Agro-biodiversity of Mediterranean crops: farmers' preferences in support of a conservation programme for olive landraces

- Apulian olive landraces are important in economic, environmental and historical terms.
- Modern agriculture is seriously threatening this local germoplasm.
- A conservation policy must consider a deep valuation of stakeholders' characteristics.
- Choice experiment highlighted 3 different groups of regional farmers.
- Market, women and genetic research are key elements for a proper conservation policy.

The study focused on the willingness to participate in a conservation programme for olive landraces by farmers in Apulia, Italy. The choice experiment approach through a latent class model was carried out in order to investigate different characteristics of farmers which could increase the effectiveness and efficiency of conservation strategies by policy makers.The analysis identified three groups of respondents, each of which with very different characteristics: capitalist farms with high profit level managed by farmers unwilling to take part in a conservation programme; small and fragmented family farms managed by older farmers fully in favour of the programme; young farmers with low capital input, but willing to engage with a minimum participation in the programme.Policy implications suggest the need to develop markets able to appreciate the characteristics of the local olive oils, to involve farmers in marketing training programmes for a better placing of local products in the market, to support the young farmers and family farming, to set suitable policies which are able to trigger a more incisive involvement of women in conservation programmes.Such a holistic approach could generate welfare for all agents of the supply chain, in terms of profit, environment, food security and nutritional aspects.