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Nowadays, the interest towards functional food has increased; however, several factors jeopardize their diffusion on the market. In fact, functional foods do not have either a specific regulatory framework or a statutory definition in Europe. A functional food with any nutrition and health claim related to vitamins, minerals, or other substances in their labeling have to meet only the specific requirements established by the Regulation (EC) 1924/2006. Consequently, these products are not uniquely recognizable and the perception of consumers towards them remains a confusing concept. In this scenario, this paper investigates knowledge and factors affecting consumers' consumption intention towards functional food in Italy. For this purpose, a survey was designed, and a logit model was used to explain motivators for the consumption of functional products. The result indicates that consumers are still confused about the concept of functional foods. An important motive for the consumption of functional food is the maintenance of good nutrition, health conditions as well as well-being. An additional factor in the success of functional products is the familiarity and the knowledge of the effects of a particular product on health conditions. The probability of the consumption of a functional product increases when the consumer associates the knows of the functional characteristic and the healthful properties with the consequences of their consumption. Results are useful to verify the opportunities for further expansion of these products on the Italian market.

Dairy mountain farms are economically disadvantaged due to small farm sizes and high production costs. This situation was exacerbated firstly by the opening of the market linked to the abolition of milk quotas; secondly by the rising prices due to the energy crisis due to covid 19 and the war in Ukraine. However, these farms are important for the preservation of traditional landscapes, the economy of these areas and the offered ecosystem services, especially when they are managed extensively. The objective of this research is to understand if mountain dairy farms are economically sustainable and competitive through the analysis of a case study. The economic analysis takes into account the production cost of milk, profitability, and some economic indicators using accounting data. The results show that the farm profitability is decreasing, and the costs are unsustainable. As a consequence, more efficient policy support is needed to overcome this crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has impacted viticulture in almost all of the Mediterranean area, mainly because of temperature rises and changes in precipitation patterns, thus influencing yield, quality, and the management of grape production. One of the measures to mitigate these effects is the adoption of irrigation strategies. This has environmental and economic implications. Thus, it seems essential to evaluate if irrigation is economically and environmentally justified to ensure the sustainability of the vineyard by preserving the water resource. The aim of this research is to compute wateruse indicators such as Water Productivity and Economic Water Productivity using field data obtained and to assess the economic impact of supplemental irrigation expenses through the analysis of a single case study. Since the results are heavily influenced by pedoclimatic conditions, vineyard structure, and economic decisions, the generalizability of our findings is not conceivable. However, our findings are valuable in determining when supplemental irrigation is or is not viable. Nonetheless, the findings might shed light on how water is managed in an Italian vineyard. Future supplemental irrigation plans ought to be developed using precision viticulture technologies to monitor the intricate soil-plant-environment system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, Precision Agriculture technologies (PATs) are one of the most widespread innovations in the agricultural sector. Precision Agriculture (PA) allows farmers to manage their fields for maximum output by using data and digitized farming equipment to apply the right inputs, in the right place, at the right time. Nowadays, PATs became almost commonplace in America and Australia, compared to Europe and Italy, in which their application is still limited. Considering this context, this research aims: (I) to give an overview of the state of art of PA; (II) to summarize which factors more affect the adoption of PATs in Italy (III) to understand the determinants of technological innovation through a Regression model. Results reveal that the technological adoption of Italian agriculture meets several obstacles, linked to the cultural barrier to innovate with the difficulty of investing in and appreciating the benefits of precision technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encouraging the valorization and recognition of mountain products is a great opportunity for increasing the local economy. In order to strengthen this aim, the European Union established a new specific label for mountain food. This study aims to provide an overview of mountain food product certificated across Eu and Italy and the farms' perception on the advantages and limitations of mountain food quality label. For this purpose, a SWOT analysis was implemented through individual interviews. The respondents have emphasized that the valorization of mountain food products through the use of the new quality label can contribute to boosting the sustainability of mountain areas. However, stronger effective policies to support rural development of these areas are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017, the food and beverages industry was reconfirmed as