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In this work, we aim to shed light on how co-resourcing and actors’ practices impact the agricultural innovation process.In a first step, we conceptualized agricultural innovation as the process du...

PurposeThe study aims to analyse patterns of innovation adoption among Italian female-owned farms, by evaluating the impact of innovation support services and entrepreneurial orientation on innovation adoption.Design/methodology/approachTo explore both the entrepreneurial identity of women farmers and the role of innovation support services in boosting innovation, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of Italian women farmers. A multivariate analysis lets to classify the farms under the previous two perspectives.FindingsThe analysis reveals various patterns of innovation adoption, heavily depending on both the effectiveness of innovation support services and farmers' entrepreneurial orientation.Research limitations/implicationsThe research analyses a sample of women farmers to excavate worlds of innovation among female-owned farms. Cross-gender comparisons can offer a more complete picture of the ways gender catalyses innovation adoption.Practical implicationsAt a policy level, the results of our empirical analysis point out the need for gendering innovation analysis and for tailoring policy interventions to the different worlds of innovation that exist in rural Italy.Social implicationsThe paper confirms the importance of deepening research on gender issues, with the purpose of fulfilling gender mainstreaming underlined in numerous policy documents at both the European and international levels.Originality/valueThe analysis represents a first attempt to join both the entrepreneurial identity of women farmers and the role of innovation support services in boosting innovation. Therefore, the paper fills a gap in the literature.

Research has repeatedly confirmed that farmer field schools (FFS) can serve as a bridge between science and farm practice, enhancing simultaneously rural social energy. However, even though social capital is a burgeoning topic in FFS research, it is not clear whether and how it mediates FFS performance. In this mixed-methods study, using data from two FFS projects conducted in Greece, we examined if social capital among trainees facilitates the co-creation of knowledge and the co-development of agricultural innovations by farmers. A thematic analysis was performed to analyse qualitative data, whereas regression models were employed for the quantitative strand of analysis. Results revealed that social capital evolves progressively during FFS, enabling the achievement of the project’s aims by enhancing in-group communication, establishing affective ties, instilling a sense of community, and triggering motivational contagion among participants. Statistical analyses confirmed that the “softest” sides of social capital (bonding and connection) significantly contribute to knowledge and innovation co-production. Although this work was based on data derived only from two FFS projects that took place in Greece, our findings underline the importance of social capital for the success of any FFS project and emphasise the need for identifying routes to nurture social capital within FFS.

This practical note presents an alternative, learner-centred model for the evaluation of agricultural extension and/or education projects. The VELVET model is based on six evaluation axes: values, ...

