How Mediterranean winegrowers perceive climate change

Angelina De Pascale; Carlo Giannetto; Agata Zirilli; Angela Alibrandi; Maurizio Lanfranchi; Angelina De Pascale; Carlo Giannetto; Agata Zirilli; Angela Alibrandi; Maurizio Lanfranchi

doi:10.3934/agrfood.2023023

AIMS Agriculture and Food

2023, Volume 8, Issue 2: 440-460. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2023023

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Research article Topical Sections

How Mediterranean winegrowers perceive climate change

Department of Economics, University of Messina, Via dei Verdi, 75, 98122 Messina, Italy

Received: 23 January 2023 Revised: 27 February 2023 Accepted: 09 March 2023 Published: 03 April 2023

Farmers are the most affected by the negative impacts of climate change and, at the same time, are called upon to adapt to climate change. Despite this, the degree of perception and adaptive attitude of farmers to climate change is still quite limited, especially in smallholder family farms in the Mediterranean areas. This study explores the level of perception of climate change by PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) winegrowers in a region of southern Italy (Sicily) and the adaptation actions able to cope with climate change, using a nonparametric approach. The analysis is based on data collected through self-administered questionnaires submitted to 380 PDO winegrowers. For variables comparison the Mann Whitney and the Kruskall Wallis test were applied according to the number of compared samples (two or more independent samples, respectively). Results show how winegrowers' perceptions of climate change tends to vary according to age and education of the respondents and to altitude and size of vineyards. This study highlights how information and dissemination of knowledge among winegrowers play a strategic role in the perception of climate change, especially in rural and remote Mediterranean areas.
- climate change,
- adaptation strategies,
- agriculture,
- winegrowers,
- perceptions,
- Mediterranean area
Citation: Angelina De Pascale, Carlo Giannetto, Agata Zirilli, Angela Alibrandi, Maurizio Lanfranchi. How Mediterranean winegrowers perceive climate change[J]. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 2023, 8(2): 440-460. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2023023

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Abstract

Farmers are the most affected by the negative impacts of climate change and, at the same time, are called upon to adapt to climate change. Despite this, the degree of perception and adaptive attitude of farmers to climate change is still quite limited, especially in smallholder family farms in the Mediterranean areas. This study explores the level of perception of climate change by PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) winegrowers in a region of southern Italy (Sicily) and the adaptation actions able to cope with climate change, using a nonparametric approach. The analysis is based on data collected through self-administered questionnaires submitted to 380 PDO winegrowers. For variables comparison the Mann Whitney and the Kruskall Wallis test were applied according to the number of compared samples (two or more independent samples, respectively). Results show how winegrowers' perceptions of climate change tends to vary according to age and education of the respondents and to altitude and size of vineyards. This study highlights how information and dissemination of knowledge among winegrowers play a strategic role in the perception of climate change, especially in rural and remote Mediterranean areas.

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