Alessandro Scuderi

• Scuderi A.
• Professor (Associate) at University of Catania

The Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) represents a comprehensive global framework for the assessment of sustainability performance across food and agriculture value chains. Its key feature is its holistic approach to sustainability, which encompasses the environmental, economic, and social dimensions in conjunction wi...

The food chain has been confronting diverse limits and challenges. Indeed, the increase in level of environmental pollution, in resource scarcity, in biodiversity loss represents some limits, while guaranteeing the food security of a growing population and develop more sustainable production and consumption systems represents some challenges. In th...

The issue of food security, in the face of threats as resource scarcity, climate change, population growth, pollution etc confronts the agri-food systems all over the world with the challenge of pursuing resilience and sustainability. Western populations do not currently experience food shortages, but others do not have enough food available and so...

The growing need for mitigation of GHG emissions generated by the agri-food sector and the production of sufficient, quality food for the growing population, play a prominent role in the planning of global policies and economies. The determination of damaging practices to be reviewed or avoided is achieved by quantifying their Carbon Footprint (CF)...

Agriculture is a risky industry and is present in every management choice the farmer makes. Farms can experiment with different tools that can contain the impact of adverse events to protect production facilities, investments, and income generated by farming. This is the context for the study conducted in Sicily on a sample of farms of different ty...

Climate change threatens the possibility of ensuring sufficient and quality food for the population. The agricultural sector, considered to be one of the main contributors to the increase of CO2-equivalents (CO2-eq) in the atmosphere, faces one of the most difficult challenges for the sector: increasing production while reducing its impact on the e...

Among the Sustainable Development Goals in the UN Agenda 2030, Goals 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities” aims to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. Among the different targets it aims to promote a participatory and integrated transport-land planning; to guarantee accessibility to green areas and safe...

The events of recent years (pandemic and conflict in the European area) have led to a rethink of traditional policies on trade and support for domestic production. The concept of national “self-sufficiency” is being consolidated to the detriment of globalization and the possibility of buying raw materials on the world market at the lowest price. Eu...

The Protected areas are clearly defined geographical spaces, recognised as such and dedicated to the long-term conservation of nature, with associated ecosystem services and cultural values. They provide environmental, social and economic benefits to society, which can be enjoyed at local, regional and international levels and support the Sustainab...

Climate change in recent years is shaping society’s habits and life in large cities, then it will be necessary to plan and design nature-based urban solutions to meet different interests and needs. To enable this approach between cities, urban green spaces and climate change, sustainable and resilient urban growth models are needed, planned with th...

Organic farming nowadays is held up as a model of sustainability; however, this is not always an economic advantage for farmers due to the reduced yields compared to the conventional regime. The aim of the study is therefore to provide an environmental and economic analysis of the innovative organic model proposed by the Bresov project to assess it...

Introduction The combination of knowledge, personal skills and company resources influences, all things being equal, such as the availability of new technologies, market conditions and other factors external to the company, farmers in their innovation choices. This study is an attempt to understand which psychological constructs influence the decis...

The agrifood supply chain is one of the largest in the world and includes all the businesses aimed at the production, processing, distribution and sale of products. The purpose of this article is to clearly explain what the blockchain technology really is, how it performs and whether it can really help our agriculture. It seems particularly useful...

The lockdown that affected our planet as result of the COVID-19 health emergency caused an important change in consumers’ relationship with digital technologies and e-commerce. The paper introduces a brief overview of ecommerce in recent years and the main changes due to the pandemic. The aim is to analyze the purchasing experiences during the lock...

Current climate change is confronting farms with extreme conditions, with severe drought for a good part of the year and flooding rains for a month. The changes taking place on our planet make it necessary for farmers to understand and assess how they can counteract the damage of climate change by adopting sustainable strategies to cope with the fu...

