On Friday 3rd December 2021, the University of Parma hosted a conference dedicated to the valorization of the organic food supply chain. Convened by Prof Filippo Arfini, the event brought together (via in-person and remote attendance) over 100 researchers and organic food supply chain stakeholders in Italy (farmers, processors, certification bodies, producer networks and trade bodies) to discuss existing challenges and arising opportunities in further enhancement and growth of organic production in Italy. The dialogue highlighted the role of territorial governance and collective action to support rural development and sustainable food production and consumption, in safeguarding quality production specificities as well as promoting consumer awareness and positive attitudes towards organic food.

The rich programme featured results and outcomes from the Strength2Food project, with dedicated talks from:

  • Prof Filippo Arfini, on the theoretical framework of localised agri-food systems for organic food quality schemes
  • Prof Davide Menozzi, on consumer evaluation and perception of organic food products across Europe
  • Marianna Guareschi, on experiences, opportunities and constraints from the Parma Bio-District case study

The event recording with the above presentations can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYT7sCdFwjo

Italian press release available at: https://www.unipr.it/notizie/3-dicembre-convegno-la-valorizzazione-della-filiera-bio-il-ruolo-del-territorio

For recent publications of interest see:

  • Arfini, F.; Antonioli, F.; Donati, M.; Gorton, M.; Mancini, M.C.; Tocco, B.; Veneziani, M. (2019). Conceptual Framework. In Arfini, F., Bellassen, V., (Eds.) Sustainability of European Food Quality Schemes: Multi-Performance, Structure, and Governance of PDO, PGI, and Organic Agri-Food Systems. Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, pp. 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27508-2_1
  • Guareschi, M., Maccari, M., Sciurano, J. P., Arfini, F. (2020). Methodological Approach to Upscale toward an Agroecology System in EU-LAFSs: the Case of the Parma Bio-District, Sustainability, 12(13), 5398. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135398
  • Hartmann, M., Yeh, C.H., Amilien, V., Čeliković, Z., Csillag, P., Filipović, J., Giraud, G., Gorton, M., Kuč, V., Menozzi, D., Quarrie, S., Roos, G., Saidi, M., Tocco, B., Török, Á., Veneziani, M. (2019). Quantitative Research Findings on European Consumers’ Perception and Valuation of EU Food Quality Schemes As Well As Their Confidence in Such Measures. Strength2food Deliverable 8.1. https://www.strength2food.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/D8.1-Consumer-analysis-on-FQS-2-surveys-compressed.pdf

Conference programme: