Introduzione. Per un’analisi critica delle filiere e dei sistemi agro-alimentari in Italia

Introduction. For a critical analysis of agri-food systems and chains in Italy. This contribution introduces the monographic section of «Meridiana» devoted to the study of the transformations of Italian agri-food systems over the last three decades in a social science perspective. First, it describes four transformations in Italian agri-food system, through a reference to quantitative data, concerning respectively the structure of Italian farms, the changes in farm labour, the predominance of supermarket chains in the distribution system, the growth of «quality» productions. Second, it recalls the contributions of international agri-food studies that are deemed helpful for a deeper understanding of the Italian case, with a particular reference to the global value chain approach and the food regime analysis. Third, this introduction critically reviews the most important findings of Italian recent debate on agriculture. Finally, it summarizes the main original contributions given by the articles to such debate. In particular, such contributions concern: an analysis of the intertwinement between productivist and post-productivist farming models; the importance of the reduction of labour costs in the strategies of both farms and food industries; the role of big retailers in imposing prices and production standards to the entire agri-food system; the consideration of various types of conflicts and tensions in the study of agri-food systems.