Abstract: The plant heritage of the Mediterranean basin, with its wide biodiversity, offers the best conditions to pursue the objectives of the EU Green Deal, and among it, we pointed our attention to the Brassica oleracea crops, thanks to the high number of landraces and of its wild relative species widespread both in agro and ecosystems. In the f...

For several decades, studies and conventions have highlighted the importance of the ecosystem services provided by natural resources and biodiversity for humanity and the need to move their management towards a sustainable model. Inthe United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015), among its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),...

The paper starts from the assumption that a greater level of sustainability in national food systems can be achieved with the contribution of the consumer. Nowadays, the consumer can condition the choices of the production system, with a greater demand for reassurance on the quality, safety, and traceability of food products. To confirm this hypoth...

Contemporary agriculture is increasingly oriented toward the synergistic adoption of technologies such as the Internet of Things, Internet of Farming, big data analytics, and blockchain to combine resource protection and economic, social, and environmental sustainability. In Italy, the market growth potential of “Agriculture 4.0” and “Farming 4.0”...

Abstract: Future cities will need to plan and design urban green spaces and woodlands to meet diverse interests and needs, provide ecosystem services required by an evolving urban society and improve continuity between urban and rural spaces. This future planning approach calls for more sustainable patterns of urban growth, where forests and green...

Sustainability is a concept that affects many sectors due to increased stakeholder pressure for both economic and political reasons. In 2010 “SOSTAIN” was born, the first sustainability protocol in this sector that allows you to know exactly the type of impact that the company has on the surrounding area and how to limit it based on the principle o...

Purpose This study was developed to address the environmental issues associated with a high-quality pasta production process, as the essential starting point to identify the related hotspots and the feasible improvement potentials. Methods To this end, a life cycle assessment (LCA) at the food producer’s gate was performed. Primary data were colle...

The European Green Deal to tackle climate change sets emission reduction targets for 2050. Particular attention has been paid to the agricultural sector, where there is a strong need to reduce carbon emissions and re-establish the natural carbon cycles. The concept of carbon neutrality is emerging in a scenario where it is necessary to reduce carbo...

Biofortification is a strategy to reduce micronutrient deficiency in humans by fortifying food through natural processes, agronomic practices and genetic modification. In this study, we seek to shed light on what consumers understand by the term 'biofortified products' and thus to understand their level of knowledge about these products, as well as...

Climate change, food security, and the protection of the planet’s resources require the adoption of sustainable production models. Achieving sustainable development in the agri-food sector enables the creation of new opportunities for operators, guiding farmers towards more environmentally friendly practices and offering cost-effective results. Org...

The aim of this study is to provide a literature review on biofortified products and their role in the scientific sphere. Despite the large number of studies conducted on biofortified products in the last 20 years, many defining issues are still debated in the literature and several research questions should be clarified. It is therefore relevant t...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations supports the production of edible insects as a promising and sustainable source of nutrients to meet the increasing demand for animal-derived products by the growing world population. Even if insects are part of the diet of more than two billion people worldwide, the practice of eating ins...

Citrus Bacterial Cancer (CBC) is a severe phytopathy capable of compromising the economy, environment, and society in specific areas. To date, it is not present in the Mediterranean Basin. In essence, it could be a signal that European Phytosanitary Services have been able to control its spread, blocking import and marketing of fruits from risk are...

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and pollutants, soil erosion and groundwater pollution are some of the negative aspects blamed on livestock farming, so their level of sustainability needs to be assessed, taking into account the territory in which they operate. The research focuses on the assessment of sustainability performance in the four dimension...

One of the factors that will affect the livability of cities and the overall citizens’ quality of life in the future is certainly climate change. Urban areas will play a fundamental role in the commitment against climate change and will have to develop appropriate adaptation actions, in accordance with the European Strategy against climate change,...

Citrus bacterial canker (CBC) is a known disease caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp citri, which affects many species and varieties of Rutaceae. It causes evident damage on the epigeal parts of plant (leaves and branches) and, in particular, on the fruits, causing their fall and/or deterioration, making them unsuitable for sale. EPPO has signaled it...

