Transitioning towards Organic Farming: Perspectives for the Future of the Italian Organic Wine Sector

Abstract

In recent years, after the publication of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production and the labelling of organic products, all stakeholders have been considering threats and opportunities in the development of the organic food and beverage sector. The aim of the study outlined in this paper was to analyse the development prospects of the Italian organic wine sector in light of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) environmental and climate objectives. Specifically, the study focussed on applying a System Dynamics Approach (SDA) and a Network Analysis in order to explain how the most relevant social–economic determinants of the national organic wine sector are in all likelihood influencing the hoped-for shift from conventional to organic production. Such conversion appeared to be worth exploring because, despite the increasing global demand for organic wine, the economic effects on the entire system are still somewhat unclear from a dynamic perspective. The results of the study clearly demonstrated that public policies and regulatory actions at the national and European level will continue to be very influential for the future of the national organic wine system. Different development pathways, such as groups of operators and the adoption of the new national certification system for the sustainability of the entire wine supply chain, should be undertaken by Italian “small wine operators” in order to gain international markets.

Cooperatives and sustainability drivers in the Spanish wine sector. What differences do we find with investor owner firms?

“…However, in the case of the IOFs, all of the resources are aligned and are significant, which highlights the lower commitment of the cooperatives to sustainability (Marcis et al, 2019;Richter & Hanf, 2021a;Sexton & Iskow, 1993;Cook, 2018). The lower orientation of resources towards organic wine than towards the carbon footprint and CSR can be observed both in cooperatives and in IOFs, coinciding with the study by Varia et al (2021), which indicates a lower commitment of companies to organic wine as there is a part of the market that undervalues it and defines it as a lower-quality product (Delmas & Lessem, 2017).…”

A behavioural perspective of organic wine production decisions: an application to the Spanish wine industry

“…The norms of organic wine production (i.e. rules or regulations) have usually been examined using the institutional framework (Varia et al., 2021). To some extent, the Transaction Cost Economics framework which deals with the cost of participating in the organic markets (e.g.…”

“…No longer a new phenomenon, organic wine production is becoming more common, in particular for smaller wineries (Marco-Lajara et al ., 2023; Veccio et al ., 2023). Indeed, organic production is identified as “the centre of debate on the so-called “green architecture” of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)” (Varia et al. , 2021).…”

The Transition of the Agro-Food System: Lessons from Organic Farming in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

“…This imbalance puts the organic production at a huge disadvantage in terms of the selection environment [25], as pointed out by the agents involved. Urgent political action and policy reform is required to make the competition between the two modes fairer [31][32][33].…”