SUSTAINABILITY OF FAMILY AGROECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTHERN ITALY

This work was carried out during the years 2018 and 2019 in the Calatafimi Segesta commune, Trapani province, Sicily region, in the far south of Italy. The objective was to analyze the sustainability of family agroecosystems by identifying the key elements that account for the performance of the studied premises. It is a research of mixed methods of the Sequential transformative strategy type. The theoretical-methodological framework was the Framework for Evaluation of Natural Resource Management Systems incorporating Sustainability Indicators [MESMIS] which based on systemic theory allows a multicriteria measurement using sustainability indicators. We analyzed 32 family farms and listed 28 indicators grouped into 5 attributes. It was observed that the physical dimension of the rural premises is a crucial factor for their performance, as this aspect has limited or allowed the implementation of other associated strategies, contributing to improve sustainability. Farms with up to nine hectares perform worse on all sustainability attributes when compared to larger ones. Historical factors such as land reform and the successive division of settlements over the generations have resulted in a panorama of land fractionation that seriously undermines its sustainability.