Social agriculture as social innovation. The role of the National Forum for Social Agriculture

Abstract

The contribution analyses 'Social agriculture as social innovation. The role of the National Social Agriculture Forum, with attention to the context, reading tools and policy implications. Social agriculture is defined as an innovative, inclusive, participative and generative agriculture model that provides recreational, educational, and assistance services (Di Iacovo e O’Connor, 2009). This contribution aims to analyse the collective action of sharing experiences and cooperation promoted by the Forum to disseminate the model of social agriculture in Italy. It is a collector, it is a forum. (Interview 3) The contribution of the National Forum was fundamental for the spread of social agriculture. The fact that politicians speak our language and use our terminology for us is an indicator that we are going in the right direction, qualitatively and quantitatively. By giving voice to concrete realities and experiences and favouring the exchange at national level, the Forum managed to discard the corporate lobbyists of representation of interests, reconfigured participation and the definition of the model of social agriculture.

Keywords

agriculture; innovation; governance; social economy; welfare welfare; human capital

JEL codes

Q12; Q13; Q18