Έντονες κοινωνικές, περιβαλλοντικές και οικονομικές αλλαγές στη γεωργία οδηγούν στον επαναπροσδιορισμό του γεωργικού επαγγέλματος και επιβάλλουν την εισροή γνώσης μέσω διαδικασιών γεωργικής εκπαίδευσης στο γεωργικό πληθυσμό, ώστε οι γεωργοί να καταφέρουν να προσαρμοστούν σε νέες συνθήκες. Ο καθορισμός των εκπαιδευτικών αναγκών και η μετάφρασή τους σε εκπαιδευτικούς στόχους αποτελούν προϋπόθεση για τη δημιουργία ενός ευνοϊκού πλαισίου για την επιτυχία ενός προγράμματος γεωργικής εκπαίδευσης. O κύριος σκοπός της παρούσας διατριβής είναι η διερεύνηση των εκπαιδευτικών αναγκών τριών ομάδων παραγωγών: εκείνων που εφαρμόζουν αποκλειστικά συμβατικές μεθόδους παραγωγής, των γεωργών που ακολουθούν προγράμματα ολοκληρωμένης διαχείρισης και των βιοκαλλιεργητών. Επιπλέον, η εργασία επιδιώκει να προσδιορίσει και να αναλύσει το βαθμό ενδιαφέροντος των γεωργών για συμμετοχή σε προγράμματα γεωργικής εκπαίδευσης (ΠΓΕ), τους παράγοντες που παρακινούν τη συμμετοχή, καθώς και την προθυμία πληρωμής και δαπάνης χρόνου για παρακολούθηση ΠΓΕ. Στους δευτερεύοντες στόχους εντάχθηκαν: η ανίχνευση των στάσεων των γεωργών προς τα χαρακτηριστικά των εκπαιδευτών ΠΓΕ, η διερεύνηση του βαθμού χρησιμοποίησης των πηγών ενημέρωσης από τον αγροτικό πληθυσμό και η αναζήτηση της αξίας του κοινωνικού περιβάλλοντος στη διάχυση γεωργικής γνώσης. Για τους σκοπούς της έρευνας, συγκεντρώθηκαν δεδομένα με προσωπικές συνεντεύξεις από 385 γεωργούς και 74 εκπαιδευτές από την περιοχή που καλύπτουν πέντε νομοί της Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας. Εκτός από τα περιγραφικά στατιστικά μέτρα μια ποικιλία πολυμεταβλητών μεθόδων ανάλυσης χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για να καλυφθούν οι στόχοι της διατριβής.Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας επιβεβαίωσαν ότι η ένταση των εκπαιδευτικών αναγκών διαφέρει σημαντικά μεταξύ των τριών ομάδων παραγωγών. Ωστόσο, οι παραγωγοί και των τριών ομάδων εστιάζουν τις εκπαιδευτικές τους ανάγκες σε ζητήματα που αφορούν τις χρηματικές ενισχύσεις της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης προς τη γεωργία. Η προσφορά γνώσης για μεθόδους φυτοπροστασίας αναδείχθηκε ως κεντρική προτεραιότητα για τους παραγωγούς προϊόντων ολοκληρωμένης διαχείρισης. Οι βιοκαλλιεργητές υποδεικνύουν ως σημαντικότερη την ανάγκη για ΠΓΕ που αφορούν αειφορικές πρακτικές και μεθόδους βιολογικής καταπολέμησης. Ο βαθμός ενδιαφέροντος των γεωργών για συμμετοχή σε ΠΓΕ διαπιστώθηκε ότι αποτελεί συνάρτηση των εκπαιδευτικών ενοτήτων που προσφέρονται μέσα από μια εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία, ενώ υποκινείται κυρίως από κίνητρα αυτοκαταξίωσης. Οι διαφορές στη στάση των γεωργών προς τα χαρακτηριστικά της γεωργικής εκπαίδευσης, που αναδείχθηκαν από την παρούσα έρευνα, υποδεικνύουν την ανάγκη αντικατάστασης της προσέγγισης «ένα μέγεθος για όλους» με την αντίληψη «κατάλληλο σχήμα για κάθε πληθυσμό-στόχο». Τα αποτελέσματα επίσης υποδεικνύουν την προτίμηση των γεωργών για καινούρια, περισσότερο συμμετοχικά μοντέλα μεταφοράς της γνώσης, όπως οι δραστηριότητες αγρού. Ωστόσο, οι παραδοσιακές μέθοδοι διατηρούν την αξία τους για μια σημαντική αναλογία του αγροτικού πληθυσμού. Η έρευνα απέδειξε ότι περίπου οι μισοί γεωργοί δεν εμφανίζονται πρόθυμοι να δαπανήσουν χρήματα και χρόνο περισσότερο από δύο ημέρες για τη συμμετοχή τους σε ΠΓΕ. Ένας σημαντικός παράγοντας πρόβλεψης και των δύο τύπων προθυμίας είναι τα χαρακτηριστικά των εκπαιδευτών, δηλαδή οι ικανότητές τους να εμψυχώνουν και να οργανώνουν τη μαθησιακή διαδικασία. Επιπλέον, τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας τονίζουν τη σπουδαιότητα των αγροτικών κοινωνιών ως δεξαμενών πληροφόρησης, καθώς και την αποτυχία των κρατικών υπηρεσιών να καλύψουν τις απαιτήσεις των παραγωγών για γεωργική γνώση. Η διατριβή ολοκληρώνεται με την καταγραφή των σημαντικών εφαρμογών και προτάσεων που αναδύονται από τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας και αφορούν τους επαγγελματίες και σχεδιαστές των ΠΓΕ, καθώς και τους υπεύθυνους για τη διαχείριση της γεωργικής εκπαίδευσης, ενώ παρουσιάζονται οι περιορισμοί της έρευνας και προτείνονται κατευθύνσεις για μελλοντική έρευνα.

