The Agroecological Approach as a Model for Multifunctional Agriculture and Farming towards the European Green Deal 2030—Some Evidence from the Italian Experience

Abstract

Agroecology can be considered an approach to farming and food systems which integrates the use of ecological principles and biological cycles methods of the traditional systems to the design and management of sustainable agriculture. Despite some differences mainly due to specific national developments on the topic, today there is a substantial convergence in the belief that the term agroecology reconciles three dimensions: scientific discipline, social movement, cultural practice. Beyond the deep-rooted French experience, at the level of the European Union (EU) there is no clear strategy for agroecological practices and action plans. In the Italian case, a first step forward, especially in terms of initiatives, was taken following the universal exhibition “EXPO 2015 Milan” while with respect to the promotion of agroecological practices, some positive feedback is ascribable to the experience of the Bio-districts. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the model adopted by the Italian multifunctional farms can be considered precursory with respect to the approach that, from a theoretical point of view, identifies agroecology. The Italian system on farms diversification would seem to show it has somehow anticipated the new European Green Deal strategy for the next ten years due to the simultaneous presence of key elements that concern not only agricultural practice but also ethical and social aspects by involving farmers and communities that insist on the territory. Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies recognize a new and important role for the agriculture and agri-food sectors and to invite farmers to engage consumers’ interest. The study also considers some characteristics of the farmers, such as the level of education and the economic sector in which they were employed before devoting themselves to the agritourism business but also the ability to develop multi-actor and multi-level networks. The analysis of these determinants would allow them to place different professional skills at the service of the primary sector that tend to positively influence the organization and farm performance. At the same time, the farmers’ skills are influenced by different sectors of activity such as participation in research projects or even in local initiatives with public and private actors. This allows the agroecological approach to be put into practice in a conscious (or unconscious) way.

Bio-districts and the territory: evidence from a regression approach

“…In the light of the agroecology concept, some authors have tried to find similarities between Italian multifunctional farms characteristics with agroecological principles, confirming some common points between these two approaches (Gargano et al, 2021), in a bio-district territory. Similarly, Guareschi et al (2020) investigate if bio-district can contribute to scale-up towards agroecological agriculture in the context of Parma bio-district, finding that it facilitates a relationship between organic and agroecological agriculture, diffusing organic agriculture although some weaknesses of bio-district tool remain, among which the difficulty of governing a territory and participatory processes with many stakeholders.…”

“…However, to date there are still few studies on the subject. The topics dealt with focus mainly on narration or the comparison of case studies (Belliggiano et al, 2019;Favilli et al, 2020;Pugliese et al, 2015;Stotten et al, 2017) on the definition and identification of tools to classify bio-districts and eco-regions (Franco and Pacino, 2015;Pugliese et al, 2016;Zanasi et al, 2020), on the construction of social networks that characterize the bio-districts (Dias et al, 2021), on the implementation of the bio-district tool using the agroecological (Dara Guccione and Sturla, 2021;Gargano et al, 2021;Guareschi et al, 2020) and the circular economy approach (Poponi et al, 2021).…”

Transition to Organic Farming: A Case from Hungary

“…As such, adaptation is considered a key factor that should shape the future severity of climate change impacts on food production [105]. The greatest benefits are likely to come from more radical agro-ecological measures that strengthen the resilience of farmers and rural communities [106]. Among these, the development of organic practices could be a solution, as organic is now a concrete response with respect to mitigation and adaptation policies [21].…”

Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation

“…The ongoing global climate changes and the ever-increasing world population impose the adoption of agroecological or eco-sustainable production techniques to increase the resilience of the most fragile agrosystems [1]. For this reason, from many directions, a multidisciplinary scientific paradigm is increasingly suggested to better approach the complex problems concerning soil protection and sustainable agriculture [1][2][3].…”