Sustainability Goals and Firm Behaviours: A Multi-Criteria Approach on Italian Agro-Food Sector

Lucia Briamonte, Raffaella Pergamo, Brunella Arru, Roberto Furesi, Pietro Pulina and Fabio A. Madau
Additional contact information
Lucia Briamonte: CREA-PB, 00198 Rome, Italy
Raffaella Pergamo: CREA-PB, 00198 Rome, Italy
Brunella Arru: Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Roberto Furesi: Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Pietro Pulina: Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Fabio A. Madau: Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: Today, the transition to a more sustainable model of the agro-food system is increasingly impellent, requiring all actors’ commitment. In particular, small and medium agro-food business (SMABs) play a decisive and central role in the food and economies of national and underdeveloped areas. Our study aims to identify, through desk research, the level of commitment and communication to the sustainability of SMABs operating in southern Italy. In this study, we followed the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) approach to implementing such a transition, using their principles as a diagnostic tool to interpret business operations. The data were analysed using two approaches: a regime analysis to assess which FAO principles are commonly followed to make the above transition possible, and an extension of the Abraham and Pingali (2020) framework to describe the commitment of SMABs to the Agenda 2030 goals with respect to the behaviour of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We found that the SMABs’ behaviours are more oriented towards some FAO principles: those that explain their commitment to improving natural resources and livelihoods, fostering inclusive economic growth, and achieving sustainable development goal 7 of Agenda 2030 than towards others. The contribution of our study lies in providing detailed insights into sustainable actions taken by SMABs while testing the FAO’s principles as a new model to evaluate business operations.

Keywords: agro-food business; small and medium enterprise (SME); Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Agenda 2030; regime analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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