Big data represent a new productive factor (the “new oil” for advocates) that generates new realities in agriculture. By adding an extra “cyber” dimension to current farming systems, big data lead to the emergence of new, complex cyber-physical-social systems. However, our understanding of the sustainability of such systems is still at a rudimental stage. In this critical review we attempt to shed some light on this topic, by identifying and presenting some issues that put in doubt the sustainability of big data agriculture. By using a punctuated equilibria lens, we argue that despite their contribution to the economic and environmental performance of farming, big data act as a speciation mechanism. Hence, they lead to new forms of intraspecific, interspecific and intergeneric competition, thus putting at risk the most vulnerable players of the game. We conclude by pointing out that to holistically address the interrelation between big data and agricultural sustainability we need a hybrid research line, which will combine the qualities of both technology-oriented research and critical social science.

Knowledge production and exchange can enhance the performance of agrifood supply chains (ASCs). However, the mechanisms that facilitate or impede knowledge co-creation within ASCs have not yet been elucidated. In this work, using a systems approach, the authors compare the knowledge systems in two countries with similar characteristics but also major differences in their agrifood sectors: Italy and Greece. In Italy, the analysis indicates a divided but pluralistic system, which facilitates the production and enables the exchange of various types of knowledge. In Greece, the lack of central coordination leads the involved stakeholders to create, test, and share new forms of knowledge. These findings, on the one hand, reveal the ability of interrelated actors to mutually produce context-specific knowledge while, on the other hand, emphasise the importance of creating knowledge spaces within ASCs.

Big data represent a pioneering development in the field of agriculture. By producing intuition, intelligence, and insights, these data have the potential to recast conventional process-driven agriculture, plotting the course for a smarter, data-driven farming. However, many open issues about the use of big data in agriculture remain unanswered. In this work, conceptualizing smart agricultural systems as cyber-physical-social systems, and building upon activity theory, we aim at highlighting some key questions that need to be addressed. To our view, big data constitute a tool reciprocally produced by all the actors involved in the agrifood supply chains. The constant flux of this tool and the intricate nature of the interactions among the actors who share it complicate the translation of big data into value. Moreover, farmers’ limited capacity to deal with data complexity, along with their dual role as producers and users of big data, impedes the institutionalization of this tool at the farm level. Although the approach used left us with more questions than answers, we suggest that unraveling the institutional arrangements that govern value co-creation, capturing the motivations of farmers and other actors, and detailing the direct and indirect effects that big data (and the technologies used to generate them) have in farms are important preconditions for setting forth rules that facilitate the extraction and equal exchange of value from big data.

Research on short food supply chains (SFSCs) has experienced a remarkable growth during recent years, offering ample evidence that the creation of such alternative food distribution networks can bring multiple benefits to both farmers and consumers. Nevertheless, farmers' engagement in SFSCs is still limited in many countries. Two studies designed to illustrate the role of competencies in the development of SFSCs are reported in this paper. The first one assessed the influence of farmers' self-perceived competencies on their willingness to participate in SFSCs. The second examined whether the engagement in SFSCs affects the levels of participants' competency needs. Study 1 revealed that willingness to participate in SFSCs is affected by the levels of farmers' competencies on issues pertaining to management, entrepreneurship, marketing, networking and cooperation. Although other factors such as farmers' citizenship behavior, their environmental concern and the perception that engagement in SFSCs can increase farm income are also associated with this willingness, self-perceived competencies represent the most important set of predictors. Study 2 uncovered that participation in SFSCs increases farmers' needs in all the above-mentioned categories of competencies. Taken together, these results indicate that farmers' competencies significantly affect their involvement in SFSCs, and that engagement in SFSCs augments competency needs, thus highlighting the importance of creating spaces that help farmers develop and exploit new capabilities.

