New Value to Wool: Innovative Garments for Preservation of Sheep Landraces in Italy

Abstract

In Basilicata, southern Italy, a sheep landrace jeopardized of extinction is Gentile di Puglia due to low production levels, low market values of milk and meat, and replacement of wool with synthetic fibers. Due to these dynamics farmers progressively resort to intensive breeding systems, hence causing the gradual disappearance of the ovine sector, the withering of traditional breeding culture and the abandonment of internal and marginal territories. However, in changing climate, traditional agriculture is getting increased attention worldwide by the consumers who are embracing emerging sustainable food production. Thus, in the light of a possible conservation strategy, the study investigates the prospective market for a garment (pullover) produced with wool from Gentile di Puglia, and woven through traditional techniques. An integrated methodological approach based on choice experiments and Bass diffusion model was carried out in order to analyze the consumers’ preferences, the penetration market of this innovative product and the new wool value for farmers. The results pointed out a potential demand focused on women aged 50 years and more and a recognized wool value to farmers of 55 € animal−1 (22 € kg−1). This new revenue could allow the reduction of the difference in gross margin between the Gentile di Puglia and the non-autochthonous intensively-farmed Comisana from 57% to 3%. The production of further wool garments for a wider demand could increase the economic sustainability of Gentile di Puglia, making it even more preferable than other highly productive breeds.

Pastoralism, multifunctionality, and environmental agency: Insights from mountain sheep pastoralists in Northern Portugal

“…Wool, for instance, was a valuable product before the spread of synthetic fibres and still represented an appreciable additional income to sheep farms in Braganza as little as 10 years ago. The local wool price currently tends towards the zero mark, in response to the worldwide structural trends in the garment industry (Sardaro & La Sala, 2021;Sendyka & Makovicky, 2018), but sheep farmers still perceive the situation as temporary and are stocking it for better days. Milk, conversely, is not widely produced by local Terrincha farmers from the Terra Quente of Trásos-Montes, while the cheese market has matured, and cheese is undersupplied in Portugal (Gonçalves Fernandes et al, 2017).…”

Efficiency of the Integrated Production Systems: Evidence from the Winegrowing Firms in Italy

“…If these approaches limit the economic performance, interventions are desirable through strategies aimed at rebalancing public costs and benefits with the private counterparts. Lacking corrective approaches, firms risk exiting the market in the short-medium term [66]. Advantages also concern consumers, since producers are able to identify and overcome possible economic hot spots caused by integrated production systems, with positive impacts on the selling prices.…”

New Strategies for Conservation of Gentile di Puglia Sheep Breed, an Autochthonous Capital of Millennial Tradition in Southern Italy

“…Local breeds are important for the area in which they are reared, combining their adaptation and resilience to the territory with the production of unique and inimitable typical products [4]. Moreover, autochthonous breeds represent the historical and cultural heritage of their territory and inhabitants [1].…”

“…Moreover, no statistically significant difference was observed in the rate of matured oocytes exhibiting a P/S mitochondrial distribution pattern, indicating that in our culture, most MII oocytes reached cytoplasmic maturation, regardless of the sheep's breed and origin. Interestingly, oocyte ∆Ψ, ROS levels, and he overlap coefficient were shown to be lower in GdPs, usually reared under pasture-based farming systems, compared to commercial sheep breeds, mainly managed under semi-intensive practices with feeding based on industrial fodder and concentrates [4]. Some studies have investigated the correlation between oocyte bioenergetic-oxidative status and unbalanced nutritional intakes in animal models, showing that high-fat, high-fat/high-sugar, or low0protein dietary regimes could increase ROS production and alter oocytes' mitochondrial membrane potential [65][66][67][68][69].…”

“…Gentile di Puglia (GdP), literally "Gentle Apulian" because of its fine wool, is an autochthonous sheep breed of millenary origins on the Southern Italy territory, mainly bred in the area of Foggia (Tavoliere delle Puglie and Monti Dauni) [2,3]. GdP is characterized by its aptitude for wool, meat, and milk production and has been shown to be genetically adapted and resilient to the environmental conditions of marginal areas where it is normally reared [4]. In the last 50 years, due to the wool market crisis and indiscriminate crossbreeding, a significant numerical contraction has been observed in this local ovine breed [3].…”