ABSTRACT
Dairy products play a significant role in the human diet, but they are often associated with high freshwater resource depletion. In Italy, the dairy sector represents more than 12% of the total turnover of the agri-food sector. Trentino Alto Adige is the first Italian region in terms of number of dairy farms, but it does not register a quantitatively consistent dairy production. Notwithstanding, it is characterized mostly by small-scale farms whose strengths are the Protected Designations of Origin and typical mountain productions. The present study aims at: (i) accounting for the virtual water VW of the main dairy products (milk, butter and cheese) produced in Trentino Alto Adige; (ii) estimating the renewable water resources based on the water flow assessment of the study area; (iii) assessing water sustainability comparing the virtual water consumption of the dairy sector at a regional level to the water availability. The findings show that the consumptive virtual water related to dairy production represents about 1% of the water availability in Trentino Alto Adige. Italy's domestic dairy production is expanding to meet the growing demand, but the expansion of dairy farming in water-stressed regions should be avoided, preferring instead suitable mountain regions where small-scale farms represent a lively entrepreneurial substrate.
ABSTRACT
The spread of COVID-19 has not only led to many deaths but also to social and economic downturn globally. The study represents an exhaustive compilation of relevant macroeconomic data regarding the status of the agri-food sector from a demand side perspective and an overview of the food product producer and consumer prices after the shock. Its main purpose is to assess the resilience level of the agri-food sector to the coronavirus pandemic, analyzing its effect on commodity prices and focusing on the supply and value chain. The results highlight that fresh and perishable products, whose production or harvest took place during the first wave of COVID-19, have suffered price level effects, while storable products have not registered significant impacts. This phenomenon is mainly due to the vulnerability of the harvest and production phases, which affected fresh and perishable products supply, and to the resilience of transports and logistics, which instead ensured the supply of storable products to the final consumer. Especially in case of future pandemic waves, the implications and information deriving from the present analysis could support researchers, policy makers and managers, serving as an assessment tool to build suitable strategies for the whole agri-food supply chain and thus ensure sector resilience during these unprecedented times.
ABSTRACT
The problem of food insecurity is growing across the world, including economically developed countries. In Europe, the question is not just about the total supply of foods, but it includes even the accessibility of prices and their nutritional and qualitative adequacy. In this context many countries recognize the importance of trade policies to ensure adequate levels of food security. The aim of this work was to analyze the impact of trade openness on the level of food security in European countries, using a dynamic panel analysis with the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach. We selected two different indicators of food security (average protein supply, average dietary energy supply adequacy) capable of offering information both on the quantity and on the nutritional quality of the food supply. In order to improve the robustness of the empirical results, we developed three different regressions, with three trade openness indicators (trade openness, tariff, globalization) for each food security indicator. The results showed that commercial opening has, on average, a statistically significant net positive impact on the food security of European countries. Additional results indicate that also economic development, together with the importance of the agricultural sector, can improve food security levels.
