Coping with the economic crisis in agriculture: an analysis of the Tuscany (Italy) premium quality wine area and strategies for impact mitigation
New Medit, vol 14, n.3, (September 2015), pp. 61-72
Language: EN
Jel classification: C54, H12, Q01
The recent economic crisis has impacted the agricultural sector in different ways worldwide. The scale of the evaluation, the specific area investigated and the size of the farms are some of the potential parameters that could lead to bias and distortion during impact analysis. In addition, the current literature reveals the lack of an examination of the main qualitatively and quantitatively influenced variables. As a consequence, the depiction of policy plans and mitigation strategies able to overcome or alleviate the effects of the crisis is a difficult task. Thus, this work aimed to characterise the main effects of the economic crisis on the wine sector in a case study area (region of Tuscany central Italy). The research focused on top and medium-small brand name capital wine farms. Potential policy actions and managerial activities to improve the local sector were depicted. Due to the multifaceted characteristics of the examined topic, the selected methodology for evaluation is a nonlinear analysis instrument. Specifically, Fuzzy Cognitive Maps, network indexes and scenario analysis were adopted. Among the results, the need for association and cooperation, long-term scheduling and planning, and the capability to obtain critical funding were highlighted.
economic crisis, mitigation strategies, wine sector, Fuzzy Cognitive Map, network analysis