The concept of the conservative protection of ecosystems is increasingly supplanted by a global ecological vision, which considers a protected area as a place of contamination of knowledge and intervention techniques. The planning and management of the interventions are necessary to preserve the natural resources, traditional activities and represe...

New technologies have led to a digital transformation that enhances traditional processes of innovation and development on the one hand, and creates new forms of innovation in every segment of society on the other. In the agri-food sector, it plays a central role in addressing the critical factors of globalization and environmental impact. In Italy...

The increasing micronutrient deficiency within the nutritional habits of the world’s population and the growing need for healthy foods have given rise to the development of biofortified crops. In a context where the consumer’s attention is focused on a healthy lifestyle and respect for the environment, the cultivation of potatoes enriched with sele...

The alignment of food systems with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is generally envisaged to make a positive impact on sustainability. This paper outlines some critical environmental and socioeconomic indicators for Sicily in order to compare and explore the outcomes of two juxtaposing key drivers in a scenario planning exercise, where the...

In light of increasing attention on biofortified products from the institutional, scientific and industrial worlds, we investigate consumer knowledge, consumer choice, the relationship between consumer choice and lifestyles, willingness to pay, and factors influencing consumer groups regarding biofortified foods. Complicating the matter is the lack...

Rural areas are recognized as multifunctional spaces, where traditional agro-silvo-pastoral and other human activities (unrelated rural tourism, ecotourism, processing industries of agricultural and or extractive products, land maintenance, trade in local products, etc.) take place alongside each other. The integrated endogenous development model,...

The natural environment in urban areas, often described as “urban green spaces”, is recognized by numerous researches and experiences as an important element because provide indirect and direct benefits to human health and well-being. Among the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communitie...

The population that lives in cities has surpassed the one that lives in the countryside. Cities are recognized as apriority source of pollution. The degradation of air quality and the phenomenon of Urban Heat Island (UHI) are some of the most well-known consequences of urban development. The adaptation of the cities is emerging as one of the greate...

The consumer’s central role within biodiversity conservation networks may be connected to the process of reconnecting models of production and proven local consumption within “alternative food networks” that have the ability to conserve biodiversity and create sustainable production. This research focuses of the indirect relationships between consu...

The world scenario for the cultivation of Cannnabis Sativa L. shows a trend in recent years that is clearly on the rise. The growth of small, medium and large enterprises that cultivate and market products deriving from Cannnabis Sativa L. in European countries is also exponential. This trend also effects Italy, a country which in the past was inte...

The agri-food industry is one of the largest in the world and includes all the activities aimed at the production, processing and distribution of food products. Food, culture and fashion are among the elements that characterize Italy in the world. The Mediterranean diet, its products and its dishes are imitated in every part of the globe with “Ital...

This research analyzes consumers' different purchasing attitudes in traditional and on-line markets. Italy's on-line direct selling process for organic farm products is still in its formative phase, and the prospective developments mark an interesting research area, not least because it may represent a tool to integrate the relationship with custom...

This study was intended to frame current changes of city and citizens in the new virtual contexts. This research analyzed different citizens need attitudes whether it occurs in a traditional or virtual context. Here we presented the first results, which may well explain the new strategies and modalities of city to join the new green urban planning...

The e-Marketplaces have become the global platform for exchange, which have modified social and economic behavior. The digital revolution has opened the doors of the global village to industries, services, cities, and territories. Information and communications technology (ICT) can be a tool for the development of rural and agricultural areas, as d...

Social networks in the public sphere support the process of innovation that aims to make the action of the municipalities more efficient and participatory. Due to their characteristics, social media seem to be able to contribute significantly to the development of e-governance and e-democracy as tools based on dialogue and on the enhancement of the...