Purpose: Considering current debates on ecosystem services’ effectiveness and the AIS/AKIS functioning, in this study we suggest a new, systemic way to evaluate extension systems (ESs). Using this ...

Simple Summary While agricultural digitalization is viewed as a revolutionary shift that has the potential to regenerate agriculture, it may have disruptive impacts on agricultural extension and advisory organizations. Adaptive or transitional change (morphostasis) can help these organizations survive and achieve their goals through learning to perform their chosen strategies in a different environment. On the other hand, transformative change (morphogenesis) leads organizations to learn by questioning their purposes, value systems, routines, and operating paradigms, and by moving out of their comfort zone. In this conceptual article, we outline these two change pathways, and we present the learning opportunities that they create for extension and advisory organizations. Abstract Agricultural digitalization emerged as a radical innovation, punctuating the gradual evolution of the agrifood sector and having the potential to fundamentally restructure the context within which extension and advisory organizations operate. Digital technologies are expected to alter the practice and culture of animal farming in the future. To suit the changing environmental conditions, organizations can make minor adjustments or can call into question their purposes, belief systems, and operating paradigms. Each pattern of change is associated with different types of organizational learning. In this conceptual article, adopting an organizational learning perspective and building upon organizational change models, we present two potential change and learning pathways that extension and advisory organizations can follow to cope with digitalization: morphostasis and morphogenesis. Morphostatic change has a transitional nature and helps organizations survive by adapting to the new environmental conditions. Organizations that follow this pathway learn by recognizing and correcting errors. This way, they increase their competence in specific services and activities. Morphogenetic change, on the other hand, occurs when organizations acknowledge the need to move beyond existing operating paradigms, redefine their purposes, and explore new possibilities. By transforming themselves, organizations learn new ways to understand and interpret contextual cues. We conclude by presenting some factors that explain extension and advisory organizations’ tendency to morphostasis.

How do agronomists offering advisory support to farmers who practice agroecology construct agroecology-related knowledge, and how does experiential, social, and connectivist learning lead to knowledge creation and facilitate their personal and professional transformation? In this study, following a mixed research design, which combined thematic analysis and simultaneous regressions, and drawing on data from a sample of Greek farm advisors, we sought to answer these questions. Our analysis revealed that the engagement with the praxis of agroecology lays the basis for the development of advisors’ agroecological knowledge. This knowledge is then negotiated and socially reconstructed within the social fabric of agroecological communities. Connectivist knowledge, derived from multiple sources, is also validated within these communities. In its turn, agroecology-related knowledge leads advisors to alter their worldviews, thus transforming their professional and personal selves. These findings confirm that agroecological knowledge has both an experiential and a social dimension. Our results also disclose that advisors facilitate the osmosis of knowledge toward agroecological communities. From a theoretical point of view, our study highlights that by merging different learning theories, we can better depict how agroecological knowledge emerges and evolves.

The quest for agricultural sustainability generates the need to develop functional support schemes aimed at supplying farmers with knowledge, information and appropriate solutions, thus smoothing t...

Purpose Despite the increasing consumers’ intent to support short food networks, the expansion of short food supply chains (SFSCs) remains limited. The purpose of this paper is to identify potential antecedents of farmers’ willingness to participate in SFSCs. Design/methodology/approach Using data from a sample of Greek farmers the authors examined whether farmers’ citizenship behaviour, the levels of their perceived competencies and the degree to which they feel accepted by their communities affect their willingness to engage in SFSCs. Findings Results indicate that producers’ citizenship behaviour does indeed have a positive impact on willingness to participate in SFSCs, whereas their perceptions of the acceptance they enjoy within their communities also significantly predict this willingness. On the contrary, self-perceived lack of communication and collaboration competencies diminishes this willingness. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this study is one of the first attempts to explore the role of farmers’ competencies in their willingness to participate in SFSCs. In addition, by integrating concepts derived from multiple disciplines, our work adds new factors in the wide spectrum of forces that impel or suppress farmers’ willingness to take part in alternative food distribution networks.

