Contractual arrangements in the Italian durum wheat supply chain: The impacts of the "Fondo grano duro"

In Italy, the use of contracts is restricted to a small share of the durum wheat production used to obtain high quality pasta in order to ensure the origin of durum wheat. In response to the permanent crisis of this strategic sector, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture introduced the so-called "Fondo grano duro" in 2016. It aims to give financial support to farmers who sign a contract with pasta producers to supply durum wheat. This paper represents a preliminary attempt to approach and investigate the impacts of the "Fondo" on coordination of decisions. Therefore, a case study design was used and several durum wheat contracts funded by the "Fondo" were analysed and classified according to the principles of Transaction Cost Economics (tce). To this regard, findings could pave the way for a discussion on the nature of the "Fondo" in the light of the recent developments of the tce concerning the meso-institutional layer.