Can Social Network Analysis help the implementation of joint actions in agriculture? Case study: social connectedness of farmers in the Italian province of Pisa (Tuscany)

This paper introduces a social network perspective to the study of joint actions in agriculture. Specific measures of the Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020 support collective approaches to sustainable farming. Joint actions are not spontaneous. Social network analysis can help to interpret the social behaviour of the persons involved. We characterized the ego network of a case study in Tuscany using UCINET. Our results suggest that being a leader in organic farming does not ensure a collective transition to sustainable agricultural practices through a “neighbourhood effect”, as most ties within the network are not shared locally. Social network analysis can benefit policymakers providing them with a socio-relational frame, which can help to highlight the factors within the network that prevent farmers from collaborating towards a joint transition to sustainable farming.