This work is based on the conjecture that multiple motivational pathways might lead to the adoption of green innovations. A sequence of two studies was designed to identify motives driving farmers to adopt green innovations. Study 1 aimed at the development of a scale assessing potential adoption motives. Study 2 – using this measure – examined which of these motives predict farmers' adoption behavior. Study 1 uncovered five factors that affect adoption decision: adaptation to the social process of innovation diffusion, environmental concern, convenience, economic incentives and the internal need to pursue change. Study 2 showed that perception of the convenience of an innovation is a significant antecedent of farmers' green innovativeness. Economic drivers, farmers' environmental concern and their need to pursue novelty are also positively associated with aspects of green innovativeness. Our results underscore the multidimensional nature of green innovativeness and generate challenging directions for future research in the field of sustainable development. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

In this study we examine whether Environmental Education (EE) can increase the discipline-specific environmental knowledge of students in a logistics faculty. We also investigate the degree to which logistics students are willing to attend EE classes. Results show that participation in a short EE course supplied students with higher levels of environmental knowledge and a more holistic understanding of the environment, while it also increased their intent to take EE courses. These findings underscore the positive impacts of EE in higher education and suggest that introduction of EE in educational curricula can facilitate the development of environmental thinking among students.

Farmer field schools (FFS) represent an alternative lifelong learning approach aimed at enhancing farmers' competences and skills through nonformal education. In this study we examined if farmers' participation in FFS is motivated by their social-psychological needs and whether these needs can be fulfilled through participation in FFS. Findings revealed that the possibility to participate in FFS is higher for farmers who experience lower levels of closeness and connectedness with their community peers and for those who score low on belongingness satisfaction. Furthermore, our analysis confirmed that FFS attendance increases felt community acceptance and facilitates the satisfaction of the belongingness need.

The COVID-19 outbreak was an unprecedented situation that uncovered forgotten interconnections and interdependencies between agriculture, society, and economy, whereas it also brought to the fore the vulnerability of agrifood production to external disturbances. Building upon the ongoing experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, in this short communication, we discuss three potential mechanisms that, in our opinion, can mitigate the impacts of major crises or disasters in agriculture: resilience-promoting policies, community marketing schemes, and smart farming technology. We argue that resilience-promoting policies should focus on the development of crisis management plans and enhance farmers' capacity to cope with external disturbances. We also stress the need to promote community marketing conduits that ensure an income floor for farmers while in parallel facilitating consumer access to agrifood products when mainstream distribution channels under-serve them. Finally, we discuss some issues that need to be solved to ensure that smart technology and big data can help farmers overcome external shocks.

Purpose: In this study, we use a self-determination theory (SDT) approach to understand farmers’ attitudes toward, and intentions for, participation in competence development projects (CDP).Design/methodology/approach: By applying SDT, we developed two measures. The first one assessed the degree to which the three basic human psychological needs motivate farmers to engage in CDP, and the second concerned farmers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to seek knowledge through participation in CDP. Using data from two samples of farmers, we examined the effect of SDT needs and the influence of the different regulatory styles on individuals’ decision to participate in CDP.Findings: Our findings indicated that participation in CDP is guided by the most internal forms of human motivation (identified, integrated, and intrinsic motivation), and that deficits in the needs for autonomy and competence predict farmers’ decision to participate in CDP.Practical implications: These results stress the importance o...

The challenge of sustainability and the need to secure the production of high-quality, affordable and healthy food, have led to the emergence of alternative food production/distribution schemes that, based on technological or organizational innovation, can increase food production without burdening the environment. Both smart farming and short food supply chains (SFSCs) are considered as promising solutions towards this target. From a theoretical standpoint, the introduction of smart farming technologies into SFSCs could increase the value-generating capacity of short food supply schemes. However, a pivotal question is whether such technologies are compatible with SFSCs. In this study, following a mixed research design, we analyze Greek farmers’ and consumers’ perceptions of the compatibility between smart technologies and SFSCs, and we examine the extent to which compatibility perception affects willingness to engage in “smart SFSCs.” Quantitative results revealed that perceived (in)compatibility is central in predicting this willingness for both farmers and consumers. The qualitative strand of the study uncovered the existence of two different types of compatibility. Actual compatibility refers to the consistency of smart technologies with the technological advancement of farms and the real everyday needs of farmers. Symbolic compatibility relates to the meanings attributed to both SFSCs and smart technologies by farmers and consumers. In sum, the results indicated that smart technologies are viewed as tools that can lead to a conventionalization of SFSCs, thus altering their optimally distinct nature. Policies targeted at the promotion of smart farming should go beyond traditional views of smart technologies as tools that increase farm efficiency, by paying more attention to their compatibility with different “agricultures” and to the ways they can transform farming systems.

