Adoption of circular economy practices in agriculture. A case study of Italian fruit and vegetables producers

Current production systems are generating huge pressures on soil, water and atmosphere ecosystems, compromising their long-term capability to sustain agricultural activities. CE is argued to reduce environmental degradation while enhancing the economic health of farms. Nevertheless, overall CE implications for agriculture are still an open question. Most studies concentrate on CE processes and single value chains, but we need a better understanding of CE determinants and effects at farm level, where decisions to adopt CE are made. The paper leans on literature that positions the use of scarce natural resources and its uncertainty in the frame of Socio-Ecological Systems (SES), under the Resource Dependency lens. Our SES model of the farm includes the farmer, farm ecosystem and secondary stakeholders (formal and informal institutions). The farm ecosystem provides soil resources to the farmer. The latter activity impacts on ecosystems’ supporting services. A farm-level exploration is necessary to understand which CE practices farmers have adopted and how they are making the relationship between agriculture and nature more sustainable. 2. Methodology The analysis is based on multiple case studies performed on a sample of 13 Italian fruit and vegetables producers. Farms are all located in Pianura Padana region, and produce melon (5 cases), radicchio (3), pear (5). Multiple cases belonging to the same value chains and same-region ecosystems make results more reliable, the use of different value chains makes them more generalizable. A semi-structured approach is used in interviews and visits, with a questionnaire addressing farm state, waste streams, adopted practices, drivers. Interviews were transcribed and coded through a mixed inductive and deductive approach. 3. Results A first result is the development of a framework that connects the types of adopted CE practices with types of in-farm wastes. Identification of the main determinants of farmers’ decision to implement CE practices is still ongoing, with preliminary evidence about the role of secondary stakeholders and the state of farm ecosystem. 4. Conclusions The main implications of results for research are the identification of CE adoption antecedents, and the potential of integrating literature on strategic drivers of CE (e.g. stakeholders’ actions) with literature looking at operational dimensions (as waste management). An expected benefit for farmers will be the availability of a framework to guide their decisions on CE adoption.