Who Remains When Professional Farmers Give up? Some Insights on Hobby Farming in an Olive Groves-Oriented Terraced Mediterranean Area

Many land use systems in Mediterranean sloping areas risk abandonment because of nonprofitability, while their hydro-geological stability depends on an appropriate management. However, who are the land managers? What are their practices? Our research on the traditional olive groves of the Monte Pisa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Land (Basel) 2020-05, Vol.9 (5), p.168
Main Authors: Gennai-Schott, Sabine, Sabbatini, Tiziana, Rizzo, Davide, Marraccini, Elisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abandonment
Agricultural land
Agricultural practices
Agricultural sciences
Agriculture
Agronomy
Case studies
Farmers
farming practices
Geography
hobby farming
Humanities and Social Sciences
Land management
Land use
Life Sciences
Lifestyles
olive groves
peri-urban
Rural areas
stewardship
Urban areas
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Summary:Many land use systems in Mediterranean sloping areas risk abandonment because of nonprofitability, while their hydro-geological stability depends on an appropriate management. However, who are the land managers? What are their practices? Our research on the traditional olive groves of the Monte Pisano (Tuscany, Italy) reveals for the first time the quantitatively important role of hobby farmers as land managers in the area. We used a three-step-method: first, a database was constructed using several data sources to identify and map the population of olive growers; then, 35 semi-structured interviews were conducted, and finally, the data were analyzed to highlight the contribution of olive growers to the land management, along with their motivations and constraints. Our results found that hobby farmers constitute about 90% of all land managers in the study area and manage more than half of the agricultural land. They are a very uneven group, and there are no clear categories detectable by analyzing sociodemographic factors, practices and farm characteristics. They are the “same but different”, not following any market rules, as they are not profit-oriented. Their farming practices are quite homogeneous and mainly in-line with professional farming practices of that area, oriented versus a minimum input management.
ISSN:2073-445X
2073-445X
DOI:10.3390/land9050168