0000000000358122
AUTHOR
Cinzia Zinnanti
A ricardian analysis of the impact of climate change on permanent crops in a mediterranean region
This is the first study which explores the impact of climate change in Sicily, a small Mediterranean region of Southern Europe. According to research, Mediterranean area has shown large climate shifts in the last century and it has been identified as one of the most prominent “Hot-Spots” in future climate change projections. Since agriculture is an economic activity which strongly depends on climate setting and is particularly responsive to climate changes, it is important to understand how such changes may affect agricultural profitability in the Mediterranean region. The aim of the present study is to assess the expected impact of climate change on permanent crops cultivated in Sicilian r…
Economic performance and risk of farming systems specialized in perennial crops: An analysis of Italian hazelnut production
Abstract Assessing farm profitability and economic risk is important to support farmers' decisions. Several factors affect yields and product prices, in turn influencing farmers' income level and economic risk. However, the literature has often neglected to explicitly account for the role of product quality. This is particularly important for crops such as hazelnut because farmers' prices vary according to the quality of the harvested product. Furthermore, it seems fundamental to disentangle the role of parameters influencing farm results, noticeably yield, product price and quality. This is because farmers select their risk management tools to satisfy their needs, but these are often suita…
THE SUCCESS FACTORS OF A SICILIAN MARKET-ORIENTED WINE COOPERATIVE
Wine cooperatives have a long tradition in Sicily, as well as in Italy and in Europe. The objective of this paper is to reconstruct the general framework of the Sicilian wine cooperatives that still account for nearly 80% of the regional wine grapes production. In this context we examine the productive, organizational and commercial strategies of a case study: Cantine Settesoli. Founded in Menfi (Western Sicily, Italy) in 1958 on the initiative of a group of wine grape-growers, the Cantine Settesoli has developed over the decades and now represents the major bottled wine cooperative in Sicily, whose 2,135 members own 5% of Sicilian vineyards. With its four wine-making plants, a volume of gr…
An exploratory analysis of website quality in the agrifood sector: The case of extra virgin olive oil
Besides verifying the current consistency on the Internet of websites set up by Sicilian (Southern Italy) EVO oil firms, this paper aims to verify their e-service quality by evaluating which main quality features, as derived from the literature, they have. To process the data, descriptive statistics were used, which allowed detection of the presence/absence of the variables examined. The study found 280 websites with some qualitative gaps. Findings highlight that EVO oil firms do not exploit the potentialities of the web adequately. They often use the Internet as a communication and promotion tool, but only to a lesser degree for e-commerce. The results may be useful to both agrifood manage…
DEALING WITH RISK IN AGRICULTURE: A CROP LEVEL ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT PROPOSAL FOR ITALIAN FARMS
Risk management plays a critical role in agriculture, which is particularly exposed to multiple and heterogeneous risk factors. In addition to the traditional basic risks that generally characterize any business venture, agriculture faces external factors, generally difficult to control and with a strong impact on farm profitability. These are firstly environmental (pests and diseases) and climatic conditions that affect the quantity and quality of agricultural production, but also the structural constraints of the agricultural market, which is characterised by a high degree of supply rigidity, price volatility and inelasticity of demand. This leads to the need to implement risk management …
The sicilian cooperative system of wine production: the strategic choices and performance analyses of a case study
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to verify whether, besides the traditional organisational models mainly implemented by wine-making cooperatives, more modern and hybrid organisational forms can be profitably applied within an increasingly competitive wine market. Design/methodology/approach The study outlined in this paper deployed a mixed method. Specifically, an archived analysis, a survey and a descriptive case study (including visits, interviews and documentary analysis) were the methodological techniques used in this study, which were “in series but integrated” between themselves. In this paper, the landscape of Sicilian wine cooperatives is described by collating and processing d…
EU income stabilization tool: potential impacts, financial sustainability and farmer’s risk aversion
AbstractThe Income Stabilization Tool, a risk management scheme introduced within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2014–2020, could help European Union farmers manage the income risks they face. This study assesses the potential impact of implementing this tool through the maximum level of contribution to the fund which determines an indifference to participate in the fund and its financial sustainability. The study relies on an expected utility approach and assesses the variability of loss ratios over time using a sample of Italian hazelnut farms as a case study. The participation depends on the level of farmers' contributions and their degree of risk aversion. However, the CAP public …