Le aziende agrarie sperimentali delle università italiane: dalle criticità attuali alla sostenibilità futura

Italian university farms provide a crucial support for teaching, research and innovation transfer in the agrofood, forestry, environmental and even social sectors. In order to point out their current values and weaknesses, and to start reflecting on possible development strategies, a survey was realised. A questionnaire was sent to the 25 Italian universities providing courses in the agrofood and forestry sectors. The main weaknesses emerged concern the availability of the required data, in particular economic data, and the economic sustainability of these farms, especially with regard to staff costs. Moreover, the survey made it possible to outline for the first time a cognitive framework of the Italian university farms, thus creating a useful database for future updates and insights.