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Inner areas are rural areas with low population density, distant from the main hotspots offering essential welfare services and endowed with significant environmental assets and cultural heritage. In Italy, their development is at the core of the national strategy for inner areas. Specific documents and program agreements were issued for each inner area and summarized the intervention themes and projects to implement. However, when the inner areas are considered within a regional territorial 'matrix', further collective policy actions have to be identified, through comparison and in-depth analysis of their features and influence on development. Therefore, this research aims to identify and analyse the development needs and potentialities of the inner areas, for strengthening the national strategy and improving their recovery and resilience through collective policy actions. The Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) method PROMETHEE II was applied as research methodology to four inner areas in Puglia region (southern Italy), using 43 indicators organized into seven thematic dimensions and setting specific parameters. The results enabled to delineate the overall development score of the four inner areas, and the profile of each inner area based on every indicator and dimension. By analysing this profile, key thematic dimensions where to direct collective policy actions were identified, related mainly to contrast with the depopulation by improving specific essential services (e.g., digitalization, health, education) and to foster the development of agriculture, tourism, and cultural heritage. This research can be considered a first step for future broader studies, to guide the process of policy making for the recovery and resilience of European and Italian inner areas with a multi-perspective approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Apulia region, in southern Italy, has a long tradition of vine cultivation for winemaking. However, in the last decades, regional farmers substituted local landraces with more productive non-native varieties. Regional institutions introduced regulations aimed at preventing the extinction of the local and historic ecotypes in the form of financial subsidies to reduce planting and operating costs. In this paper, we compared the financial sustainability of a non-autochthone, a typical and a landrace variety for wine production, in intensive and semi-extensive cultivation systems, with and without financial supports. The analysis referred to northern Apulia, considering a 26-year economic duration of vineyards. The results showed that the non-autochthone variety was more profitable due to its higher yields, while investments regarding landrace-based plants were characterized by lower economic convenience, despite financial aid. These estimates shed light on the effectiveness and efficacy of the present regulations, as well as on the development of future strategies for a better restoration of vine landraces in Apulia. This new framework will help to increase farmers’ profits, improve environmental conditions for the community and ensure higher quality, security and safety for consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Rural cultural heritage deserves preservation for local communities and future generations. One important component of this heritage consists of historical rural buildings, which are repositories of ancient cultures, knowledge and lifestyles. However, in recent decades many have been abandoned by their owners, and are now in danger of disappearing completely. In order to help policy makers in identifying suitable conservation strategies, this study intends to investigate the attitude of different categories of stakeholders (owners and the community) to collaborative approaches for the conservation of the most representative type of historical rural building in Apulia, southern Italy, i.e. the masseria. The results of the survey regarding owners' preferences highlight that masserias in intensive and underdeveloped rural areas are seriously threatened either by oblivion or by restoration work that may actually damage these structures. On the other hand, intermediate rural areas have the best conditions for the long-term sustainable preservation of masserias. In addition, the community has a general interest in the conservation of these structures and in their use. Furthermore, tourism operators are willing to create joint ventures with masseria owners to ensure successful conservation and management strategies. • Historical rural buildings are an important component of the cultural heritage. • In recent decades these structures have been abandoned by their owners. • The attitude of stakeholders for their conservation is investigated. • In intensive and underdeveloped rural areas, the structures are seriously threatened. • The community has interest in the conservation of these structures and in their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Animal landraces are historic local breeds often characterized by low production levels, so that their economic sustainability is often threatened and the risk of extinction is high. In Basilicata, southern Italy, a sheep landrace jeopardized of extinction is Gentile di Puglia. Thus, the study aimed at investigating the feasibility of a possible conservation strategy for such landrace based on the innovative use of its wool for the production of quality garments, so as to give new value to wool and allow further income to farmers. The results highlighted a possible good demand for such products, so as to reduce the difference in gross margin between Gentile di Puglia and the standardized intensively-farmed Comisana, from 57% to 3%. Such economic performance could be further improved by widening the set of fashion wool garments produced, so as to make the Gentile di Puglia even more preferable than other high-production breeds. In Basilicata, southern Italy, a sheep landrace jeopardized of extinction is Gentile di Puglia