In Bosnia Herzegovina the development of clear policy objectives and endorsement of a long-term, coherent and mutual agricultural and rural development policy have also been affected by structural problems: a lack of reliable information on population and other relevant issues, the absence of an adequate land registry system and cadastre. Moreover in BiH the agricultural and rural sectors are characterized by many factors that have typically affected transition countries such as land fragmentation, lack of agricultural mechanization and outdated production technologies, and rural aging, high unemployment and out-migration. In such a framework the condition and role of women in rural areas suffered for the lack of gender disaggregated data and a consequent poor information that lead to the exclusion of gender related questions in the agenda of public institutions and to the absence of targeted policy interventions. The aim of the research is to investigate the role and condition of women in the rural development process of Republic of Srpska and to analyze the capacity of extension services to stimulate their empowerment. Specific research questions include the status of women in the rural areas of Republic of Srpska, the role of government in fostering the empowerment of rural women, and the role of the extension service in supporting rural women. The methodology - inspired by the case study method developed by R. Yin - is designed along the three specific research questions that are used as building blocks. Each of the three research questions is investigated with a combination of methodological tools - including surveys, experts interviews and focus groups - aimed to overcome the lack of data and knowledge that characterize the research objectives.

After obtaining independence from the USSR in 1991, the Republic of Moldova carried out an insider privatization of the land belonging to former Soviet collective farms. As a result, almost 900,000 small family farms emerged, the majority of whom are still active today. Although they play an important socioeconomic role, policy makers neglect them as a residual, shrinking phenomenon. By adopting the theoretical perspective of peasant economics, this dissertation aims at assessing the health status of these farms over ten years after the land reform, and their evolution over time. Data from an original mixed quantitative and qualitative survey carried out on a sample of 126 farms in spring 2015, and the databases of the Household Budget Survey for the period 2006-2013 are used. The main drivers of farmers’ livelihood choices are identified by means of a 31-item Likert scale, and a comprehensive picture of the typical family farm is drawn. Farms are then grouped according to land size, level of commercialization and location, and their evolution over time is analyzed by means of Markov transition chains and multinomial logistic regressions. A focus on production strategies follows. Finally, the impact of agriculture on poverty levels and the implications of alternative livelihood choices are assessed by means of counterfactual incomes and life levels calculated through propensity score matching. It emerges that families were allocated land plots without the tools for working them. Therefore, they adopt low-input, labour-intensive production strategies and are mainly subsistence-oriented. Farm income, although small, plays a key role in relieving vulnerable people from poverty, so that land is a fundamental social buffer. Moreover, home food production is important for social and self-appraisal. For these reasons, an agricultural development strategy based on farm intensification rather than growth and on leasing rather than sale of land is proposed. / Dopo l’indipendenza dall’URSS (1991), la Moldavia ha privatizzato le terre delle fattorie collettive distribuendo voucher ai lavoratori. Questo processo ha generato circa 900.000 piccole aziende familiari, in maggioranza ancora attive. Benché rivestano un’importante funzione socioeconomica, queste sono trattate dalle istituzioni come un fenomeno residuale