Gender mainstreaming and the Common Agricultural Policy

While there are many case studies looking at gender mainstreaming in national contexts, this article offers a pan-European perspective to examine how a stated commitment to gender equality at this meta-level works in practice. The European Union’s (EU) stated commitment to gender mainstreaming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is critically reviewed. The article reviews theoretical literature on gender mainstreaming, considers the position of women in agriculture across Europe, and examines efforts by the EU to gender mainstream the CAP. It argues that at best, gender mainstreaming focuses on the symptoms of gender inequality in agriculture rather than the causes. Because of this, gender mainstreaming cannot be transformative in this context. Little thought has been given to the practical difficulties of actually gender mainstreaming a policy such as the CAP. The EU’s priority for the CAP focuses on the mainstream business goal of a viable agricultural industry and does not pay any heed to gender inequalities in agriculture. In short, the stated commitment to gender mainstreaming is empty rhetoric

Italy's got talent. How Italian leading companies in confectionery industry overcame the crisis

The crisis that spread worldwide since 2007 started from the financial sector and ended to affect also real economy. This process has attracted the attention of many scholars seeking to study its causes and impacts. Notwithstanding many works on this topic, the impact of the crisis on specific industries is still rather unexplored. The present work seeks to address this issue by analyzing the confectionery industry, with particular emphasis for Italian market leaders, Ferrero S.p.A. and Perfetti Van Melle S.r.l.. The aim of the study is to assess if they have been successful in tackling the crisis, keeping a satisfactory level of profitability associated to a good financial health notwithstanding ongoing difficulties. Moreover, we seek to analyze the strategies the companies employed to survive the crisis. The concern of the paper is both quantitative and qualitative. Thus, we calculated a complete set of indicators using a specific methodology for financial statement analysis which has been conceived especially for studying Italian firms; these data have been integrated with other information retrieved from the annual reports of the companies (especially the notes to the accounts and the directors’ report). The analysis highlights that both the firms benefit from a good financial health, with Perfetti Van Melle presenting a large amount of liquidity. On the contrary, liquidity should be the main concern of Ferrero because of an excessive reliance on current liabilities. Both the firms have a good level of profitability, even if Perfetti Van Melle’s one is decreasing. The key-strategies for the success of these firms are ongoing investments in state-of-the-art plant and machinery, an increasing use of equity as the main source of funding, along with huge investments in research and advertising.

Implications of nanotechnology for the agri-food industry: Opportunities, benefits and risks

Nanotechnology has emerged as a technological advancement that could develop and transform the entire agri-food sector, with the potential to increase agricultural productivity, food security and economic growth for industries. Though as still a relatively new concept there are concerns over its safety, regulation and acceptance by the industry and consumers. This review set out to address the implications of nanotechnology for the agri-food industry by examining the potential benefits, risks and opportunities. Existing scientific gaps in knowledge are believed to be a prohibitive factor in addition to uncertainties in the level of awareness and attitudes towards the use of nanotechnology by the industry.