Apulian Food Districts: An Innovation Ecosystem for Digital and Green Transition

The chapter analyses the role of Food Districts as innovation ecosystems, with a focus on the Apulia Federiciana District, to understand the dynamics of the digital and green transition in the Italian agri-food sector. The study explores how the adoption of digital technologies can promote a more sustainable green transition. Through a survey addressed to the representatives of the districts and the stakeholders involved in the District Contract, the research highlights heterogeneous levels of digitalisation and a limited structuring of interventions oriented towards the ecological transition. The results show that the most committed actors to green practices also tend to adopt a higher number of digital solutions, confirming the complementarity between technological and ecological transformations. The work underlines the importance of strengthening policies, skills, and infrastructure to fully support the twin transition, highlighting the potential of Food Districts as territorial platforms for the sustainable development and competitiveness of the agri-food sector.