produce using waste products created by the vineyard itself, examined the new and interesting opportunities that have arisen with the encouragement and development of biogas production in Italy, and then assessed the economic feasibility of the investment itself, considering an investment scheme of total capital self-financing. The possibility of using wastes from wine production comes from an in-depth study of the circular economy, that …

Il contributo del settore agricolo nel processo di sviluppo economico

Il presente lavoro analizza il ruolo che l'agricoltura occupa nel sistema economico italiano e siciliano. In particolare, attraverso la teoria economica si è analizzato in un primo momento il ruolo che il settore primario ha nelle economie sviluppate. Successivamente, si sono esaminate le modalità di intervento dell’operatore pubblico nel settore. L’analisi empirica si è sviluppata prendendo in esame i dati della Spesa pubblica, attraverso i dati della banca dati dei Conti Pubblici Territoriali (CPT), il Valore Aggiunto e gli occupati del settore primario. Lo studio dimostra che il settore agricolo, nelle Regioni del , Mezzogiorno d’Italia, riveste ancora un peso rilevante che va supportato…

Renewable energies, business models and local growth

Abstract Energy is one of the driving factors of the world economy: energy consumption is closely linked to quality of life and environmental impact. Reducing the use of fossil fuels, curtailing greenhouse gas emissions, and cutting energy dependence from traditional energy producing countries are the cornerstones of European policies for safe, competitive, sustainable, and renewable energy. In addition, the pressing need to provide new and diversified opportunities for supplementary income for the agricultural sector has fueled the desire to engage rural areas in this process. Biogas, derived from the anaerobic digestion of biomass, is one of the renewable energy sources that has been very…

Competitiveness and sustainability in horticulture: strategy for small businesses

Vegetable cultivation has a significant history in the countries of the Mediterranean basin. Italy is an important horticultural producer and, in this context, Sicily offers ideal conditions for the protected cultivation of field vegetables. Apart from a few well-organised producers, in many areas horticulture is characterised by backward entrepreneurial systems and fragmented production lines that make the vegetable market one that is very close to being a rigged competition in which companies must accept the price and have no negotiating power. This situation has been aggravated even further by the recent economic crisis and the subsequent recession, resulting in the disappearance of the …

Economic aspects of olive-growing and oil production in the Nebrodi rural areas

Lo sviluppo sostenibile della pesca nella marineria di Mazara del Vallo

In a place like Sicily, where sea fishing and port activities are part of the territory, history and culture, fishery has always been vital to man and, for this reason, today it must be studied, protected and helped in the difficult transition towards long-term sustainability. Fishing is a driving sector for Mazara economy both for number of working days during the fishing season, and for industrial activities operating around this field (transformation, packaging, and distribution). A micro-economic analysis was carried on a sample of fishing enterprises in order to analyze the problems of the here studied seamanship. The analysis is based on the employers’ interviews. The collected data h…

L'olivicoltura in Italia

Alcuni aspetti economico commerciali dell'olivicoltura siciliana sia nel territorio dei monti sicani che in quello dei colli nisseni

Economic development and agriculture: Managing protected areas and safeguarding the environment

Abstract The establishment of protected areas has been one of the most important interventions to protect biodiversity from the threat of human activities and in particular from the agricultural traditional activities where they have been restricted at the expense of the economy of the territory sparking in literature a heated debate between those who argue the these hinder the socio-economic development and on the other hand are those who argue that is able to advance social welfare. On the basis of these considerations, the weight of agricultural sector of a country is highly linked to the percentage of protected areas even though the trend of the weight of agriculture in the overall econ…

La pesca del tonno e l'industria ittico conserviera in provincia di Trapani

I principali aspetti della evoluzione della zootecnia in Sicilia tra gli anni 50 e gli anni 2000

The Market Reorientation of Farms: The Case of Olive Growing in the Nebrodi Area

In addition to safeguarding the landscape, olive growing makes a unique contribution to protecting the environment and the agricultural ecosystem. Olive growing in mountainous and hilly areas is severely constrained by structural limitations. Rural tourism can be a potential strategy to increase the competitiveness of olive-growing activities. After an initial analysis of the relationship between landscape, tourism, and olive growing, this study focused on olive growing in the Nebrodi area. In particular, we examined two case studies of olive farms to analyze the related production costs and market positioning strategies.

Qualification and demand expectations for the revival of the wine production offer

Agritourism, between legislation and marketing: A leading sector for local development the case of the province of Palermo

This work stems from a desire to understand the dynamics of a sector that is of particular interest for the economy and regional development of Sicily. Due to its geographical position, rich history, and natural beauty, Sicily is a year-round attraction for large numbers of tourists from all over the world. In this respect, it is vital to invest in the local area, to try to maintain and increase the potential that the territory itself can offer. With this work, we consider the agritourism sector to specifically assess its potential interest for business people and consumers, both actual and potential. Indeed, if on one side modern tourism was born from a desire to visit faraway places, it i…

Agritourism and local development: A methodology for assessing the role of public contributions in the creation of competitive advantage

Abstract Agriculture has been an economic mainstay of countries throughout history. Recently, its importance and essential role in local and regional growth and development have also received due acknowledgment. However, agritourism entrepreneurs often lack the necessary means, when relying only on their own funds alone. For these reasons, targeted aid measures are provided at the regional, national and European levels, provided they fulfill specified subjective and objective eligibility criteria. This investigation aims at understanding the rationale, if any, according to which the Public Administration allots such contributions. To this end, a two-tiered analysis was conducted on the data…

Food consumer models: The case of the responsible consumer

The profile of the responsible consumer, that is, an individual whose purchases strive to satisfy altruistic aims above and beyond one’s merely personal consumer necessities, is closely correlated to the one’s socio-economic conditions. All subjective aspects considered, the correlation between responsible consumption in the agri-food sector and the level of education of the individual was studied herein by way of a statistical survey, conducted on a sample of 108 individuals. Likewise, the correlation between the level of responsible consumption and the average monthly expenditures was also elucidated. The study was carried out using the statistical software environment R and the resul…

Alcuni aspetti dell’evoluzione dell’impresa agricola nel terzo millennio