The new and more conscious sensibility towards the environmental sphere supports the idea of “green city”, promotes initiatives of structural integration of the green with the built environment and involves a considerable number of disciplines in a cultural and social debate. The literature reports different experiences of collaborative governance,...

With increasing urbanisation massive daily flows of agricultural products coming from rural areas to cities generate high amounts of heat, CO2, waste water and other waste. The negative balance on sustainability is also caused by the creation of long, winding, and often inefficient supply chains, that negatively impact society economically. In cont...

Starting out from the admonitions of the encyclical letter by pope Francis, this contribution aims to define the value of social agriculture as an instrument of integrated development of the territory able to foster, just for its own peculiarities, the creation of dense systems of relationships among the various stakeholders that operate in synergy...

The present research, providing a perspective of analysis on investment in ICT and their correlations with three of macro main areas of agri-food firms such as profitability, customer satisfaction and marketplace, through a methodological drawing based statistical research of deductive matrix, offers a contribution to the interpretation of countles...

In order to study new technique for social farm value the case of social farm “Case di Maria” located in the province of Catania (Sicily, IT) was examined. During the project activities "Case di Maria" has established collaborations with: “Rete Fattorie Sociali”, National Health Service, Municipalities, Food Bank, Caritas, Ecclesial World, No-Profi...

There are many scientific contributions from different disciplines, including philosophy and psychology, which have dealt with aspects of buying behavior related to typical products. These products convey messages relating to the area of origin (in terms of culture and environment) and food security (including nutritional aspects). Recently, scient...

In the last few years there seems to have been a growth of interest in green spaces with agricultural activities in the urban environment that have become expressions of a urban agriculture that represent a mode of agricultural exploitation of these green spaces by citizens, able to offer a response to renewed social, alimentary, environmental, and...

In the last decade, citrus fruits farming, at the international level, revealed an upward trend changing the traditional scenarios of the off er, with the exchange of products coming from all areas of the world, thanks to the progressive abrogation of fare barriers. The material exchange is causing spreading of diseases that have caused a severe da...

ABSTRACT In order to study the indirect relationships among consumers that occur around the reasons-based choice of a food product, and in particular, the products of the buffalo industry, a survey was conducted, through questionnaires, on a sample of 2000 consumers in the traditional retail sale points (local markets, specialized shops, farmers' m...

A number of school-based programmes have shown positive effects on children’s dietary behaviour. Some of these have focused broadly on nutrition, physical activity, and heart health, whilst others have focused more specifically on the consumption of fruit and vegetables. Despite some successes in this field, however, the consumption of fruit and ve...

In the ICTs sector, innovations follow each other swiftly, as it is a very dynamic market, where Web 3.0 represents the latest phenomenon, after Web 2.0 and the social networks that had revolutionised the global world of information. The web has become a web ecosystem in which users create value by sharing and creating experiences in the web. Howev...

In the ICTs sector, innovations follow each other swiftly, as it is a very dynamic market, where Web 3.0 represents the latest phenomenon, after Web 2.0 and the social networks that had revolutionised the global world of information. The web has become a web ecosystem in which users create value by sharing and creating experiences in the web. Howev...

Among the objectives for a European sustainable economy, the safeguarding of soil resources and the control of erosion assume a major role. In the EU, every year more than 1,000 km² of new land is used for the construction of housing, industries, roads, or for recreational purposes. All this entails loss of biodiversity, degradation of the landscap...

In accordance with the multifunctional farms model, social farming activities are useful instruments to maintain sustainable competitive advantages in certain areas, as these made-to-order services are able to satisfy the needs declared and/or hidden of local communities. The authors claim that social farming activities can be a model of sustainabl...

In the new millennium, due to the spreading of globalization and the changes in consumers’ life style, the agrifood system has been forced to face a deep transformation in the dynamics that involve food demand and structure and organization of the entire production system, processing and commercialization. Due to a renovated interest of consumers,...

