Silvia Novelli

Planning Rural Landscapes: A Participatory Approach to Analyse Future Scenarios in Monferrato Astigiano, Piedmont, Italy

Abstract The future of rural landscapes in Europe is the subject of considerable debate between policy-makers and researchers. This paper aims to analyse public awareness of social, economic and political forces affecting future rural landscapes in an effort to support local planning policies implementing the European Landscape Convention in a rural landscape (Piedmont, Italy). Public consultation with two focus groups (Institutional Stakeholders and Civil Society Stakeholders) was set up to reveal personal perceptions. In the first part, the main driving forces affecting local landscape transformations were identified and their likely effects were discussed with the participants. Participants’ preferences regarding three alternative future scenarios were analysed in the second part. Results confirmed the complexity of a shared decision-making process in planning rural landscapes. Not only did the two groups differ in expectation, perception and attitude, but also in their interpretation of the landscape scenarios.

Italian Consumers’ Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Organic Beef

In this paper the results of a study aimed to assess prospective consumers’ behavior concerning organic beef, with particular emphasis on consumers’ willingness to pay for it, are presented. The study is based on a random telephone survey conducted in 2001, in the Piedmont Region. The results suggest that a large share of consumers are willing to buy organic beef even at prices appreciably higher than prices of regular meat, and the maximum prices at which they are prepared to purchase organic meat are quite high. Preferred selling modalities mainly depend on present purchasing habits. Organic beef directly cut by butchers would be preferred to packaged and labeled beef. Organic beef might therefore gain an appreciable market share. The reasons for its present scarce consumption are probably due to the supply side of the market.

Willingness-to-pay in terms of price: an application to organic beef during and after the “mad cow” crisis

This paper aims at assessing consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay for organic beef, an obvious alternative to regular beef in terms of safety, both immediately and at a longer term after the BSE crisis. It is based on two random telephone surveys in an Italian region, the first one conducted in 2001 (few months after the BSE crisis) and the second one in 2003. The analysis is based on an innovative methodology of contingent valuation, keeping into account the possibility for consumers to decide the quantity of their purchase when a price is proposed. The results show that though the effect of the BSE crisis weakened along with time distance, it left some permanent signs in consumers’ behaviour. The main conclusion is that the demand for organic beef reduced, but that in the meantime it became more inelastic.

The Economic Viability of Solidarity Purchase Groups (Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale)

New forms of governance for collective food distribution such as Solidarity Purchase Groups claim to be based on ethical and solidarity logics and motivations. Non-market logics shape these groups’ organization and their members’ participation. Volunteers supply the labour for the distribution activities, which is arguably a key element for the groups’ economic viability. The value of voluntary work is an unpaid cost item but can also be viewed as an alternative monetary measure of the value of participation for the members. Novelli and Corsi present the results of an empirical analysis of the balances of several SPGs, finding that unpaid volunteer work is an indicator of the strength of the participants’ motivations and is indeed a crucial factor for the groups’ long-term economic viability.

Determinants of Farmers’ Participation in AFNs

In this chapter Corsi, Novelli, and Pettenati analyse the reasons that lead farmers to adopt direct selling or more generally AFNs, distinguishing between on-farm and off-farm direct sales. The issue is discussed first from a theoretical perspective. Next, empirical evidence is presented, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using census data, the determinants of the choice to sell directly on-farm and off-farm are analysed on the basis of farm structural characteristics, farmers’ personal characteristics, and geographical explanatory variables. Then the results of an in-depth qualitative analysis of individual motivations carried out with a focus group of local producers are presented. The results highlight the technical constraints to the adoption of the direct chains as well as the subjective motivations, both monetary and non-monetary.

Determinants of Participation in AFNs and Its Value for Consumers

In this chapter Corsi and Novelli discuss consumers’ motivations for participating in AFNs. Some consumers are self-interested and look for healthier food, lower prices, better quality, and food freshness and taste. Others have social, political, and environmental concerns. Lastly, personal relationships can count in the decision to join AFNs. These motivations can coexist in the same consumers and have different strength. This chapter discusses the relevant literature and presents the results of three empirical investigations assessing and quantifying the strength of consumers’ commitment to the AFNs. The first analyses the determinants of consumers’ choice to buy from farmers’ stands in urban district markets. The second estimates consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) to buy from farmers. The third estimates Solidarity Purchase Groups members’ WTP for participating in their group.

Introduction to Part III: AFNs from the Producers’ Viewpoint

After illustrating the long-term trends that led to the birth of AFNs, this chapter discusses producers’ participation in AFNs, their motivations and behaviour. The most obvious motivation for producers’ participation in AFNs is arguably income, but subjective preferences and social and environmental motivations can play a role. Their coexistence and the social interplay among participants are addressed by three studies presented in the chapter. One analyses the objective and observable variables favouring direct sales by farmers, their subjective motivations and the effects of participation on the farm setting. The second examines how the operation of Solidarity Purchase Groups is based on members’ voluntary work. The third assesses producers’ strategies in setting quality and prices within the social relationships in a farmer market.