Producer, farm, production or perception? What really drives adaptation to climate change in the case of producers of Geographical Indications?

Abstract

In an era of rapid climate change, there is an increasing call for the efforts directed at detecting best practices of climate change adaptation in agriculture and understanding the factors behind producers’ willingness to implement adaptation strategies. Many studies consider the wine sector only, little attention is paid to the agri-food sector, and even less to certified productions. To fill this knowledge gap, in 2022 a questionnaire-based online survey was administered to 137 producers of agri-food Geographical Indications in the Veneto Region (north-eastern Italy) and this study analyses the main emerging results. Using a multinomial logit model, it highlights the factors explaining adaptation distinguishing three different cases: (i) farmers who have already implemented adaptation strategies; (ii) farmers who are willing to implement them in the future; (iii) farmers who neither have implemented them in the past nor are willing to do so in the future. Significant factors revolve around the complex interplay of socio-demographic characteristics, farm management and networks, production type, and direct climate change perception.