Diversified Farms Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic: First Signals from Italian Case Studies

Agritourism resilience during the COVID-19 crisis

Resilience is critical to the sustainability of the tourism industry, which was made particularly evident during the COVID-19 crisis. COVID-19 impacted all sectors of the tourism industry revealing previously unknown strengths and weaknesses. Through a longitudinal qualitative approach, we identified the evolving challenges and coping strategies of agritourism operations under the COVID-19 crisis in North Carolina, USA. The results indicate that agritourism operations not only withstood the health crisis but also advanced the management of their operation and customer satisfaction through diversification and reorganization strategies. We use chaos theory to show how agritourism operations took advantage of the context of uncertainty to employ practices that ultimately showcased their resilience.

Health Tourism-Subject of Scientific Research: A Literature Review and Cluster Analysis

The purpose of this article is to identify main research areas in health tourism in scientific research. The data used in this analysis span from 2000 to 2022, was retrieved from the Web of Science database, and comprises a total of 1493 bibliometric records of publications. The paper includes both a quantitative and a qualitative analysis. The following four main research areas were identified based on the results: (1) patient satisfaction built upon trust; (2) health impacts of the destination (including the economic aspect, which plays a decisive role in choosing a tourism destination); (3) health behavior as a major part of human activity; and (4) traveling with a view to regain one's health. Note that the limitations of this study-which mostly affect the methodological part-need to be taken into consideration. This is the consequence of the selected publication database and of the search criteria used, such as the publication year or language.

Agritourism and Farms Diversification in Italy: What Have We Learnt from COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly disrupted the household behavior in all areas and also those related to eating and daily food. Research carried out shows there have been significant changes compared to pre-COVID levels in the way consumers plan their food purchases. Based on the results of empirical data and emerging information such as ad hoc reports and analysis of academic literature, the authors aim to understand the effect of COVID-19 on agricultural and extra-agricultural activities in diversified Italian farms. More specifically, due to their importance at a national level, the focus of the analysis is represented by the agritourism, how they have reacted to the challenges posed by the pandemic, and towards which evolutionary lines they are orienting themselves to face the next future challenges. Empirical data for this study were collected through the use of a questionnaire survey, managed by the research team. The survey, conducted online during summer 2021, was designed by using a random stratified sampling for which the farms are characterized by a certain heterogeneity of the activities carried out (i.e., hospitality, processing of products, renewable energy production, etc.). The research activity covered the entire Italian territory and the number of responding farms with agritourism activities is equal to 77 (a 17.5% response rate). The results highlight the importance of farm with agritourism activities in dealing with COVID-19 crisis and policy implications in terms of support for the competitiveness of farms, exchange of knowledge, and innovations among farmers that should be taken into consideration to target the next rural development policy at the EU, the national and regional level. At the same time, the sample reaction methods to the pandemic and the changing business strategies highlight a certain resilience of Italian farms with agritourism activities, thus showing their ability to adapt.

How did Italian diversified farms tackle Covid-19 pandemic first wave challenges?

The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy, in the period March-May 2020, quickly triggered a deep crisis, causing an immediate economic slowdown and consequently a strong contraction in domestic demand and trade. The food supply chain faced severe difficulties, although its anti-cyclical nature allowed for greater resilience compared to other economic sectors. In this framework of ongoing uncertainty, it is important to understand the response of farms to the crisis, and their role in the sustainability of the post-pandemic food supply chain, even for future policy interventions in the short and medium term. The purpose of the paper is to investigate how diversification affected the response of farms to the Covid-19 crisis, and explore whether the changes required by the post-crisis scenario can produce opportunities for their activities. The study investigates a sample of fifteen farms in central Italy through semi-structured interviews, performing a lexicon-based text and sentiment analysis. The results highlight the importance of farm diversification in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis, and emphasise the role of diversified farms for the sustainability of the agri-food system. These results have interesting policy implications, particularly regarding support for the competitiveness of farms by improving sustainable logistics, electronic commerce and exchanges of knowledge and innovations among farmers; these measures should be taken into account to target the future agricultural, rural and food policies, at both national and local level.

Technological Acceptance of Industry 4.0 by Students from Rural Areas

In this study, our objective was to identify the factors that explain the acceptance of Industry 4.0 technologies by technical students. Industry 4.0 is made up of a series of technologies, such as the Internet of Things; cyber-physical systems; big data, data analytics, or data mining; cloud computing or the cloud; augmented reality or mixed reality; additive manufacturing or 3D printing; cybersecurity; collaborative robots; artificial intelligence; 3D simulation; digital twin or digital twin; drones. We designed a theoretical model based on the technology acceptance model to explain the acceptance of these technologies. The study was carried out on a sample of 326 technical professional students. Students are considered ideal samples to test theoretical predictions regarding the relationships between variables in emerging technologies. The results show the positive effect of technological optimism on perceived usefulness and ease of use. However, there was not a direct effect on the attitude towards the use. A mediating effect was established. In addition, the facilitating conditions influence optimism and the ease of using the technology. These elements influence the attitude and intention to use, which is consistent with previous studies on technology acceptance. The results will guide the design of public policies to incorporate technologies into education.

