Paradigm of the circular economy in agriculture: The case of vegetable seedlings for transplantation in nursery farms

The paper is part of the analysis of the current issues on the challenges that should lead to a sustainable future based on the optimization of production processes and the reduction of waste, with a first contribution on a leading agricultural sector in Italy. In agriculture, there are very different experiences and practices, each of which has the potential to develop indicators to monitor report and communicate trends and progress towards the implementation of the circular economy. In this context, the document aims to investigate whether the business activities of tomato plant nurseries are consistent with the process of implementing the circular economy paradigm. In order to explore and realize the first results, the study has been developed in an area of South-eastern Sicily where the establishment of nursery farms and corresponding horticultural farms with off-season vegetable known and much appreciated on national and international markets is quite substantial. The results, while showing the usefulness of further analysis, have revealed virtuous conditions in the management and recovery of process waste in nursery companies. These conditions provide useful elements for extending the relevant nursery practices to similar companies. The need to promote and monitor in a more effective way the economic efforts (reduction of special waste) and/or financial (reuse of scraps), prove to be more appropriate especially in those nurseries with traditional farming method and less environmentally friendly.