This research is prompted by a desire to portray how Thessalian women farmers’ lives have been and are still affected by agrarian, economic, political and social transformations that took place in Greece from 1950 onwards. Using a cueing technique, we collected 2034 autobiographical memories from 74 women farmers. In general, the story our data tell indicates that the progress regarding woman’s position within family and society was slow and erratic, whereas it is still underway, since gender role appropriateness remains a robust construction. The analysis proved that the first signs of change appeared in the 1970s, when the migration from Thessaly to Europe brought about some unprecedented ideas on woman’s social and domestic roles. Other factors, such as the modernization of agriculture in 1980s and the consequent economic flourishing, along with the aura conveyed by the new (female) members of farming communities, and the opening of rural societies in 1990s and 2000s, facilitated this change.

This study, drawing data from 891 women’s autobiographical memories, investigates the changes of woman’s position within the farm family in Thessaly (Greece), during a period of deep sociopolitical and agrarian transformations in the country (1950–2013). The results indicate that at one end of the spectrum woman’s status within the family significantly improved over the period under consideration, while, at the other end, full gender equality remains questionable. Although pervasive patriarchal values of farm family delayed the evolution of her familial position, woman gained a better status after 1980, a progress that, according to analysis, could be viewed as a corollary of both agricultural modernization and the influx of new members and new ideas in the Thessalian rural society. The findings confirm that the improvement of women farmers’ status within family—and society—is a lengthy and difficult process which is hampered by the commitment of farming communities to traditional male-privileged morals and ethics.

Human autobiographical memory, containing information on the self and its sociocultural surroundings, is a unique reservoir of knowledge, valuable in rural social research as well as in several other fields of study. However, the use of autobiographical memories as a source of retrospective information in (rural) social research remains largely underappreciated. This article introduces a five-step guide for designing and implementing research based on individuals’ cued autobiographical memories. The article also briefly outlines some major phenomena associated with human autobiographical memory (reminiscence bump, mood-incongruency, overgeneral memory, telescoping effect) and explains how they can affect a study based on participants’ autobiographical memories.

The aim of this research was to identify the factors affecting women farmers' participation in agricultural education programmes (AEPs) and to investigate the motives and expectations that influence women's willingness to participate in AEPs. Data were drawn from a random sample of women farmers from northern Greece, while a witness sample of male farmers was used to test the moderating effect of gender on the motivation to participate in AEPs. The results of multivariate analysis indicate that the most crucial parameters in the prediction of women's participation in AEPs are those reflecting their level of involvement in agriculture. Compared with men, women farmers report significantly higher levels of motivation to participate in AEPs deriving from self-actualization needs. Interestingly, the findings reveal that the expectation of gaining economic benefits is a far less important predictor of willingness to attend AEPs. The implications for agricultural education administrators, limitations and future research directions are noted.

This mixed research is inspired by our desire to explain why rural women are cautious in their attitudes towards agricultural extension/education. Fifty-two women livestock farmers from Thessaly-Greece were randomly selected to participate in the study. Our results indicate that at one end of the spectrum women express a high willingness to participate in agricultural extension/education programmes, while at the other end this willingness is not translated into participation mainly because of women's perception that agricultural extension/education constitutes a male dominated area. Another key determinant restricting women's participation arises from their low familiarity with education and the unpleasant experiences they recall from school. « J'aimerais participer, mais… » : le scepticisme des agricultrices concernant les programmes de vulgarisation/d’education Ce travail de recherches mixtes s'inspire de notre desir d'expliquer pourquoi les femmes en milieu rural font preuve de circonspection dans leur...

