Climate change poses significant challenges to agricultural systems in the Mediterranean region, with Italy being significantly affected. This literature scoping review aims to examine existing research on the impact of climate change on yield and income on the three agri-food value chains in Italy: viticulture, fruit and vegetables, and dairy cattle. By analysing the available literature, this study seeks to outline the pros and cons, knowledge gaps, and potential areas for future research. A systematic search of scientific databases was conducted to identify relevant articles published between 2000 and 2022. The search terms included climate change, agriculture, Italy, yield, income, and related keywords. Articles were screened based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in a final selection of studies. Quantitative information was collected and organized into descriptive tables. The review encompassed 44 studies that investigated the impact of climate change on yield and income in various agricultural sectors across different regions of Italy. The findings indicate that climate change is already impacting crop productivity and income levels, with increased temperature, changes in precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events being identified as the primary drivers. Additionally, disparities were observed between different agricultural regions, crops, and farming systems, highlighting the need for location-specific and crop-specific assessments. The scoping review provides a prospective overview of the existing literature on climate change impacts on yield and income within the Italian agriculture system. It underscores the urgency for targeted adaptation strategies to minimize the negative consequences of climate change. Further research should focus on understanding the complex interactions between climate change, agricultural practices, socio-economic factors, and policy interventions to develop context-specific solutions for sustainable agriculture in Italy. Graphical abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of the economic convenience of adopting adaptation measures to climate change at farm level. Concerns raised about climate risks on agriculture indicate that adaptation of the agricultural sector to climate change is necessary to mitigate the negative consequences of climate change. Despite many opportunities to implement climate adaptation measures at farm level, there are several obstacles to their adoption. Farmers’ decision to implement adaptation measures lies in the difficulty of accessing knowledge about adaptation practices and in the lack of resources for upfront investments required by adaptation. The need to investigate economic convenience in terms of costs and benefits of adopting adaptation measures to prevent or reduce damage from adverse climatic events by farmers arises from this consideration. More importantly, climate protection and management of climate change are European environmental policy objectives. However, adaptation to climate change remains complex, and literature on the costs and benefit of agricultural adaptation is limited. Based on these considerations, this paper provides an analysis of the economic convenience of adopting adaptation measures in Italian farms. The economic convenience to implement adaptation measures is calculated on the reduction of the impact of climate damage. Our results show the economic convenience of adaptation measures. These findings help to improve the still too limited access to information on adaptation policies at farm level as well as the benefits that adaptation produces in economic and environmental terms, on human and ecosystem health. This study supports farmers’ decisions in adopting climate adaptation measures and provides information for policy makers to identify specific financial instruments for adaptation measures.

The agri-food sector is a strategic sector for Italy, fundamental to the Italian GDP (about 600 billion euros), but it is also one of the most sensitive and resilient sectors in the face of recent crises. In fact, ensuring that food reaches consumers in a safe, timely, and sustainable manner requires precise management of the supply chain. The pressures on the agri-food sector to source responsibly and sustainably in accordance with ESG criteria are increasing, especially in light of the growing awareness of ethical issues such as labor exploitation, animal welfare, and deforestation, according to the holistic One Health vision. Although the sector is subject to various risk factors, a controlled and quality supply chain, with a fair distribution of value, helps to keep the agri-food sector in step with global changes and consumer demands. Through several case studies, this work aims to demonstrate how the protection of workers’ rights, technological innovation 4.0, the streamlining of logistics, and sustainable sourcing are essential elements for a proactive approach to the company’s supply chain in managing negative impacts on people and the environment.

In the wine production chain, climate change affects the yields and quality of the wine. Several studies have found that high temperatures have a significant impact on the value of wine production. In this context, adaptation measures represent a good practice to face the damage caused by negative climatic events. Since these practices have a cost, this study aims to provide an estimate of economic convenience for their adoption, using the methodology developed within the LIFE Adaptation in Agriculture project. In this paper, four measures used in winemaking processes and useful for reducing damage induced from climatic events were analyzed. The findings show that the adaptation measures considered in the wine sector usually have an initial investment cost of medium/high. Large farms, due to their size and resources, can opt for one or more measures with a greater ease of cost depreciation. Overall, the analysis shows that although the implementation of measures presents medium/high investment costs, it is always appropriate to assess the specific business case, even where the results indicate a lower degree of cost-effectiveness. When deciding on the adoption of measures, it should be kept in mind that costs depend not only on farm characteristics but also on the choice of implementation method and staff training and specific public subsidies.