Circular Economy practices in Italian agriculture. A case study

This paper aims to analyze the Circular Economy (CE) practices adopted within the agricultural sector, focusing on the farm-level perspective. Current agricultural practices exert significant pressures on soil, water, and atmospheric ecosystems, compromising their long-term capability in supporting agricultural activities, and generate significant amounts of biological waste. CE is advocated as a means to mitigate environmental degradation while improving the economic viability of farms. However, the overall implications of CE for agriculture remain unclear. Existing studies predominantly concentrate on CE processes and single crops, lacking a comprehensive understanding of the determinants and effects of CE at the farm level, where crucial decisions regarding CE adoption are made, and where the relationships between agricultural activities (particularly), farm environment, and stakeholders unfold. The utilization of scarce natural resources in conditions of uncertain access may be studied under the Resource Dependence Theory lens and in the frame of Ostrom’s Socio-Ecological System model (SES), according to Tashman (2021). As a first step we propose to model the farm within its SES. The farmer’s production depends on the land ecosystem and the quality of soil provided, and feedbacks into the ecosystem through the practices adopted. The farmer also interacts with the secondary stakeholders (both formal and informal institutions). The empirical analysis is based on multiple case studies conducted on a sample of 13 Italian fruit and vegetable producers. The selected farms are located in the Pianura Padana region and specialize in the cultivation of melon (5 cases), radicchio (3 cases), and pear (5 cases). By incorporating multiple cases within the same value chains and regional ecosystems, the findings of this study are both more reliable and generalizable. The investigation of different crops allows for detecting differences and similarities between them, enhancing generalizability while comparing information from different farmers growing the same crops helps in identifying patterns. Semi-structured interviews and on-site visits are the main strategies for investigating the case studies. The interviews used a questionnaire addressing the farm's state, waste management practices, adopted CE practices, and underlying drivers. The interviews are transcribed and analyzed using a mixed approach combining inductive and deductive coding techniques. Additionally to the SES model of farms, a first contribution of this study is the development of a framework that establishes a connection between the types of CE practices adopted and the corresponding in-farm waste streams. Secondly, the identification of the main determinants influencing farmers' decisions to implement CE practices is still ongoing, but preliminary results suggest that secondary stakeholders’ actions and farm vertical structure have an influence on CE adoption. The findings of this research have implications for pinpointing the antecedents of CE adoption and exploring the potential integration of literature on strategic drivers of CE (e.g., stakeholders' actions) with research focusing on operational dimensions such as waste management. For farmers, the expected benefit lies in the availability of a comprehensive framework to guide their decision-making processes concerning CE adoption.