Table of Content:
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Keynote Article
“The new challenges of agricultural policy: new actors and redefined development paradigms“ by TERESA DEL GIUDICE describes and analyses, where possible, the changes in the sector’s organisational and operational boundaries, alongside the bold interventions by the research community and the public sector to generate new knowledge and innovation systems. The transition is examined in terms of stakeholders, policy interventions, governance, development models, and, finally, the role research should play in future scenarios.
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Research Article
“Challenges and opportunities of genome edited crops: An analysis of experts’ views in Italy through a Delphi survey“ by ANNALISA ZEZZA, MARCO VASSALLO applies a Delphi technique to assess the potential challenges and opportunities associated with genome editing applied to Italian agriculture. Results revealed that experts reached a strong consensus on the potential benefits of new breeding techniques in agriculture, such as greater agronomic performance and enhanced quality for consumers. Nevertheless, experts did not reach a consensus on excluding some potential risks, like possible toxicity or allergy generation.
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Research Article
“Perceptions towards Climate Change, Water Scarcity and Adaptation Strategies: Case of the Zerafshan River Basin in Uzbekistan“ by SHERZOD BABAKHOLOV, SHAVKAT HASANOV
explores the perceptions and key factors influencing adaptation strategies through the stepwise appraisal framework in upstream zones in Uzbekistan. Education of household head, extension, and farmer’s perceptions were found to be positive determinants, while land size and membership in agro-clusters were found to be negatively influenced factors to climate adaptation strategies.
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Research Article
“Agricultural work in European prisons. An exploratory analysis“ by MARIA ANDREOLI, FRANCESCA FRIERI, GIORGIA GIORDANI, FRANCESCA GIARÈ examines experiences of prison farms in four countries (Denmark, Greece, Italy, and Sweden) using a qualitative approach. Agricultural work is recognised for its benefits, such as physical and psychological rehabilitation, vocational training, job placement, education, and recreational activities. Some of these aspects align with social farming which attributes a socio-welfare role to agricultural practices.
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Research Article
“A census-based sustainability indicator of agricultural holdings: the case of Italy“ by ROBERTO GISMONDI proposes a methodology to estimate the degree of sustainability of Italian agricultural holdings. The methodology employs five indicators – each representing a strategic farm feature related to sustainability – all derived from the Seventh Agricultural Census 2020. The findings indicate that, in 2020, 45% of holdings had at least one sustainability dimension. However, a significant sustainability gap remains between the north and south of the country.
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Short Communication
“‘No farmers, no food’: a sentiment analysis of the 2024 farmers’ protests in Italy“ by GIAMPIERO MAZZOCCHI, MARCO VASSALLO, GIULIANO GABRIELI, ROBERTO HENKE tracks the main arguments that characterised the motivations of the so-called ‘tractor protests’, through the methodology of Sentiment Analysis applied to the social network of accounts (specifically, X) relating to different categories of subjects interested in the debate. The results indicate a generally positive sentiment, characterised by trust and anticipation, suggesting potential for improving the relationship between society, institutions, and the conditions of farmers.
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Research Article
“Economic analysis of irrigation services. An application of the hedonic price method on the FADN data“ by ELEONORA TAURO, LAURA MIRRA, SIMONE RUSSO, GRAZIA VALENTINO, DONATO CARONE, GIACOMO GIANNOCCARO examines the differences between collective and self-supply irrigation services, with the hypothesis that each reflects different water supply qualities that are capitalised into land value in the Apulia region, Italy. A higher value of self-supply service with respect to collective ones might be associated with the greater security and reliability of the service provided.
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