Cristina Salvioni

Structural and economic dynamics in diversified Italian farms

Objective of this work is to investigate the structural change and economic dynamics of farms pursuing diversification and differentiation strategies in Italy. The analysis was performed on a panel of data built on the basis of information collected by the Italian FADN between 2003-2009. For the purpose of the analysis, we divid- ed the population of commercial Italian farms into a five-fold farm typology based on size and the extent of diversification and differentiation strategies adopted by the farms. In detail, farms are defined as differentiated when they make use of a system of quality certification, while they are defined as diversified when they take up non- farming activities (agritourism, social farms etc.). The findings show that conventional farms remain by far the largest category within the population of Italian commer- cial farms, while only 13% of the total commercial farms are classified as differenti- ated and/or diversified. Farms adopting product differentiation strategies are found to have an income growth path similar to that of conventional farms. Yet the category of diversified farms is the only one showing an upward trend with regard to income per worker in the observed years, while farms relying entirely on agricultural products appear to perform poorly in terms of labour productivity.

Off- and On-Farm Labour Participation in Italian Farm Households

Most farms are family business, both in developed and developing countries. Labour allocation choices of farm household members are therefore relevant both for production choices in the farm and for rural labour markets. In particular, off-farm work and combination of on- and off-farm work (pluriactivity) are viewed as an efficient allocation of household labour resources. Moreover, labour choice of the children of the farm household is relevant for farm succession. In this article, we extend previous literature by estimating in an unified framework labour participation choices both for on- and off-farm work for operators, spouses and their eldest children in working age, using a five equation multivariate probit.

Once part-timer always part-timer? Causes for persistence in off farm work state of farmers

Off-farm labour participation is an important way in which farm households adapt their labour resources to farm labour needs, and is often viewed as an income integration and an insurance against risk. Nevertheless, it has also been questioned as a step for exiting agriculture. It is therefore important to assess whether or not it is a permanent status and which are its determinants. Most papers on this issue are based on cross-sectional analyses and thus disregard the problem of persistence in the state. Using a 5-wave panel of Italian family farms we estimate different dynamic nonlinear panel data models of the determinants of off-farm labour participation. We allow for two sources of persistence: unobserved heterogeneity and state dependence, and in addition we control for the initial conditions problem. We find a strong persistence in the state and our findings show that, when taking all these features into account, the present work state is almost totally explained by the previous state and by idiosyncratic characteristics. The variables concerning the farm and the farmer’s characteristics, typically found to be relevant in cross-sectional analyses, are not significant in the dynamic setting. The reasons for the inconsistency between our results and those of cross-sectional studies are discussed, and an interpretation of how the determinants influence the off-farm labour participation is presented. The distinction between true state dependence and individual heterogeneity has important policy implications that are discussed.

Diversification strategies in small farms in Italy.

Using the data gathered by the Business Survey on Agriculture survey on a stratified random sample of Italian farm businesses below 4 European economic size units as a case study, this paper explores the diffusion of diversification strategies among small farms. The analysis has shown that more than a half of small farms is adopting some form of diversification. Small farms are more strongly involved in pluriactivity, while their involvement in broadening and deepening strategies appears only marginal. This latter result is partly due to the underevaluation of diversification caused by the lack of detailed statistical information about diversified activities used by farms, and, partly, due to the structural characteristics of small farms. Smaller farms are usually characterized by a lack of capital; as a consequence they can often redeploy only their labour off the farm. The characteristics associated with the targeted group of farms show that small farms using broadening strategies present much better economic results than conventional small farms. More specifically, farms using broadening strategies appear to be the winning ones in terms of net farm income per family working unit.

Modelling spatial regimes in farms technologies

We exploit the information derived from geographical coordinates to endogenously identify spatial regimes in technologies that are the result of a variety of complex, dynamic interactions among site-specific environmental variables and farmer decision making about technology, which are often not observed at the farm level. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity is a fundamental challenge in empirical research, as failing to do so can produce model misspecification and preclude causal inference. In this article, we adopt a two-step procedure to deal with unobserved spatial heterogeneity, while accounting for spatial dependence in a cross-sectional setting. The first step of the procedure takes explicitly unobserved spatial heterogeneity into account to endogenously identify subsets of farms that follow a similar local production econometric model, i.e. spatial production regimes. The second step consists in the specification of a spatial autoregressive model with autoregressive disturbances and spatial regimes. The method is applied to two regional samples of olive growing farms in Italy. The main finding is that the identification of spatial regimes can help drawing a more detailed picture of the production environment and provide more accurate information to guide extension services and policy makers.

Chapter 9 The Emergence of New Development Trajectories in Italian Farms

The persistence of different farm types in Italian agriculture shows that productivism is not the only possible development path that farms can follow, and that farms can successfully adopt strategies based on diversification rather than standardization of production.The aim of this work is to provide evidence about the diffusion of different diversification and differentiation strategies in Italian agriculture, and to compare the characteristics associated with the targeted groups of farms, as well as their structural and economic evolution over time.The analysis is performed on a panel of data built on the basis of information collected by the Italian FADN over the 2003–2009 period. For the purpose of the analysis we divided the population of Italian commercial farms into a fivefold innovative farm typology based on the extent of diversification and differentiation strategies adopted by farms.The findings show that conventional farms are still by far the largest category within the population of Italian commercial farms, while only 13% of total commercial farms is classified as differentiated and/or diversified. Conventional farms are also the best off in terms of economic results. As for the differentiated and/or diversified farms, their structures are still changing, their profitability is improving and they follow a more sustained income growth path than conventional ones.The analysis highlights that diversification and differentiation are not necessarily a viable solution to the low-income problem faced by many farms. Future research is needed to better understand the relationship between diversification strategies and policies.

Assetti proprietari e organizzativi delle imprese agricole italiane

Questo lavoro propone un’analisi dei cambiamenti che stanno interessando gli assetti proprietari e organizzativi delle aziende agricole italiane. Viene analizzata la recente evoluzione delle forme societarie nell’agricoltura italiana, evidenziando l’accelerazione del processo di transizione da imprese familiari verso forme societarie collettive. Attraverso i microdati Rica vengono individuate le principali combinazioni di assetti proprietari e di gestione attualmente utilizzati e si testa quali fattori influenzino la scelta della loro adozione. I risultati ottenuti confermano l’ipotesi che la crescita delle dimensioni aziendali e la specializzazione in produzioni ad alta intensita di capitale favoriscano la transizione ad assetti complessi.

Il modello Meg-Ismea per l'analisi delle politiche agricole

The Meg-Ismea Model for Analysis of Italy’s Agricultural Policies - The ai of this study isanalysis of the Meg-Ismea general economic equilibrium model for the Italian economy constructed in order to evaluate the impacts of agriculture policies on the behaviour of economic agents and in particular on the welfare of households. The model was developed with a micro-macro approach that allows for micro and macro evaluation of impacts maintaining coherence between the aggregate behaviour of the representative agent and the heterogeneous behaviour of the agents in the market. The model has been validated by studying its behaviour with two experiments that assess ex ante the impact of hypothetical international trade and fiscal reforms on Italian agriculture.