e in esaurimento. Adottando il punto di vista della peasant economy, questa tesi si ripropone di valutarne lo stato di salute a distanza di oltre dieci anni dalla riforma agraria. A tal fine, vengono utilizzati i dati raccolti dall’autore attraverso un’indagine realizzata nella primavera 2015 su un campione di 126 famiglie e le banche dati dell’Indagine sui Redditi delle Famiglie per il 2006-2013. In primo luogo, si identificano le motivazioni degli agricoltori e viene presentata una descrizione densa della tipica famiglia contadina. Successivamente, queste sono raggruppate secondo la terra posseduta, il livello di commercializzazione e la posizione geografica, e la loro evoluzione è analizzata usando matrici di transizione di Markov ed equazioni logistiche multinomiali. Segue un focus sulle strategie di produzione. Infine, l’impatto dell’agricoltura sulla povertà e le implicazioni di diverse strategie di sopravvivenza sono analizzati attraverso i redditi teorici calcolati con il propensity score matching. Emerge che le famiglie hanno ricevuto la terra ma non i mezzi per lavorarla, per cui sono costrette ad adottare tecniche di produzione ad alta intensità di lavoro e bassa intensità di capitale, e producono quasi esclusivamente per l’autoconsumo. Il reddito agricolo aiuta le famiglie vulnerabili a combattere la povertà, per cui la terra rappresenta uno strumento di welfare. Inoltre, la capacità di produrre cibo e la proprietà terriera sono motivo di autorealizzazione e generano considerazione sociale. Per questi motivi, si suggerisce una strategia di sviluppo agricolo che punti sull’intensificazione della produzione piuttosto che sulla concentrazione della proprietà e che agevoli l’affitto delle terre piuttosto che la loro vendita. / После провозглашения в 1991 году независимости, Республика Молдова провела процесс приватизации земли принадлежащей бывшим советским колхозам. Таким образом, появились почти 900.000 небольших семейных ферм, из которых многие ещё функционируют. Несмотря на то, что эти фермы играют важную социально-экономическую роль, законодатели пренебрегают ими, так как видят в них устаревший феномен, который скоро исчезнет. Приняв точку зрения теории крестьянского хозяйства, эта диссертация посвящена оценке состояния здоровья семейных хозяйств, за десять лет после принятия земельной реформы, и их эволюции во времени. Были использованы данные, собранные с помощью опроса, проведённого автором весной 2015 на образце 126 семей и базы данных Обследования Бюджетов Домашних хозяйств на 2006-2013 годы. Прежде всего, была выявлена мотивация фермеров с помощью 31 – балльной шкале Лайкерта, а также была представлена всеобъемлющая картина типичной семейной фермы. Затем, фермы были сгруппированы в соответствии с размером земельного участка, уровнем коммерциализации и географическим расположением. Их эволюция анализирована с помощью Марковских переходных цепей и мультиноминальных логистических регрессий. Следует анализ сфокусированный на стратегиях производства. Также анализируется, с помощью теоретических доходов которые были выявлены с использованием методологий propensity score matching, влияние сельского хозяйства на уровень бедности и последствия различных стратегий выживания. Выясняется, что семьям были выделены земельные участки без инструментов для обрабатывания их, поэтому они вынуждены выбрать для себя методы производства которые включают в себя интенсивные трудовые показатели при маленьких затрат и производят почти исключительно для собственного потребления. Доходы от семейных ферм, даже если они маленькие, играют ключевую роль в освобождении уязвимых групп населения от бедности, таким образом, земля является основным социальным амортизатором. Кроме того, производство домашних продуктов и владение землёй являются причиной для самореализации и порождает социальную позитивную оценку. По этим причинам, предлагается стратегия развития сельского хозяйство которое обратит внимание больше на интенсификации производства чем на увеличения размера земельных участков в собственности и на способствования арендования земли, а не на её продажу.

