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Social farming in high mountain regions: The case of the Aosta Valley in Italy

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  • Fazari, Erika
  • Musolino, Dario

Abstract

This paper investigates and analyses social farming in the Aosta Valley, a tiny Italian mountain region in the Alps. It aims to highlight the features of social farming in this region, focusing on the social mission and economic sustainability. The paper first presents the literature on social farming, focusing on marginal and remote areas, and illustrating the main characteristics of Italian social farms. Secondly, it focuses on the findings coming from a qualitative investigation of three case studies of Valdostan social farms based on data collected from semi-structured direct interviews. The analyses reveal that social farming in the Aosta Valley fulfils a crucial social mission in areas with poor accessibility to social services. It is economically sustainable, basing its business model on the environmental and agricultural resources typical of high mountain regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Fazari, Erika & Musolino, Dario, 2022. "Social farming in high mountain regions: The case of the Aosta Valley in Italy," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 24(3), December.
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:sieaea:335221
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.335221
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Verena Gramm & Cristina Dalla Torre & Andrea Membretti, 2020. "Farms in Progress-Providing Childcare Services as a Means of Empowering Women Farmers in South Tyrol, Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Ivana Bassi & Federico Nassivera & Lucia Piani, 2016. "Social farming: a proposal to explore the effects of structural and relational variables on social farm results," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Patrizia Borsotto & Marco Gaito & Antonio Papaleo & Carmela De Vivo, 2019. "An exploratory study on the construction of networks in social farming," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 21(2), pages 481-506.
    4. Morgana Galardi & Lorena Filugelli & Roberta Moruzzo & Francesco Riccioli & Franco Mutinelli & Salomon Espinosa Diaz & Laura Contalbrigo, 2022. "Challenges and Perspectives of Social Farming in North-Eastern Italy: The Farmers’ View," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-12, July.
    5. Angela Genova & Martina Maccaroni & Elena Viganò, 2020. "Social Farming: Heterogeneity in Social and Agricultural Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-20, June.
    6. Dario Musolino & Alba Distaso & Claudio Marcianò, 2020. "The Role of Social Farming in the Socio-Economic Development of Highly Marginal Regions: An Investigation in Calabria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-20, June.
    7. Jan Hassink & Herman Agricola & Esther J. Veen & Roald Pijpker & Simone R. de Bruin & Harold A. B. van der Meulen & Lana B. Plug, 2020. "The Care Farming Sector in The Netherlands: A Reflection on Its Developments and Promising Innovations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, May.
    8. Concetta Nazzaro & Anna Uliano & Giuseppe Marotta, 2021. "Drivers and Barriers towards Social Farming: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-17, December.
    9. Francesco Di Iacovo, 2020. "Social Farming Evolutionary Web: from Public Intervention to Value Co-Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-28, June.
    10. Cristina Dalla Torre & Elisa Ravazzoli & Marijke Dijkshoorn-Dekker & Nico Polman & Mariana Melnykovych & Elena Pisani & Francesca Gori & Riccardo Da Re & Kamini Vicentini & Laura Secco, 2020. "The Role of Agency in the Emergence and Development of Social Innovations in Rural Areas. Analysis of Two Cases of Social Farming in Italy and The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-25, May.
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    1. Stefano Duglio & Giulia Salotti & Giulia Mascadri, 2023. "Conditions for Operating in Marginal Mountain Areas: The Local Farmer’s Perspective," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, April.

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    Farm Management;

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