The full title: “Alessandro Bartola” Association – studies and research works on economy and agricultural policy – demonstrates the inclination of the Association towards research. It imposes a task to promote the realization and spreading of scientific results in centres (university and others) with which it is linked in the field of research and where it offers its real contribution. The Association also imposes the task to represent itself as a research centre, first of all in order to meet the necessity for a scientific deepening of its own associates and then, also, to be open, in the same way, particularly to the public institutions and social organizations. The fields of research in which the association is being engaged and candidates with specific projects of research are the following:

-         The analysis of public expenditure in Italian fishing department

-         Co-operation in agriculture and agro-food

-         Rural development and employment in rural areas

-         “Agenda 2000” and CAP reform

-         Under- nutrition, agriculture and North-South development.

The analysis of the public expenditures in Italian fishing department information

The Association is working on a national research project whose objective is to set a system of observation and systematic monitoring of the fishing policy in Italy. The project includes a plan of realization of a prototype of software, which can be used on a personal computer, that is dedicated to the consulting of data base by not professionals (not experts). The work is carried out by involving and demanding the maximum of collaboration of politicians in charge, and administration managers involved. The research is a part of a research work series regarding the public expenses in the department of agriculture already developed.

Co-operation in agriculture and agro-food sector

Research works regarding the issue of co-operation have been done recently. They have a particular reference to the co-operation reality of the region of Marche, to the analyses of the balance, to financial equilibrium and to the social structure. Elaborations referring  even to the opportunities and market strategy  and to emergency forms and types of co-operation in agriculture are already on the way. When the issue of co-operation is concerned, moreover, a hypothesis to invite experts of international and national level is being developed in order to elaborate the role and forms of co-operative solution in the department and to present the results acquired in recent research works. We intend to develop this initiative by asking the co-operation centres  and the region of Marche to collaborate.

Rural development and employment in rural areas

It is an issue in which we are involved through a research financed by the European Union at the Department of Economy. In that respect, the cases of the Province of Pesaro and Macerata have been focused; the prospective is to extend the survey on the whole of regional territory. After all, even to present the first results of the research and to open a debate on the broad topic of rural development, two ideas are being considered. They have been realized in two provinces in collaboration with local institutions and social organizations interested in this issue that have already showed interest and availability during the course of the research. Foreign persons have already been contacted regarding this objective, particularly those people engaged in issues of rural development who declared their availability to participate.

“Agenda 2000” and reforms of CAP

“Agenda 2000” and questions it raised, are , at the moment the central topic of the debate on CAP reform. On this issue, a great effort in research has been done so far and it will continue in near future. Furthermore, given the central topic, it is an opportunity to provide public events of confrontation and discussion, as it was already done in last December through seminars of professor Fabrizio De Filippis and Allan Buckwell.

We shall continue to follow the topic. At first, an initiative could consist of a presentation and the analyses of suggestions regarding regulations to carry it out published by the Commission on March 18. The initiative could be organized immediately after Easter. We are already busy with bringing our contribution as “Bartola” Association to an initiative on this topic on a national level.

Under-nutrition, agriculture and North-South development

Although the constitution objectives of the association are mostly concentrated on European, Italian and Marchegan agriculture, we are not going to consider those problems in full, we shall take the whole of Sandro Bartola lectures, if not integrate them with material and moral problems related to the role of the rural society all over the world. Thus, this series of research and relative initiatives regarding the most general topics on the role of agriculture in underdevelopment remains to be of great importance in our activity. In this respect, we remember our collaboration with Centro Volontari Marchigani (CVM), with its center in Ancona, when elaborating a European project for a center of documentation on topics on North-South development and a course of formation and education on peace, due to the support of the Marche Region, Province of Ancona, County of Ancona and the University of Studies of Ancona come to be mentioned. Always in regard to this issue, during last November and December, the Association organized a series of seminars on the topic of underdevelopment (It was organized by Ancona and the CVM).