Bio-districts and the territory: evidence from a regression approach

In recent years the bio-districts have been considerably spread in Italy. The bio-district can be defined as a locally rooted multifunctional project with the involvement of farms and institutions. Our research aims at assessing potential relations between territorial, socio-economic features and the presence of bio-districts in an area, by means of a logit regression analysis at municipal scale in Italy. Data have been collected from several sources, among which ISTAT digital databases. Main results show as farms with diversification activities and the presence of Local Action Groups are factors related to the rising of bio-districts in a territory. Moreover, the study highlights the role of bio-districts in disadvantageous and mountain areas, in developing effective territorial governance. In terms of policy implication, CAP 2023-2027 can constitute the ideal bench for testing bio-districts function playing a crucial role in reaching the objective set by the Farm to Fork strategy.