The Resilience of Bergamot Farmers in the Reggio Calabria Province of Southern Italy

Bergamot is a citrus fruit with more than 90% of the global production coming from the Reggio Calabria province. It is used almost exclusively as an essential, high-quality fragrance ingredient. A study was carried out to examine the impact of the stability that has occurred in the bergamot sector after the reform of the bergamot value chain in 2007. The objectives of this paper are (i) to measure the resilience of bergamot producers, (ii) to highlight the structure of their resilience building strategy, (iii) to assess the relevance of the bergamot production and the reform of the bergamot value chain. Interviews with representatives of 326 households who produce bergamot and are registered at the Consortium of Bergamot of Reggio Calabria were carried out in three interview centres across the province in March and April 2014, using a CAPI-adapted technique. The measurement of bergamot producers’ resilience was based on the application of multivariate analysis techniques and on the existing body of knowledge regarding social and ecological resilience. The study demonstrated that almost 70% of interviewees have seen their income increase by between 32% and 35% in the seven years to 2014. Bergamot was identified as both being more profitable than other crops and contributing to farmers’ resilience by increasing their access to networks. Using a simulation scenario approach, analyses showed that if the cultivation of bergamot were no longer carried out it would induce a decrease in producers’ resilience by 21%.