The thesis aims at analysing the role of collective action as a viable alternative to the traditional forms of intervention in agriculture in order to encourage the provision of agri-environmental public goods. Which are the main benefits of collective action, in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, compared to traditional market or public intervention policies? What are the drivers that encourage farmers to participate into collective action? To what extent it is possible to incorporate collective aspects into policies aimed at providing agri-environmental public goods? With the objective of addressing these research questions, the thesis is articulated in two levels: a theoretical analysis on the role of collective action in the provision of public goods and a specific investigation of two local initiative,s were an approach collective management of agro-environmental resources was successfully implemented. The first case study concerns a project named “Custodians of the Territory”, developed by the local agency in Tuscany “Comunità Montana Media Valle del Serchio”, which settled for an agreement with local farmers for a collective provision of environmental services related to the hydro-geological management of the district. The second case study is related to the territorial agri-environmental agreement experimented in Valdaso (Marche), where local farmers have adopted integrated pest management practices collectively with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of their farming practices. The analysis of these initiatives, carried out through participatory methods (Rapid Rural Appraisal), allowed developing a theoretical discussion on the role of innovative tools (such as co-production and co-management) in the provision of agri-environmental public goods. The case studies also provided some recommendations on the government intervention and policies needed to promote successful collective action for the provision of agri-environmental public goods. / La tesi si pone l’obiettivo di valutare il ruolo delle azioni collettive come una valida alternativa alle classiche forme di intervento in agricoltura, in particolare quelle volte ad incentivare la fornitura di beni pubblici ambientali. Quali sono i vantaggi delle azioni collettive, in termini di efficacia ed efficienza, rispetto alle classiche misure pubbliche o agli incentivi di mercato? Quali sono i drivers che spingono gli agricoltori a partecipare a progetti collettivi legati ai beni pubblici agro-ambientali? Attraverso quali strumenti di policy e quali assetti istituzionali è possibile favorire lo sviluppo di azioni collettive? Con l’obiettivo di rispondere a queste domande di ricerca, la tesi si articola su due livelli: un’analisi teorica sul ruolo delle azioni collettive nella fornitura dei beni pubblici e un’indagine specifica di due iniziative locali, dove si è sperimentato un approccio collettivo alla gestione delle risorse agro-ambientali. Il primo caso di studio riguarda il progetto denominato “Custodia del territorio”, sviluppato dall’ente gestore del comprensorio di Bonifica Media Valle del Serchio (Toscana), che prevede un accordo tra questo ente pubblico e gli agricoltori locali per la gestione idro-geologica del territorio in cui operano. Il secondo caso riguarda l’accordo agroambientale della Valdaso (Marche), dove gli agricoltori locali hanno adottato collettivamente pratiche di lotta integrata avanzata con l’obiettivo di ridurre l’impatto delle loro pratiche agricole sull’ambiente. L’analisi di queste iniziative, svolta attraverso metodologie partecipative (Rapid Rural Appraisal), ha permesso di sviluppate una riflessione teorica sul ruolo di strumenti innovativi (come co-produzione e co-gestione) alla gestione delle risorse agro-ambientali e di fornire raccomandazioni sul design e l’implementazione di politiche che possano favorire azioni collettive associate ai beni pubblici agro-ambientali.

It has been estimated that one third of edible food destined for human consumption is lost or wasted along the food supply chain globally. Much of the waste comes from Global North, where consumers are considered as the bigger contributors. Different studies tried to analyze and estimate the Household Food Waste (HFW), especially in UK and Northern Europe. The result is that accurate studies at national level exist only in UK, Finland and Norway while no such studies are available in Italy, except for survey- based researches. Though, there is a widespread awareness that such methods might be not able to estimate Food Waste. Results emerging from literature clearly suggest that survey estimate inferior amounts of Food Waste as a result, if compared to waste sorting and weighting analysis or to diary studies. The hypothesis that household food waste is under-estimated when gathered through questionnaires has been enquired into. First, a literature review of behavioral economics and heuristics has been proposed; then, a literature review of the sector listing the existing methodologies to gather national data on Household Food Waste has been illustrated. Finally, a pilot experiment to test a mixed methodology is proposed. While literature suggests that four specific cognitive biases might be able to affect the reliability of answers in questionnaires, results of the present experiment clearly indicate that there is a relevant difference between how much the individual thinks to waste and he/she actually does. The result is a mixed methodology based on questionnaire, diary and waste sorting, able to overcome the cons of each single method.

