Agriculture a common good. A qualitative-quantitative research
Eurispes in collaboration with Confagricoltura conducted a survey on agriculture as a “common good”, i.e. based on the concept of sharing.
The daily news has brought some of the fundamentals of civilised living back into the spotlight. Among many, the concept of entitlement; the dependence of our welfare model on the availability of electricity; the fragility of food self-sufficiency; the hiatus between this circumstance and the growth of national agri-food exports. Agriculture returns to the spotlight as a problem, an “issue” that generates numerous questions in an increasingly interconnected and dependent global economy. The research, starting from the assumption of “agriculture as a common good”, sets itself two objectives: to explore the contemporary meaning of the concept of common good, in general and specifically of the association with agriculture; to measure the perception of agriculture as a common good in its main dimensions.
The survey shows in particular that “nature” is the word most associated with agriculture (65.5%), followed by “food” (60.9%). “Landscape”, “heritage” and “traditions” were each chosen by about 35% of respondents. “Wealth”, on the other hand, was selected by only 15.8%. Among the negative perceptions, “labour exploitation” and “pesticides” were chosen as keywords by more than half of the sample.
For Italians, agriculture teaches important values in particular to young people (77.3%), provides access to quality food for all (76.6%) and is relevant in defining the country’s identity (73.3%).
Agriculture is considered a fundamental part of the economy by about 86% of Italians, but it does not generate many jobs for 53.6%, and is not considered modern and innovative in 43% of cases. Improving the productivity of cultivated land and preserving the landscape are indicated as the most important objectives to be achieved. Contrasting climate change, on the other hand, occupies only the third position.
The research can be consulted, after registering on the site, at
The summary of the results can instead be downloaded here