the European Union's biggest manufacturing sector, in terms of employment, turnover and added value. However, almost all the companies are small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) showing a slow rate of adoption of innovations and precision agriculture technologies. With the advent of the digital age, new opportunities are opening for the agri-food SMEs to enhance their competitiveness through the application of technological innovations in the supply chain, from farm to fork. Given the wide range of available technology and its increasingly rapid development, the paper presents an overview of worldwide development and status of precision agriculture, starting from 2000 until to date. In dealing with the state-of-the-art, the paper confirms that technological applications in food production are of relevance in ensuring sustainable management of farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU is one of the key consumers of palm oil globally. Over 2000-2017, the EU countries increased their total use of palm oil by 63%. The palm oil is used in large volumes by food, personal care and biofuel industries. However, the general increase in palm oil consumption in Europe can be related to the increase in its use, mostly as biodiesel. For biodiesel, the principal European-grown feedstock is the rapeseed oil. Nevertheless, it becoming increasingly difficult for European rapeseed oil to compete with imported palm oil. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it aims at presenting the European palm oil market, second, it seeks to explore whether there are relationships among prices for palm oil, rapeseed oil and biodiesel using times series analysis method. Rapeseed oil is the most prominently used vegetable oils and has a number of food and industrial uses. In contrast, biodiesel represents the energy-based prospective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations are necessary for growth and competitiveness. Although agrifood production represents a pillar of Italian economy, it suffers a low propensity towards innovation. In line with current EU policy strategies, the creation of regional clusters promotes the innovation in order to increase the competitiveness of companies. This work aims to investigate the needs for innovation among SMEs in Italy, through a survey conducted on a regional cluster in Marche Region. Findings show a clear propensity of companies to innovate, although they face some structural constraints. Improving quality in each step of the supply chain is found to be the most relevant demand for innovation, being a successful strategy both for companies to compete in the global market and for the regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of mountain farming and the promotion of mountain food production are a way to encourage sustainable development of mountain areas, which are generally considered places with specific geographic and climatic constraints. In order to promote strategies for mountain products, the European Union recently approved the Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 reserving the use of the term "Mountain Product" to food products produced and processed in mountain areas. This regulation was supplemented by the Delegated Act (EU) No 665/2014, which specifies the conditions of use of the optional quality term "Mountain Product". The purpose of this paper is to assess the interest in the application of the new mountain label and the perception of the food mountain products in an Italian Region (Marche). To achieve this goal, two different surveys, a producer survey and a retailer survey, were conducted in the summer 2016. The results highlight the insufficient communication around this new quality system. However, the creation of a label to protect and certify mountain food, which is positively accepted, could constitute a foundation for improving the promotion of mountain quality food products and the sustainability of these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the agrifood is the second most important manufacturing sector in Italy and the one that, despite the current economic crisis, can boast a positive performance thanks to the "Made in Italy" brand. However, the agrifood sector is affected by the need of innovation that is the main driver of productivity growth and competitiveness. In this context, improving regional networks as clusters is therefore a way to gain innovation competence. This work aims to explore the needs for innovation in the Marche agrifood sector in Italy. The findings are drawn from a survey conducted within the members of the Cluster Agrifood Marche. The results show that agrifood SMEs need to adapt their strategies, focusing on different innovation aspects, in order to meet consumer requirements, to develop high quality food and to compete in the global market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the US and Germany, Italy is the third world's largest importer of green coffee, above all from Brazil, Vietnam and India, being also the second roasted coffee producer, exporter and consumer in EU, after Germany. Given the importance of coffee import in Italy, this paper applies the gravity model to investigate the influence of the main variables affecting the Italian coffee import. In particular, the aim of this paper is to identify the most influent factors determining the level of import flows between Italy and its 11 main coffee export partners. Our results show that the exporters' GDP, their coffee production, the distance between the Italian capital town and those of the other partners, and finally the continental territorial boundary affect the Italian coffee import, as well as the tradition to drink coffee and the consumers' demand for quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]