The research work leading to the drafting of this PhD thesis approaches the analysis of supply chains of products of animal origin from various productive species by using network analytic methods. In the studied analysis six supply chains are embedded in a single model which highlights all the interconnections that have little evidence in traditional models. This new model that we called Eva.CAN (Evaluation of Complex Agri-food Network Model) is a new concept model, the first complex network model for the agri-food production, the first to allow the application of Network Theory analysis methods. The initial hypothesis is that the various supply chains of products of animal origin have to be interpreted and analyzed as a whole, as a single complex system. The complex network is studied analyzing the adjacency matrix that constitutes the network with algorithms and methods extensively tested and validated. This analytical approach has already been applied with positive results in many research areas such as social networks, transport networks, the stylistic of writers and musicians, proteomics, pharmacology, medicine, biology, and many others. We apply this methodology to supply chains of products of animal origin and show a series of preliminary results. This method of study of food supply chains could be useful for an observatory, bringing to light slightly evident relations and becoming a strong support for policy-makers. It can also provide useful advices to individual actors on how to optimize their own supply chains. Finally, through an effective enumeration and evaluation of the relationships, a network model could be helpful in design of tracking and traceability systems.

The objective of this study is to test a methodology for the classification of areas according to the provision of ecosystem services (ES) and for the evaluation of the effects of different agricultural policy scenarios on such classification. The framework was applied to the classification of the 26 municipalities of the province of Ferrara, Italy. The case study area can be considered a traditional cultural landscape, characterised by historical-cultural sites, agricultural areas and protected areas of natural importance. The evaluation focuses on the different categories of ES and applies a set of indicators available from secondary data sources assessing different aspects of ES. From the policy perspective, the context was represented by the pre-2014 CAP and represented the Baseline scenario. In the next stage, the model simulated a New CAP scenario, based on the measures of the RDP 2014-2020 that are addressed on restoring and enhancing ecosystems. The classification approach in each of the two scenarios was implemented under two weighting solutions. As a general remark, it is observed that the provision of ES varies greatly from one municipality to the next. All the municipalities offer a significant number of provisioning and cultural services, mainly connected to recreational opportunities. From the experience carried out in this study, we can conclude that the application of the PROMETHEE, in particular with the integration of the weights for the ES indicators, has shown the potential to support the characterisation of agricultural land in terms of the provision of multiple ES. The study presents MCDA as a suitable tool to illustrate the differences in the provision of ES in different case study areas. To some extent, in spite of the limitations of this work, this also applies to analyzing the consequences of different agricultural policy scenarios in the provision of these services.

Aedes albopictus is considered one of the most invasive mosquito species in the world. It has proved capacity for local transmission of Chikungunya and Dengue within Europe. This research evaluated public costs related to the implementation of the plan for Ae. albopictus control and Chikungunya and Dengue prevention set up in Emilia-Romagna region (Northern Italy), where a Chikungunya epidemic outbreak occurred in 2007, with 217 confirmed cases. The management plan started in 2008 by involving more than 280 municipalities and 4.3 million inhabitants within the region, and its activities mainly target the ecological conditions for the multiplication of infestation hotspots in urban areas, to reduce the probability of rapid and uncontrolled disease spreading in case of outbreaks. The study accessed to data on the expenditures supported by all the public institutions involved in the implementation of the management plan. During the 8 year’s life of the management plan, the public authorities of the region spent at least € 37.7 million for the Ae. albopictus control, although the yearly expenditure declined since the € 7.6 million of 2008 to the € 3.1 million of 2015. The assessment of this expenditure revealed a high level of variability of its costs in the various municipalities included in the plan, not easily explainable only by the territorial and environmental differences among the urban areas. The cost for the treatment of a single road drain varied in a range from ≈ € 0.04 to ≈ € 6.1 among the municipalities in the years of existence of the plan. The research also attempted a first evaluation of the expenditures incurred by households to protect themselves from mosquito bites. During the pilot phase of a dedicated project, 57 interviews were realized to a random sample, and the mean expenditure € 18.25 per household.

