Farmers' attitudes towards lamb meat production under a Protected Geographical Indication

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to analyse farmers’ attitudes towards the production of lambs under a Protected Geographical Indication in Spain as well as to identify farmer profiles based on these attitudes. The information used in this study was chiefly obtained from surveys carried out on a sample of 49 sheep farmers producing PGI lambs, located in Aragón, a region in the north east of Spain, which is an area that typically produces lamb meat. The statistical analysis consisted of descriptive analyses and the development of factor analyses and a cluster analysis, the latter aimed at segmenting farmers according to attitude. The results suggest it is commercial aspects that most determine the farmer's choice to produce PGI lambs. Furthermore, three segments of producers with considerably differing attitudes towards PGI production were identified. A first segment of producers acknowledge the commercial benefits that PGI production offers. The second segment of farmers, although they produce lambs under the PGI, are not particularly convinced of the potential commercial advantages and the third segment, which is the largest, is fairly indifferent towards the production of lambs under the PGI. Producer age and family composition enable the three segments of farmers to be differentiated.