TITLE:
Stakeholders’ Perception of Xylella Fastidiosa (Xf) Disease Risk Assessment: First Results from Puglia (IT), Chania (GR), Valencia and Andalucia (ES)
AUTHORS:
Gaetano Ladisa, Claudio Bogliotti, Generosa Calabrese, Chariton Kalaitzidis, Ioannis Livieratos, Carolyn Owen, Alessandra Scardigno, Eleni Stamataki, Cosimo Rota
KEYWORDS:
Risk Perception, Governance, Xylella Fastidiosa, Plant Disease, Stakeholders’ Attitude
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.9 No.2,
February
19,
2021
ABSTRACT: Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is an aerobic,
Gram-negative bacterium of the monotypic genus Xylella. It is transmitted
exclusively by xylem fluid feeding sap insects. Xf is one of the most dangerous
plant bacteria worldwide, causing a variety of diseases, with huge impact for agriculture, and affecting cultivated plants of high economic value (e.g., olive
trees, stone fruits—plums, almonds, cherries) or wide-spread ornamental plants
(e.g., myrtle-leaf milkwort, oleander). In the
frame of H2020 Project XF-ACTORS, analysis of the environmental, socio-economic and governance impact and vulnerability
to Xf have been carried out in selected case study areas. To reach this goal, an
extensive survey was conducted with the support of a comprehensive
questionnaire in Puglia (Italy), Crete (Greece), Valencia and Andalusia (Spain). Questionnaires were
completed through face-to-face interviews with local farmers, decision makers,
extension experts and practitioners. The
survey aimed to: 1) collect the point of
view and perception of people about Xf disease and the containment plans; 2)
identify possible gaps in communication, understand possible weak points in the
communication strategy that could hamper the application and the effectiveness
of containment measures; 3) understand the network of relationships existing
among stakeholders in territorial contexts; and 4) collect suggestions from
local people with a view to improving the
management of information related to the disease. Questions
were grouped under different main criteria: Knowledge, Perception, Practices,
Involvement, Effectiveness, Responsibility. A scoring procedure assigned to
each question a value to assess the corresponding indexes: DKI-Disease
Knowledge Index, DPI-Disease Perception
Index, FPI-Farm Practices Index, INV-Involvement Index, EFF-Effectiveness
Index, RES-Responsibility Index. The overall values of RISK (DKI/DPI/FPI) and
GOVERNANCE (INV/EFF/RES) were then obtained. To
investigate linkages (correlation and causation) between Governance and Risk
(perception and management) domains as well as among their indices, Structural
Equation Modelling (SEM) technique was adopted. The proposed methodology proves
to be useful to describe attitudes of
respondents when facing the epidemic, as well as how they appreciate and tackle
disease management. The work allows practical suggestions to be made to improve the
knowledge-perception relationship that directly influences willingness to adopt
preventive/control measures against the pathogen, and consequently will increase the efficiency of Xf disease management. The
result of the whole analyses confirmed that the engagement of stakeholders, the
involvement of expert groups (enlarged to experts in economy and social
science) and an appropriate communication
strategy are essential for a successful implementation of phytosanitary
measures.