No abstract

Abstract:Sicily has a long tradition in citrus fruit cultivations that with vineyard and olive tree represent the main Mediterranean tree crops. In this paper we have evaluated the economic and financial sustainability of lemon production, both in organic farming and in conventional farming; the two systems differing just for inputs utilized in production process. Economic analysis has been carried out in a representative case study located in the Sicilian northwestern coast, considering an orchard economic life equal to 50 years. Results, which referred to one hectare area, showed both a higher economic and financial sustainability of organic farming respect to conventional farming. The higher profitability of organic farming was due to minor labor requirement and to greater market appreciation for organic products that granted a premium price respect to conventional prices. Moreover, greater profitability of organic farming and use of environmentally friendly inputs in production process make farms competitive and eco-friendly.

Abstract:The production of energy from renewable sources is a form of energy production that has less impact on the environment than the traditional one. For the farmer this new form of production represents an opportunity, especially for the economic benefits that can produce, both in terms of the incentives provided by the public operator and for higher revenues, deriving from the sale of energy back to the grid and/or the savings generated by self-consumed energy, that help to increase the farmer's income. In this paper, we analyzed a case study of a farm that has realized a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system on a greenhouse. In particular, firstly the farm profitability has been estimated and subsequently, in order to assess the efficiency of the energy policy adopted by the Second Conto Energia in Italy, the minimum incentive tariff at which the entrepreneur has an economic advantage to realize a PV system has been determined. Results show that PV system relegates to a marginal role the cultivation of agricultural products compared to energy production and that government PV remuneration policies far outweigh the minimum threshold that makes the investment advantageous.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This study presents the results of research carried out on a Sicilian wine farm in order to demonstrate the economic convenience of the mechanized harvest. After the determination of the minimum optimal farm size that justifies the introduction of grape harvester in the farm, it has been estimated production cost and the relative profitability of two wine grape cultivars (Chardonnay and Nero d'Avola), comparing three hypotheses of harvest: manual, with farm property grape harvester and with rented grape harvester. The economic analysis shows that the introduction of the grape harvester in the wine farm is justified in large sized farms. However, even in small farms the use of rented grape harvester decreases the harvest costs, increasing profit and achieving a cost advantage for the wine-producer farm.

Today the short supply chain can be carried out through several typologies which are called as alternative food networks (AFNs). In fact, according to some studies, it is an ‘alternative’ response to the dominant agro-food system, which offers the possibility to produce food products through supply chains that are opposed to long, complex and rationally organised industrial chains. In the last years many European farmers adopted short supply chain to commercialise their agro-food products and Italy is one of the EU members in which AFNs are developed, thanks to its numerous typical an local products. The aim of this paper has been to analyse the role that AFNs play in Sicilian farms and how the short food supply chains are able to valorise endogenous resources of rural areas and, consequently, the economic viability of farmers which seek to regain value along food supply chain. Results showed that AFNs have positive effects on entrepreneurs that adopted them and on the development of rural territory, even if a synergic agreement between producers and local institutions appears necessary