Purpose: Recently, several regional protected geographical indications (PGI) have been introduced in Italy for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with the aim of coping with the substantial failure of protected designations of origin (PDO). This study aims to identify which characteristics consumers expect, in order to anticipate the market success.Design/methodology/approach: In this study, a survey has been used on a sample of consumers from Sicily, one of the first regions which recently developed a regional PGI for EVOO. Data have been analyzed with a rank-ordered logit model.Findings: Results yielded that consumers would accept this new product and their expectations correspond to a product with attributes such as: green color, not filtered, not with a sweet taste and with a known brand. A possible target can be represented by young men.Practical implications: The results obtained anticipate whether this product would be accepted and provides direct indications for producers who wish to enter the market with a PGI EVOO.Originality/value: This work focuses on consumer behavior toward products that are specifically certified with a recently introduced PGI label, and they still are not so common on the market.

The water industry is facing challenges because of population increases and the resulting development of agricultural operations. Alternative resources that balance the environment, the economy, and society while lessening the strain on limited water supplies will need to be adopted by farmers. One possibility addressing this dilemma is wastewater reuse. The adoption of Reg. (EU) 2020/741 necessitates a paradigm change by moving away from the “fit-for-all” strategy and toward the “fit-for-purpose” approach, which is now regarded as the foundation of the reuse supply chain. However, despite progress, appropriate rules that clearly and concisely outline the procedures to be followed are still needed. Thus, to establish an interdisciplinary and cooperative research agenda, this study tackles the potential and forces behind change by concentrating on tactics for long-term fixes. The need to look at consumer and farmer acceptability as well as the overall environmental advantages of carbon footprint reduction and wastewater fertigation are interesting research avenues. Nutrient-rich streams in agriculture may increase carbon absorption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the soil while simultaneously serving as a fertilizer substitute. The literature suggests that additional research is necessary to fully explore the significant economic potential.

Today, the transition to a more sustainable model of the agro-food system is increasingly impellent, requiring all actors’ commitment. In particular, small and medium agro-food business (SMABs) play a decisive and central role in the food and economies of national and underdeveloped areas. Our study aims to identify, through desk research, the level of commitment and communication to the sustainability of SMABs operating in southern Italy. In this study, we followed the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) approach to implementing such a transition, using their principles as a diagnostic tool to interpret business operations. The data were analysed using two approaches: a regime analysis to assess which FAO principles are commonly followed to make the above transition possible, and an extension of the Abraham and Pingali (2020) framework to describe the commitment of SMABs to the Agenda 2030 goals with respect to the behaviour of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We found that the SMABs’ behaviours are more oriented towards some FAO principles: those that explain their commitment to improving natural resources and livelihoods, fostering inclusive economic growth, and achieving sustainable development goal 7 of Agenda 2030 than towards others. The contribution of our study lies in providing detailed insights into sustainable actions taken by SMABs while testing the FAO’s principles as a new model to evaluate business operations.

The social dimension of sustainability in the agri-food sector is gaining more and more attention from both scholars and policymakers. In Europe, among different countries, Italy stood out for the active role played in including social conditionality in the Common Agricultural Policy. Despite such interest, there is still confusion concerning the concept of social sustainability, and tools aimed at measuring the social performance of farms are still lacking. The current study aims to identify indicators to measure the social sustainability of farm practices in the Italian agri-food system. The methodology included an analysis of the most relevant literature, legislation, and guidelines to identify five macro-areas of interest, which served as the foundation for developing theoretical social sustainability key performance indicators. The results of this study provide useful insights for both practitioners and policymakers to develop strategies and policies focused on social sustainability.