Rural Tourism Destination: The Ligurian Farmers’ Perspective

Rural tourism is considered a high potential form of tourism, enhanced by the demand for more sustainable and nature-based solutions, and able to contribute to territory resilience. A rural area is not necessarily a tourist destination, but it might become one, if agricultural enterprises are willing to diversify their economic activities by investing in rural tourism, and local actors provide active support and co-participation. This research focuses on the development of rural tourism in hinterland, mountainous, and hilly areas of the province of Savona in Liguria (North-West of Italy) in order to gather the farmers’ perspectives about local rural tourism destination development. Liguria is known above all as a seaside tourist destination. In recent years, policy makers have initiated a debate with local actors to relaunch Ligurian tourism by trying to develop alternative forms of tourism, such as rural tourism. A sample of 32 farmers already proposing rural tourism activities such as agritourism were involved in a mixed methodological approach aimed at validating local interest toward rural tourism and collecting information for designing future local development policies. At first, a questionnaire set up by a panel of experts was carried out, followed by one-to-one semi-structured interviews, and finally the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to identify local priorities, strategies, and tools. The results highlight the willingness of farmers to invest in the rural tourism sector, the presence of heterogeneous interests, and the complexity of management of the relationship among the various stakeholders. Findings are partially explained by the early stage of development of rural tourism in the analyzed area, a phase in which starting a constructive dialogue on objective and project ideas among all stakeholders seems to be a crucial priority among the farmers taking part in the study.

Changes in Use of Communication Channels by Livestock Farmers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The study aims to identify any changes in the communication channels used by Slovenian livestock farmers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the main (dis)advantages of relying on them. An online survey was completed by 502 Slovenian farmers of various farm enterprises in winter 2020/2021. Most respondents generally used telephone, e-mail, and the internet to obtain agricultural information before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, farmers increasingly relied on online conferences and social networking sites. At the same time, younger farmers and farmers with a higher education level used digital channels the most frequently, with men doing so more often than women. Digital channels were primarily used by cattle and horse farmers, while cattle farmers showed the greatest online conference participation. Respondents reported having more time to spend with their families and animals as an advantage and the lack of face-to-face interaction with other farmers and advisers as a disadvantage of such communication patterns. As the study reveals differences in the use of communication channels during the COVID-19 pandemic by various farmers, a new communication strategy is needed that involves the use of appropriate communication channels to provide farmers with agricultural information both during the COVID-19 situation and later.

COVID-19 demand-induced scarcity effects on nutrition and environment: investigating mitigation strategies for eggs and wheat flour in the United Kingdom

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to food insecurity in developed countries. Despite adequate levels of agricultural production, consumers experienced demand-induced scarcity. Understanding the effects on nutrition and the environment is limited, yet critical to informing ecologically embedded mitigation strategies. To identify mitigation strategies, we investigated wheat flour and egg retail shortages in the United Kingdom (UK), focusing on consumer behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown. The 6 Steps for Quality Intervention Development (6SQuID) framework informed the methodology. Mixed qualitative and quantitative methods were used to pinpoint the causes of the shortages, and ecological impacts of consumer behavior were related using survey results (n = 243) and environmental and nutritional databases. This research confirmed consumers' narrowed consideration set, willingness to pay, and significant reliance on processed foods which indicates agronomic biofortification, breeding strategies, selective imports and improved processed food quality are important mitigation strategies. We identified positive and negative synergies in consumer, producer and retailer behavior and related these to mitigation strategies in support of a circular bio-economy for food production. We found that the substitutes or alternative foods consumed during the COVID-19 lockdown were nutritionally inadequate. We identified the most ecological substitute for wheat flour to be corn flour; and for eggs, yogurt. Our findings also indicate that selenium deficiency is a risk for the UK population, especially to the increasing fifth of the population that is vegetarian. Due to the need to implement short-, medium-, and long-term mitigation strategies, a coordinated effort is required by all stakeholders.

