TRANSITIONING INTO CIRCULAR AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS: THE CASE STUDY OF THE APULIAN OLIVE OIL SUPPLY CHAIN

The circular economy (CE) is emerging as a key paradigm for transitioning economic systems towards sustainable futures. However, socio-technical transition processes are rugged, uncertain, and slow-paced (Elzen et al., 2004), especially when the destination point is not clearly identified, as in the case of the CE, that still lacks a commonly agreed definition (Borrello et al., 2020), and that has not been comprehensively adapted to specific fields, such as agriculture and agri-food systems (Velasco-Muñoz et al., 2021; Batles-delaFuente et al., 2022). The aim of this study was to explore if, how and at which level(s) the transition towards a circular economy (CE) is taking place into a particular agri-food system, i.e. the olive oil supply chain, within a given territorial context, namely Apulia, which is the leading Italian olive oil producing region. For addressing such a complex and multi-layered issue, a qualitative research inspired by grounded theory approaches was undertook. An extensive cognitive framework was inductively carved out from the deep, experiential, and located knowledge of expert witnesses. Qualitative data were collected by means of semi-structured, open-ended interviews. During the summer of 2021, a total of 14 key-informants were interviewed, including farmers, millers, technical advisors, representatives of professional associations, and academics. Great attention was given to the selection of the key-informants, in order to get a wide range of professional profiles, knowledge levels and expertise areas, and to cover all the stages of the supply chain, as well as the diversified regional districts. The interviewing process ended when the informative saturation point was reached. About 15 hours of video/audio recording were collected overall. The interviews transcripts were firstly subjected to a scoping analysis to figure out dominant themes and conceptual patterns. Interpretative bias was reduced by discussing the preliminary findings through collaborative discussion. Qualitative analysis was then systematically advanced with the support of the software NVivo, to provide a more robust data structure. Basing on an iterative procedure of coding, a total of 169 empirical concepts, emerging directly from the interviewees’ verbatims, were identified. These first order categories were then clustered into thematic areas, and finally assembled into aggregate dimensions, following an increasing abstraction process (Gioia et al., 2013). The results were framed into the conceptual framework of the multi-level perspective (Geels, 2002, 2019), assumed as theoretical anchor to discuss the transition process under investigation. The socio-technical regime was described by pinpointing: i) how the structure and functioning of the dominant supply chain is currently shaped, focusing on general features, the actors system and their relations, the supporting technologies and infrastructures, and resource management schemes; ii) which are the main locks-in and path-dependent dynamics, with particular emphasis on the economic strengths and weaknesses on one side, and on the environmental virtuousness and criticalities on the other side; iii) which internal tensions are emerging, ranging from cultural, to economic, coordination, and regulative bottlenecks that contribute to perpetuate the identified constraints. As for the niche level, many innovative solutions being tested or available at least at theoretical level were acknowledged by the informants, but the most cited and promising circular pathway was that of biogas plants fed with mills’ by-products. A number of relevant key-elements for designing circular business models and supply chains did emerge from the interviewees’ discourses. The great potential of the olive oil system to move towards a circular model was recognized, with the valorisation of the by-products representing a pivotal innovation area to enhance the shift. Distinct claims were advocated to implement CE specifically into the agro-ecological and the agro-industrial sub-systems (respectively, olive cultivation and harvesting, and olive oil production), while overall strategies were identified at the supply chain level, such as engaging agreements and contracts, or promoting sustainable and quality products by means of traceability and labelling, branding, communication, and marketing. Fundamental enabling factors and major transition barriers were also brought out. On the background, exogenous forces operating at the landscape level may affect the socio-technical transition: above all, climate change, an evolving global market, a changing policy framework, and the Xylella outbreak that engulfed the Apulian olive sector. Depending on the responses mobilised, such forces can act as reproducing apparatuses that strengthen the regime, or windows of opportunity for catalysing the transition process (e.g. replacing destroyed groves with super-intensive plants VS defining sustainable, regenerative and restorative farming models). For the moment, the implementation of CE into the Apulian olive sector seems to be driven by individual firms, who welcome it as an economic opportunity or a way to solve contingent problems, from one side, and to be pushed by top-down policies providing incentives and supportive measures, on the other side. Connecting and governance actions at the meso-level (e.g. by second level organizations or regional government) still lack, preventing the uptake of systemic changes necessary to reorganize the whole supply chain from a circular perspective. Constitutive coordination issues and a missing strategic vision represent the major barriers to foster robust transition patterns. Research can make a crucial contribution by elaborating on desirable ultimate scenarios to reach, and possible transition trajectories.