“Ambidexterity”: trump card for farm's innovativeness and competitiveness

PurposeThe paper aims to analyze the relevance of networking and social capital in promoting the adoption of sustainable innovation, then reinforcing trajectories of multifunctional agriculture. It puts forwards a systemic perspective by focusing on agricultural knowledge and innovation systems. More precisely, we share the idea of “micro agricultural knowledge and innovation systems”, by addressing ambidexterity as engine for boosting sustainable innovation.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical analysis is focused on sustainable innovation adopted by young farmers in Italy and on the mediation effect of ambidextrous relations in performing innovation adoption. Ambidextrous relations are analyzed within at the micro-AKIS level, through the lens of social capital. Relationships between social capital and innovation adoption are statistically measured.FindingsThe analysis shows how ambidexterity develops a mediation effect, with a strong impact on the farm's innovative capacity. Actually, our results confirm that ambidextrous relations reveal good performance and stimulate innovation and, consequently, farms' competitiveness, alongside the path of multifunctional agriculture. As a consequence, the relevance of networking activity in adoption of sustainable innovation may address possible policy action with the aim to strengthen ambidexterity and farm's innovativeness.Originality/valueThe paper tries to fill a gap in literature, by focusing on micro-AKIS which are explored through the lens of social capital.

HEREDITARY FARMING: A SYNERGY PANEL IN THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY

The use of the potential of the land and the natural resources of the new generations in the separate regions are the main prerequisite and basis for the development of a certain type of multifunctional agriculture. The process of continuity should be seen as a process and not as a one-off action or event. The aim of the study is to analyze the process of inheritance in agriculture, as a socio-economic method for ensuring the viability of rural areas. The analysis is based on empirical evidence - cases from family farms and young heirs in rural areas of Bulgaria. The transfer of farm management to the next generation must be organized. Otherwise, the alternative is clear: resettlement from rural areas, a rapidly aging population and insufficient young people to enter the sector. Recognizing the importance of continuity, the Common Agricultural Policy provides training and funding to encourage young people to engage in agricultural activities.

Farming Systems Changes in the Urban Shadow: A Mixed Approach Based on Statistical Analysis and Expert Surveys

Due to the growth of the “urban shadow”, farming systems in metropolitan areas (MAs) are characterized by specific environmental, economic, and social pressures. Urbanization pressure and its related threats, as well as the opportunities resulting from a convenient location close to consumers’ markets, cause rapid farming systems changes. The present study provides a quali-quantitative overview of change in farming systems in selected Polish metropolitan areas. Various statistical methods were applied to analyze changes in farming systems. First, farming system changes were characterized for the study area by the exploratory factor analysis. In addition, experts’ opinions (qualitative data) on changes in farming systems until 2027 are presented. The research conducted showed that there are a few main patterns in changes to/adaptations of farming systems: Horizontal growth of farms, farmland concentration, process of specialization (horticulture, orchards), trajectories towards more multifunctional farming practices (off-farm diversification, as well as “deepening” and “broadening” strategies), reduction of livestock farming, deintensification and farmland abandonment. Those processes vary in space, and they are only partially explained in terms of distance to the core city (location). Experts forecast that the identified trends will continue, paying attention to the growing importance of multifunctional agriculture and the intensification of recessive processes, including farmland abandonment and excessive deintensification of production. According to the experts surveyed, most farmers will continue to apply traditional development strategies, which will be ineffective without the possibility of increasing the area of farms.

Technical efficiency and productivity of farms: a periurban case study analysis

Periurban farming systems are characterized by the need to adapt the farming practices coping with a modified natural and social environment. Questions are thus posed on the efficient use of the inputs. The purpose of this study is to estimate the technical efficiency and the productivity of periurban farms. To do so, the study employs a data envelopment analysis that properly captures the heterogeneity of the periurban farming system. The sample considered livestock and crop farms, located in the South Milan Agricultural Park, where 50 farms were selected and interviewed. Results show that crop farms are more efficient than livestock farms, but they have a less productive technology. The participation in short food supply chains and the multifunctional agriculture does not affect the levels of technical efficiency of the farms. Policies are thus needed to improve the education level of farmers and to sustain the efficiency of farms that diversify the farm’s economy.

Cross-Border Cooperation Concept in Multifunctional Agriculture under RIS3

Multifunctional agriculture holds several potentials for applying new technologies and innovative processes to reduce its environmental impact in line with the European Green Deal. Though, new cooperation concepts are a sufficient tool to enhance these potentials, using interdisciplinary and cross-border approaches. Hence, Regional Innovation Strategies on Smart Specialization (RIS3) can play a key role on political level to foster regional innovation development on agriculture in rural areas. By analysing Smart Specialization priority areas, potential crossovers between this innovation policy and actual implementation in practice can be deduced for cross-border cooperation approaches. Thus, the conducted research offers a comparison of priorities for German regions involved into the RUBIN program as use cases, supporting rural and less developed regions. Through these introduced use cases and strategy analysis, the inductive and deductive research offers a cross-border cooperation concept for legume food production, exploiting spillover effects to other priorities related to multifunctional agriculture. The core element of the concept is the introduction of knowledge hubs with an interdisciplinary view to enhance and apply innovation potentials in line with RIS3, which create positive effects on the environmental impact from the start with legume as raw materials until an improvement of its product portfolio for consumption at the end.

New, regenerative approaches to sustainability : Redefining ecosystem functions, environmental management, and heritage conservation

The international conference “Sustainable Management of Cultural Landscapes in the context of the European Green Deal”, held in Santo Stefano di Camastra (Sicily, Italy) on November 9-14, 2021. aimed to shed light on those environmental, social, economic, and cultural problems of interactions between humankind and its natural environment, which cannot be answered through one single discipline but only by applying a multidisciplinary system approach, built on applied Earth System Science intimately interwoven with social sciences, economics and heritage science. The structure of the Congress mirrored this concept since the overlapping areas of sessions encouraged interdisciplinary thinking and practical approach to the key issues of regional development such as ecosystem protection, green infrastructures, sustainable and multifunctional agriculture, circular economy, renewable energy, regeneration, and conservation of natural environments and conservation of cultural heritage.

Sustainable development of agriculture - theoretical aspects and their implications

The objective is to provide a systematization of concepts connected with sustainable development of agriculture (SDA) as the basis for indication of directions of changes in Polish agriculture. The author applied descriptive and comparative analyses based on a survey of the literature to indicate the differences between the described concepts. Both sustainable agricultural and rural development (SARD) and multifunctional rural development (MRD) could be connected with reduced agricultural production, which would bring positive and negative environmental consequences. The multifunctional agriculture cannot exist without production, so it is more favourable for SD, however it should be based on environmental requirements. Then it is close to sustainable agriculture. Considering these concepts, the author formulated and used his own definition of the SDA and its objectives. The sensitive rule of sustainability with secured critical natural capital is the proper one for agriculture in Poland. Currentl , Polish agriculture is in dual development (industrialisation and sustainable transition). For the SDA, the support for agriculture should be conditioned by compliance with basic environmental standards and by provision of public goods. It depends on properly directed and effectively implemented environmental and economic measures of the CAP.