Sicily has become a food and wine area of great interest. However, conflicts within the supply chains have caused the selling process to become long and complex to the disadvantage of farmers, thereby leading to an information asymmetry between producers and consumers. In order to meet the new needs of the agrifood sector, we developed a theoretica...

Educational farms today are an innovative tool to meet community needs, to create new welfare models and diversification opportunities for farms. Results showed that difficulties still exist and need to be overcome to fully launch this phenomenon, and the route undertaken at national and community level promises for a fair recognition of its import...

The research takes place in the traditional studies about the “decision-making” consumer's typical products. There are many scientific contributions from different disciplines, including philosophy and psychology, which have dealt with aspects of buying behavior related to typical products. These products convey messages relating to the area of ori...

Recent progress of EU Rural Development Policy has definitely paved the way for the achievement of multifunctional farming and acknowledgement for its civil society role, as an activity to integrate sector's operators' sources of income. Despite its spreading in Europe, Social Farming is still today not supported by an adequate legislative and oper...

This study was intended to frame current changes of farms and consumers in the new virtual contexts. This research analysed consumers' different purchasing attitudes in a traditional or virtual context. Here, we presented the first results of an in-progress research that may explain the new strategies and modalities of farms to join the new marketi...

Recent progress of EU Rural Development Policy has definitely paved the way for the achievement of multifunctional farming and acknowledgement for its civil society role, as an activity to integrate sector's operators' sources of income. Despite its spreading in Europe, Social Farming is still today not supported by an adequate legislative and oper...

The impact of trade liberalization with TMCs has been a reason for significant concern among agricultural producers of the European southern coasts, and has thus been occupying a central role in political debate. Agricultural trade liberalization has complex implications, especially for the European Mediterranean regions involved in the Barcelona P...

The aim of this study is that of providing some indications about the involvement of social networks into the agrifood system even if in Italy it has just been approached compared to other countries, a reason why we do not have relevant statistics and enough literature. Social media, in fact, may contribute to formulate the right communication stra...

The present study aimed to examine the factors associated with increased Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence among a sample of Italian adolescents. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1135 students (13-16 years) attending 13 secondary schools of Sicily, southern Italy. Validated instruments were used for dietary assessment and the KIDMED score...

The achievement of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a new ground for economic competition is deeply affecting the trade organization in many merchant sectors. For Italian agri-food products it is of absolute importance for Internet marketing to be undertaken and to foresee the consequent scenarios. The aim of this research is to exactl...

The upcoming of an agricultural model based on multifunctionality and closer complementary relationships between rural and urban areas is fully represented by the very social agriculture, which uses agricultural resources to carry out social activities, such as work introduction, rehabilitation, etc... This introduces opportunities for a new rural...

Organic farming has been experiencing an intense development phase in the last ten years, arising the interest at economic, political and social level for its general effects on the population. The complexity of such analysis grew directly proportional with that of the production process of each single company, and the variety of indicators of the...

In recent years, there has been increasing public interest in plant antioxidants, thanks to the potential anticarcinogenic and cardioprotective actions mediated by their biochemical properties. The red (or blood) orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) is a pigmented sweet orange variety typical of eastern Sicily (southern Italy), California, and Spai...

The common agricultural policy over the years has expanded the tools of promotion and protection of farm produce quality. At the national level but also from Europe we are witnessing a change in consumer behavior: they become more and more relevant information needs, safety and food security, increasing demand for quality products and the willingne...

The common agricultural policy over the years has expanded the tools of promotion and protection of farm produce quality. At the national level but also from Europe we are witnessing a change in consumer behavior: they become more and more relevant information needs, safety and food security, increasing demand for quality products and the willingne...

The achievement of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a new ground for economic competition is deeply affecting the trade organization in many merchant sectors. For Italian agrifood products it is of absolute importance Internet marketing to be undertaken and to foresee the consequent scenarios. The aim of this research is to exactly ass...