Mountain farming provides high-quality food products due to the peculiar characteristics of the raw materials combined with traditional processing conditions. However, these products and their intrinsic characteristics are not clearly recognized by consumers on the market. Nowadays,

Abstract:Brazil is currently the world's largest sugar producer and exporter, as well as the world's largest producer and consumer of sugarcane ethanol as a transportation fuel. The growth of this market originates from a combination of government policies and technological change, in both the sugarcane ethanol processing sector and the manufacture of flex-fuel vehicles. In recent years however, ethanol production has been questioned due to its possible impact on food prices. The present paper aims to explore the impact of Brazilian ethanol prices on sugar and gasoline prices. The relationships between a times series of these prices are investigated using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), supported by Granger Causality tests. In addition, Impulse Response Functions (IRFs) and Forecast Error Variance Decompositions (FEVD) are computed in order to investigate the dynamic interrelationships within these series. Our results suggest that ethanol prices are affected by both food and fuel prices, but that there is no strong evidence that changes in ethanol prices have an impact on food prices.

The current agri-food supply chain is affected by different problems such as food loss and waste generation along the supply chain, and the circular economy offers a possibility to enhance and optimize the production and consumption to seek to a sustainable paradigm. The circular economy can be a winning approach to intervene and moderate the impacts generated in the agri-food sector, proposing actions and solutions to readmit wastes and by-products in the productive chain. The aim of this work was to perform a literature review coupled with a bibliometric analysis, using VOSviewer software, on the circular economy model in the agri-food sector, with particular relevance to the reuse and valorisation of wastes and by-products. Results showed that the topic is of particular relevance in the scientific community, and the concept is continuously evolving. Europe plays a leading role in the research, thanks to the involvement of the Member States, policy makers and stakeholders. Nevertheless, some aspects such as the development of a new economic circular model and some limitations of the current policies deserve further investigation.

Milk consumption has been on the decline for decades. Part of the cause for this is due to changes in consumer behavior and interest in healthy eating. The aim of this study was to estimate the premium price that consumers are willing to pay for A2 milk. A2 milk is a newcomer type of product containing only A2 beta-casein that is spreading in many countries of the world as a functional food. In addition, it is produced by traditional breeds of cattle that are adapted to the marginal areas and could be a virtuous model of the sustainable management system to which the consumer lately seems to turn in an increasingly conscious way. To accomplish this aim, contingent valuation has been used, which permits using a survey and a direct estimation of the premium price that consumers are willing to pay (WTP). The question format used is a dichotomous choice valuation based on a double-bound model. Statistical analysis was carried out using descriptive statistical analysis. The empirical results reveal that consumers are willing to pay a premium for A2 milk. In addition, individuals interested in product quality and already buying functional products are attracted to this type of product.

The acceleration of Digital Agriculture is evident through the increased adoption of digital technologies on farms including smart machines, sensors and cloud computing. In this paper we present the preliminary results of the research project funded by Università Politecnica delle Marche in 2018 “PFRLab: Setting of a precision farming robotic laboratory for cropping system sustainability and food safety and security”, which is still underway. In this context, as first result, an interdepartmental Research and Services Center called “Smart Farming” has been set up with the aim to strengthen multidisciplinary collaborations in the fields of Agriculture and Forestry, Geomatics, ICT and Robotics. Regarding field activities the SPAD 502 as well as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) provide a good estimate of the Chlorophylla+b content in durum wheat leaves so can be used to predict in a quickly and non-destructively way, the crop greenness status and to identify any nutritional deficiencies in real time. Future research activities are certainly needed to fully explore the potentialities of conservation agriculture and precision farming, and to drive the transition process from conventional agriculture to modern conservation agriculture and precision farming techniques. In-depth studies are planned on the combined effect of nitrogen fertilization and soil management on the main production variables of durum wheat in order to evaluate whether specific tools for precision agriculture applications can find significant diffusion even in Mediterranean cereal based cropping systems.