Farm diversification as a potential success factor for small-scale farmers constrained by COVID-related lockdown. Contributions from a survey conducted in four European countries during the first wave of COVID-19

This paper explores to what extent product and marketing channel diversification contributed to the economic success of small-scale agricultural producers involved in short food supply chains after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey was conducted between April and July 2020 in four countries of the European Union–Estonia, Hungary, Portugal and Romania,–resulting in a relatively large sample of farmers (N = 421). The analysis was built on a semi-nonparametric approach. Approximately 19 percent of small-scale producers were able to increase sales during the first wave of the pandemic, although country-level variation was significant. Fruits and vegetables were by far the most popular products. The importance of specific channels varied across countries, but farm gate sales were among the most important marketing channels both before and during the first wave. The importance of channels that were based on digital resources and home delivery increased. Our evidence indicates that diversification was a strategy that paid off, both in terms of marketing channels and different product categories. However, the impact appears to be nonlinear; the initial advantage generated by diversification rapidly tapered off, either temporarily (in the case of products), or permanently (in the case of marketing channels). Later research may clarify whether these findings are generalizable in other socio-economic contexts, as well as in a non-COVID situation.

Long-Term Development of Urban Agriculture: Resilience and Sustainability of Farmers Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic in Japan

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has forced global food systems to face unprecedented uncertain shocks even in terms of human health. Urban agriculture is expected to be more resilient because of its short supply chain for urban people and diversified farming activities. However, the short-and long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on urban farms remain unclear. This study aims to reveal the conditions for farm resilience to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the relationship between short-term farm resilience and long-term farm development using data from a survey of 74 farms located in Tokyo. The results are as follows. First, more than half of the sample farms increased their farm sales during this period. This resilience can be called the “persistence” approach. Second, short-term farm resilience and other sustainable farm activities contributed to improving farmers’ intentions for long-term farm development and farmland preservation. Third, the most important resilience attributes were the direct marketing, entrepreneurship, and social networks of farmers. We discussed the necessity of building farmers’ transformative capabilities for a more resilient urban farming system. These results imply that support to enhance the short-term resilience of urban farms is worth more than the short-term profit of the farms.

Agri‐food sector and entrepreneurship during the COVID‐19 crisis: A systematic literature review and research agenda

The related literature highlighted the impact of COVID‐19 on agri‐food entrepreneurship, the government measures and support on agri‐food entrepreneurship, and the shift of agri‐food entrepreneurship towards digitization, innovative ideas, and new market solutions. Agri‐food entrepreneurship faces numerous challenges, but at the same time, the crisis can generate opportunities. The studies made so far indicate that COVID‐19 can cause transformational changes to agri‐food entrepreneurship, although further research is needed to clarify open issues.

Healthcare enterprises and public policies on COVID‐19: Insights from the Greek rural areas

Despite the difficulties, entrepreneurship met the socioeconomic challenges by providing solutions to rural areas during the COVID‐19 crisis, while healthcare entrepreneurial activity has been adapted to the changing conditions. The Greek rural areas' healthcare enterprises suffer the consequences of the public policies on COVID‐19 as their activities have been affected, their turnover has decreased, and liquidity problems have arisen. Entrepreneurs believe that the announced state and European support will help them overcome the implications. However, some of the support measures that have a loan rational will bring enterprises with bank loans to a halt. Indeed, entrepreneurship in rural areas faces multiple problems that they are trying to overcome during the COVID‐19 crisis. Uncertainty, insecurity and health scare prevailed. Despite the problems, the enterprises showed resilience and did not cease their operations.

Respondents’ Involvement in Tourist Activities at the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article is aimed at presenting the survey respondents’ involvement in tourist activities, taking into account certain factors at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective may be divided into three direct aims, each of which consists of the determination of the factors that can influence the choice of tourist journeys: (1) organizational factors, (2) social-economic ones, and (3) sustainable development. The authors’ own research findings are used to verify the objective. The research was conducted in April and May 2020 with the use of a diagnostic survey method and a questionnaire. Five-hundred sixty-four respondents from Poland (Podlaskie, Masovian, and Lesser Poland Voivodeships) and 133 respondents from the US (New York State, New Jersey, and Illinois) took part in the research. It was divided into organizational, social-economic, and sustainable development related factors. The research confirmed, inter alia, a great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the organization of tourist travels by the respondents in 2020. The issue presented in the article is a new one; it has not yet been a subject matter of research. That is the major reason the authors aimed to conduct it. What is a new methodological element in the article is the organization of some concepts concerning tourism and a presentation of the influence of COVID-19 on tourism. In the authors’ opinion, the issues presented are new and have a considerable impact on new trends in the development of tourism at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue discussed is very broad, and the article does not exhaust it. The research findings are compared to the research findings reported by other authors, and standard deviations are calculated.