Problem setting and problem solving in the case of olive quick decline syndrome in Apulia, Italy: A sociological approach

Abstract

This article gives an account of the social construction of phytopathological knowledge in the case of olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) in Apulia, Italy. Due to the economic, cultural, and social importance of the olive crop, the spread of this disease has been characterized by a social debate over the implementation of mandatory phytosanitary policies, the etiological role played by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, the role of scientific experts, and the unexplored research trajectories (“undone science”) proposed by social and environmental movements. We examine how the disease has generated different approaches to problem setting and problem solving, one focused on OQDS as a complex of symptoms uniquely caused by X. fastidiosa, and the other framing the study of “complesso del disseccamento rapido dell’olivo” (CoDiRO) as a complex of causes. Drawing on a 2-year ethnographic study among researchers, policymakers, agricultural stakeholders, and social movements, this article uses theoretical concepts from the sociology of knowledge, sociology of scientific knowledge, and sociology of ignorance to examine the case and to reconstruct the 360° approach proposed by social movements as an alternative to the epistemic and political reductionism of official phytosanitary and science policies.