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In many European regions the Irrigation Advisory Services (IASs) are adopted by farmers for sustainable irrigation practices. These tools are adequate to facilitate the adoption of environmental certification schemes, such as water footprint, which could improve the sustainability of production processes. As part of a survey conducted on 116 farmers among Italy, Greece and Croatia, it was possible to understand their level of awareness with respect to the certification systems in order to evaluate possible actions to be taken to increase awareness of their use. The results showed that farmers still have a certain unawareness with respect to the true added value, in economic terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:The aim of the paper is to analyse the attitude of Italian farms in gaining access to agricultural extension services (AES). Design/methodology/approach:The ways Italian farms use AES are described through the AKAP (Awareness, Knowledge, Adoption, Product) sequence. This article investigated the AKAP sequence by submitting a questionnaire to a sample of Italian farms, providing questions on each step of the sequence. Findings:The results confirm the validity of the model and the necessity to evaluate AES in each phase of the sequence, through an in-depth analysis of the possible motivation for not adopting them. Practical implications:The functional repositioning of agriculture redefines the role of the farm, by introducing new possibilities of production and by fostering multifunctional activities. In this context, new tasks for AES emerge, aiming at sustaining farm development along either sectorial or territorial paths. Difficulties in adopting AES call for both fostering higher levels of access to services on behalf of farms and the adequate supply of services to farms' new needs. Originality/value:AKAP models have been prevailingly used in developing countries to evaluate the efficacy of extension in increasing agricultural productivity. This article demonstrates how this model could be of help in developed agriculture too in performing new lines of development rooted in the new models of multifunctional agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper deals with quality innovation in the grapevine nursery sector. The vegetative propagation of grapevines, scarcely considered by economic research, is the first step in the wine production chain as it influences both the type and the quality of wines as well as the quality and quantity of the performance of farm investments. This paper gives the results of a study carried out through a structural analysis of both national and regional grapevine nurseries and then through a direct survey of the largest Sicilian nurseries. The survey covers the main structural and productive issues as well as the commercial aspects of eight Sicilian grapevine nurseries and their innovative investments. The middle–low selling price level of Sicilian rooted vines is the result of limited regional marketing which suffers competition from the propagation materials produced by Northern Italy and abroad. So, the companies adopted technological innovations in the production process (paraffin, mulching, cold room storage and warm-house) in order to reduce costs. Innovations of the product to diversify farm production, although less frequent, were also adopted. Consequently, the opportunities for growth in this sector are subject to the companies' ability to upgrade products and differentiate supplies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]