due to low production levels, low market values of milk and meat, and replacement of wool with synthetic fibers. Due to these dynamics farmers progressively resort to intensive breeding systems, hence causing the gradual disappearance of the ovine sector, the withering of traditional breeding culture and the abandonment of internal and marginal territories. However, in changing climate, traditional agriculture is getting increased attention worldwide by the consumers who are embracing emerging sustainable food production. Thus, in the light of a possible conservation strategy, the study investigates the prospective market for a garment (pullover) produced with wool from Gentile di Puglia, and woven through traditional techniques. An integrated methodological approach based on choice experiments and Bass diffusion model was carried out in order to analyze the consumers' preferences, the penetration market of this innovative product and the new wool value for farmers. The results pointed out a potential demand focused on women aged 50 years and more and a recognized wool value to farmers of 55 € animal−1 (22 € kg−1). This new revenue could allow the reduction of the difference in gross margin between the Gentile di Puglia and the non-autochthonous intensively-farmed Comisana from 57% to 3%. The production of further wool garments for a wider demand could increase the economic sustainability of Gentile di Puglia, making it even more preferable than other highly productive breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several economic approaches can be carried out for managing the environmental impacts in agriculture, i.e. property and bargaining rights, economic incentives, ecological fees, etc. These approaches can be mainly applied to the cultivation phase or to the markets of the agricultural commodities. However, a further ambit in which the regulatory systems could be useful to trigger sustainable cultivation practices is the farmland market. Hence, this study contributes to the setting of market mechanisms based on incentives or fees related to the environmental impacts of farming practices for reducing the pressures of the production processes on the environmental components. The study, through a hedonic pricing method based on a spatial quantile regression and integrated by an environmental analysis, highlights different trends of land value determinants along the quantiles of the selling prices as the intensity of the cultivation system varies. The results show that the most important value determinants of the vineyards cultivated through the semi-extensive production system are related to the quality of grapes. Conversely, in presence of the intensive production system, the most important value determinants are related to the high yields, which also generate high greenhouse gas emissions, in contrast with the "polluter pays" principle. The results allow the assessment of the implicit marginal prices concerning the impact of the environmental indicator on land value per cultivation system, so as to favour the setting of regulatory monetary strategies able to foster farmers towards cleaner agricultural practices. • Farmland market is affected by the intensity level of the agricultural practices. • We measure the environmental impacts of agricultural practices on farmland market. • A hedonic price method integrated through a carbon footprint analysis was used. • High land prices for the intensive cultivation system are related to high emissions. • Economic mechanisms in land market to reduce the environmental impacts can be set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmland can supply a wide variety of ecosystem services, i.e. provision of food and fibre, as well as regulating, supporting, recreational, aesthetic and cultural services. In addition, farmland can be characterized by the presence of anthropic elements, i.e. archaeological sites and historical rural buildings, from which the community can obtain further non-material benefits, namely cultural heritage values, recreation and tourism, etc. However, all these services and land components can be strongly influenced by different levels of farming intensity, a condition that can damage their capacity to supply the related functions (public goods). Such land-market failures could be adjusted by acquiring information on how the above non-farming characteristics, i.e. environmental, historical and cultural determinants, are capitalized in farmland value when farming intensity varies. To this aim, a real estate survey was carried out in Italy in order to investigate the land market of traded farms cultivated under specific crops and located in two areas with different levels of farming intensity. The analysis considered farming and non-farming determinants of selling price and used a hedonic model method based on the ordinary least squares regression corrected for spatial autocorrelation. The results highlighted that the farming determinants were capitalized in selling price as expected in both areas, while the impacts of the non-farming characteristics were extremely diversified between the areas. In the extensively farmed area, the environmental, historical and cultural determinants tended to be positively capitalized, thus favouring their preservation. However, in the intensively farmed area, these were positively or negatively capitalized according to whether or not their overexploitation could allow increased yields, respectively. In yet other cases, some non-farming determinants were not capitalized at all in either area. These trends provided useful insights for the design of ad hoc market-based schemes able to enhance land market functioning and the maintenance of these components in agricultural areas with different levels of farming intensity. • Land value is affected by farming and non-farming determinants. • Their impacts on land value per crop and farming intensity were studied. • Market schemes for environmental, historical and cultural components are desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]