In this article we present and discuss two experiments designed to test the effectiveness of the Internet as a tool of agricultural information. Subjects were cotton producers from Thessaly, Greece. Findings suggest that, in the early stages of an innovation diffusion process, the Internet is more effective than social sources (Experiment 1). However, when urgent situations that force quick decisions occur (Experiment 2), the Internet is significantly less effective than face-to-face communication channels. In both cases, farmers who used the Internet spent more time and devoted extra effort. The experiments proved that agronomists remain the most effective information source. Results also illustrate that Internet adoption is not necessarily synonymous with its use.

Agricultural extension education services (AEES) have three major characteristics that complicate their marketing: first, these are ‘rural services’ that are heavily influenced by the ‘rurality’ of their field of action; second, their aim is to promote intangible behavioural changes which inevitably are considered by the potential customers as risky; third, their orientation is usually non-profit. However, there is a surprising lack of studies regarding the marketing of AEES. The aim of this research is to segment rural population based on the usage rate of public AEES and to depict the relative influence of the importance assigned on both services relationship attributes and motivational drivers to this classification. After a random sampling procedure, 202 peasants from the region of Thessaly, Greece participated in the study. Our findings revealed three segments: the ‘Conveniencers’, who are the heavy users of public AEES; the ‘Analysts’, who, although are regular users of AEES, are light users of public services and assign higher importance to the service delivery attributes; and the grey segment of ‘Objective Hunters’, who are occasional seekers of AEES and are primarily motivated by their expectation to gain benefits related to their farm enterprise. Our findings also demonstrate that public rural services have failed to build sustainable relationships with the rural population.

This study assessed farmers' willingness to pay for and spend time attending an Agricultural Educational Program (AEP). Primary data on the demographic and socio-economic variables of farmers were collected from 355 farmers selected randomly from Northern Greece. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis methods were used in order to meet the objectives of the study. Results showed that about half of the farmers are not willing to spend money and time for more than two days for participation in AEPs, while the Lower Bound Mean for money and time is €74.54 and 5.8 days, respectively. Willingness to pay and to spend time is influenced mainly by the expected benefits from attending an AEP and less by the elements regarding the educational process itself. Moreover, the farmers of the sample were separated into three clusters; ‘Eclectics’ who are middle-spenders and tend to correlate willingness to pay with AEP's internal characteristics; ‘Enthusiasts’, the cluster of heavy-spenders; ‘Reviewers...

This paper attempts to reveal the heterogeneity of Internet users in rural areas. Who is really using the Internet? Is it the farmer or other members of the rural family? Can rural areas be seen as a homogenous space or do different types of Internet users exist? Research is based on both the descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis techniques on a sample of 920 individuals in three administrative regions of rural Greece. Basic findings suggest that less than one out of three rural residents go online. A set of perceived potentials and pitfalls of Internet use are analyzed. Social networking and e-mail are the principal uses of the Internet, classifying users into three distinct types. For “basic users”, Internet access is influenced by income and gender while the “socially interactive users” are influenced by the existence of a young member in the family. For “farm oriented users”, Internet access is influenced by the digital divide between rural and urban location and by farmers' competency. The typology of users along with their perceptions regarding Internet use can provide useful policy insights on the ways that Internet access can contribute to diffusion of innovation and rural development.

There has been an interest in short food supply chain recently which has stemmed from the need of improving the flow both of products and information from suppliers to customers. Although, many tools have been developed in order to increase the performance of supply chain, they haven't succeeded in helping managers make strategic decisions concerning the operations of the short food supply one. In the agrifood sector, practitioners face short food supply chains as integrated systems that incorporate all the processes of traditional supply chains. Thus, decision support systems (DSSs) are required to help managers handle these processes properly. Most of the existing studies focus on the improvement of individual firms or processes more than on the design of an entire food supply chain. So, the purpose of this paper is to propose such a strategic DSS model that based on the Strategic information systems planning (SISP) process, could provide a holistic approach to effective decision making in short supply chain in the agrifood industry. This model supports product managers to improve the effectiveness of food supply operations.