One among many other preconditions in the field of agriculture for Serbia’s accession to the EU is establishment of the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) system. It can improve both on-farm and agricultural policy decision making processes by providing valuable information on physical, structural, economic and financial data. Republic of Serbia does not have farm accounting legal base and therefore the agricultural hold-ers are not obliged to keep records in order to have accurate income calculations. In line with this, Serbian FADN system has been established. As a consequence to aforementioned, this deliverable is an earliest attempt to examine the use-fulness and suitableness of the FADN system implementation in the Republic of Serbia. The applied EU FADN methodology is described, clarifying the basic definitions (universe of agri-cultural holdings, field of observation, sample selection, standard output, etc.). Harmonization and application of this methodology in the Republic of Serbia is described as well. In this research it was observed Serbian FADN life cycle from 2012 to 2015, with the main focus on 2013. Comparative research method was used in a particular areas of this study, which aimed to make comparisons across different FADN organizational infrastructures of certain EU Member States and Republic of Serbia, as well as to make comparisons of the first Serbian FADN results with the same results of a few selected EU Member States. In the pre-conclusion section the emphases is given on SWOT analyses, which gives an assessment of the FADN system implementation in the EU and in the Republic of Serbia. In addition to this, recommendations are given in order to achieve better FADN system implementation in the Repub-lic of Serbia. Research findings indicated that the Serbian FADN system is still under development, faces many challenges, and needs to be further improved and strengthened.

Rural tourism has been widely promoted in the European Union as an effective measure counteracting economic and social challenges facing rural areas especially those with declining agriculture economies. Particularly its role is seen in provision and maintenance of public goods which are more and more demanded by the public and considered in the policymaking. In Kosovo, rural tourism has been developed through the support of the international organizations and private sector initiatives, with primary aim to generate additional income for rural households and sustainable management of natural and cultural resources. Anyhow, it could be stated that the use of territorial capital to enhance the quality of the tourist offer and undertake promotion at wider circles of people has not been well explored so far, particularly possible links with agriculture that would satisfy visitors demand. In this regard this research study analyzes involvement of local stakeholders and use of territorial capital to develop tourist offer in rural areas of Kosovo. Beside, study applies comparative approach with other two areas of the European Union, Appennino Bolognese in Italy and Alpujara in Spain, to understand and compare the process of rural tourism development and demand characteristics between Kosovo and these areas. A survey has been conducted in all three study areas with rural tourism visitors to understand their preferences for public and private goods and services when visiting rural areas and the role of agriculture in sustaining rural tourism. Results show that there is a potential to link rural tourism with agriculture in Kosovo, which would help in sustaining agriculture and add additional value to local food products, which in return would enhance the tourist offer and make it more attractive for the visitors but also for the farmers as an additional revenue generating sector.

A growing number of empirical studies recently investigated consumers' valuation for local food products. However, different aspects related to the local food consumption still remain vague or unexplored. As such, the objective of the present research is to fulfill the existing literature using a mixed methodological approach for the investigation of consumers' preferences and Willingness to Pay (WTP) for local food products. First of all, local food is still a blurred concept and this factor might be source of individuals' misperception for the local origin meaning. Therefore, a qualitative research has been performed in order to investigate the meaning and the perception of the local food in the Italian food market. Results from this analysis have been used as inputs for the building of a non-hypothetical Real Choice Experiment (RCE) to estimate consumers' WTP for locally and organically produced apple sauce. The contribution of this study is three-fold: (1) consumers' valuation for the local origin is interpreted in terms of regional borders, over the organic food claim in case of an unusual food product in the area of interest, (2) the interaction between individuals' personality traits and consumers’ preferences for local and organic foods is analyzed, (3) the role of Commitment Cost creation in consumers' choice making in case of uncertainty due to the use of a novel food product and of an unconventional food claim is investigated. Results suggest that consumers are willing to pay a higher price premium for organic over locally produced apple sauce, possibly because of the presence of a regulated certification. In accordance with Commitment Cost theory, the organic label might thus decrease consumers' uncertainty for the features of the product in question. Results also indicate that individuals' personality can be source of heterogeneity in consumers' preferences.