Small Fruit Production in Mountain Areas with the use of Biocontrol Agents: Investigating Farmers' Attitudes and Consumers' Choice in Trentino.

In recent years, concerns have been raised over the effects of the overuse of agricultural pesticides on the environment and human health. Biocontrol agents (BCAs) can serve as an alternative to chemicals in integrated pest management (IPM) systems. Although the adoption of BCAs is strongly affected by the socioeconomic environment in which they are to be applied and by farmers’ attitudes, these factors have been poorly investigated in BCA research and development programs. This thesis empirically investigates the farmers’ attitude to an IPM that employs BCAs extensively to understand which are the factors that may prevent the adoption on large scale for this strategy and which may represent the key for its success. Moreover, it aims to provide some insight about the role of different source of information and of government in spreading information about BCAs. Simultaneously with the evaluation of the agro-systems (farms) in which there is the highest probability for successful BCA implementation, it is also important to understand whether there would be a market for products obtained with BCAs. This thesis focuses on identifying the attributes that have been shown to be relevant and determinant in purchasing and willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable grown fruits and vegetables and on evaluating the consumers’ preferences and their willingness to pay for fruit obtained with BCAs. Moreover, it aims to discover whether the consumers choice is influenced by threshold values (cut-offs).