Il settore delle produzioni zootecniche biologiche in Sicilia

The study shows the results obtained in Sicily in the sphere of the activities carried out within a larger national research3, and identifies key strengths and weaknesses of the sector, both in the production stage and in the upstream segments of processing and marketing. As for the structural survey on manufacturing firms, the research turned both to a direct survey concerning some case studies which were tested for a two-year period, and to the analysis of the technical-financial elements derived from the RICA-INEA Database. On the other hand, for what concerns the steps following the production, the investigation looked at 12 firms dealing, also or exclusively, with the marketing of organic farms products (milk, cheese, eggs, and meat in sheep, goats, cattle and poultry), analyzed as case studies. The study reveals some significant features of the development of the industry, whose products are still marketed primarily on conventional markets, and the difficulties of the companies investigated, mainly due to the weakness, or, in some cases, to the absence of channels of commerce locally organized and able to absorb their production.