Universities and Wineries: Supporting Sustainable Development in Disadvantaged Rural Areas

Autor: Cristina Santini, Concetta Ferrara, Sabrina Tomasi, Alessio Cavicchi, Federica Baldoni, Chiara Aleffi, Gigliola Paviotti
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Agriculture, Vol 10, Iss 378, p 378 (2020)
Agriculture
Volume 10
Issue 9
ISSN: 2077-0472
Popis: This exploratory study focuses on the role of the university in supporting sustainable development in rural areas, focusing on small wine producers, particularly those located in remote and disadvantaged areas. Disadvantaged areas have distinctive features. Firstly, they are fragile areas from a sociodemographic point of view because of population ageing. Secondly, they are unstable from an environmental (physical, eco-systemic) point of view, as a consequence of insufficient maintenance of their seminatural capital. University&ndash
business cooperation with companies located in those areas thus needs to be designed by considering the specific characteristic of the place. Therefore, this exploratory study sought to understand how the university can work with small wineries and support them and their rural area to face inequalities and low growth, and foster social innovation. We present a case study based on field research in Italy. The results&mdash
based on the analysis of 26 semistructured interviews with small wine producers&mdash
are discussed by exploring the potential form of cooperation between rural stakeholders and universities, beyond the concept of knowledge transfer. Conclusions highlight the need for the university to act as a facilitator of dialogue at a territorial level, as a first step toward to formulation of shared sustainable goals.
Databáze: OpenAIRE