A license to produce? Farmer interpretations of the new food security agenda

Aim of the studyThe purpose of the study is to consider the issue of sustainable land use in Ukraine, taking into account the consequences of the war. The legal definition of sustainable land use is currently not sufficiently justified and balanced. In Ukraine today, the paradigm of sustainable (balanced) land use is still being formed, and the Land Policy Strategy for the management of land resources and land use should be based on it.Material and methodsThe method of analysis is used to determine the possibilities of a more rapid development of the socially oriented market economy after the war. This can happen thanks to the deepening of the theoretical foundations of the rational use of land resources (the synthesis method), optimization of the economic, social and ecological components of land use (deduction method), which in turn will contribute to increasing the socio - economic efficiency of the use and reproduction of the productive potential of Ukraine's lands in the post-war period (system approach).Results and conclusionsIt was determined that sustainable (balanced) land use should be understood as a system of organizing the use and protection of land and other natural resources and biodiversity and corresponding land relations corresponding to the relations of social development, in which the optimal relationship between social, ecological and economic factors of land use development is achieved. The essence of the research component of the institutionalization of balanced land use is disclosed. A paradigm of views on sustainable land use is formulated, taking into account the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

The study of the problems of sustainable land use is very relevant. Both agricultural development and food security and security depend on the rational use and sustainable management of land resources as the main means of agricultural production. The article examines the measures of sustainable land management, which are not specific methods, but are a set of possible technologies and approaches to land management that can be implemented on a local and regional scale. In addition, these measures involve all stakeholders in the use of land, take into account their needs and are supported by a broader cultural, economic, environmental, legal, political, technical and social framework. Foreign researchers study in depth the problems of sustainable land use and sustainable land management, as well as analyze the practices of their application in different countries. In the Russian Federation, less attention is paid to this issue, experts in the field of agriculture and land use discuss issues of sustainable land use, develop and generalize approaches to its formation, but the mechanisms for implementing and tools for land use policy are not properly generalized and structured. Based on the study of the composition and classification of management measures, an assessment of the availability and sufficiency of sustainable land management measures in the northern region was carried out. Tools for creating a system of sustainable land use in the Komi Republic were proposed. The theoretical significance of the results and the novelty lies in the refinement of the tools for sustainable land use. The practical significance lies in the proposal of mechanisms for sustainable land management that can be used in the development of a regional program.

The issue of ensuring the sustainable development of mankind today is recognized as one of the most pressing issues facing society. The purpose of the study is to generalize the features of sustainable land using, identify the main problems of sustainable use of agricultural land in Ukraine and the key ways to solve them. The paper summarizes the key stages of the formation of prerequisites for sustainable land using, systematizes documents and events to create a model of sustainable development, highlights the basic principles and goals of sustainable agricultural land use, in accordance with the concept of sustainable development. The authors emphasize that the practical implementation of the concept of sustainable agricultural land use requires prioritization of agricultural land, especially environmental, as well as increasing the responsibility of agricultural businesses for disturbing the ecological balance and excessive anthropogenic pressure on land resources. It is noted that in Ukraine there is an irrational structure of land use, which is environmentally dangerous. The main problems of sustainable agricultural land use development are highlighted. The authors note that in recent years in Ukraine there have been negative trends in the development of processes that significantly affect agricultural land use. The most acute environmental problems are the development of degradation processes in the arable lands of Ukraine, which are continuous, regional or local in nature. The authors argue that the decline in the natural potential of agricultural land in Ukraine is becoming an even more serious threat to the sustainable development of land use than environmental problems. The priority directions of development of sustainable land use in Ukraine are offered, which will allow passing to the model of sustainable agricultural land use.

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a challenge to food security globally and nationally. In the face of growing climate and environmental challenges, ensuring the sustainability of the food system, which is the basis of the European Green Deal, the European Union's sustainable and inclusive growth strategies, depends on the efficiency and effectiveness of the sustainable agricultural land use system. The aim of the study is to examine the European Union's experience in transforming the system of sustainable agricultural land use on an innovative basis to ensure its sustainability and security in the face of current challenges and threats (both faced and far-looking). The study uses a mixed approach, including factorial analysis and descriptive statistics, using a sample of 27 European Union’s economies and Ukraine’s economy. Ukraine's place on the European Union’s land map is determined, the dynamics of change in the structure of Ukraine's land area is analyzed, priority directions of innovative development of sustainable land use are determined, prospects of common agricultural policy and innovation policy to ensure the transition of the European Union and Ukraine to the sustainable, resilient and competitive economy are outlined. To ensure the sustainability and resilience of the agricultural land use and consequently the food system as a whole, the need to intensify research and introduce innovations has been identified. Innovations are to be aimed at the following goals: 1) protection and restoration of natural ecosystems; 2) preservation and improvement of natural capital and public health; 3) sustainable use of resources, including land, energy; 4) developing resilient food system; 5) accelerating the achievement of zero pollution, 6) development of sustainable and intelligent mobility. Building a system of sustainable agricultural land use requires, firstly, the formation of a new system of knowledge based on the latest research and development, the introduction of which will act in advance to overcome existing risks and threats in agriculture and sustainable rural development, and secondly, development of the system of its institutional support, which is revealed through the action of the consistent organizational and economic mechanism. Future studies are suggested to build an innovative model for the development of the national system of sustainable land use, taking into account the institutional potential of the land management system.

Background . Land use is essential in many environmental and socio-economic problems of society. The main form of land management is public management. Public management (or administration) in the field of rational management, use, and protection of land means that the state, in the person of its competent bodies, establishes certain rules and regulations regarding the organization of the use of all land resources of the country and its individual parts (categories of land, types of land use and etc.). Public administration lays the foundations of relations that should serve the protection, preservation, and careful use of land resources and be committed to the principle of sustainable development. The essence of the formation and development of sustainable land use is that all its subjects are included in this process. They must understand that it is necessary to abandon land redistribution if it is not necessary. Since the policy of sustainable land use is gaining more and more attention and importance both in the world and in Ukraine, the purpose of the article is to research and analyze the theoretical foundations of sustainable land use as an object of public management. The research object was sustainable land use. Methods . This publication is based on the use of general and special research methods. The analysis was used to clarify the condition of land management in Ukraine, and synthesis was used to summarize the obtained evidence in order to develop recommendations. The systematic approach was used to study the challenges in the field of modern land use. The normative-value method made it possible to consider the issue of restoring sustainable land use in the postwar period in a multi-level management system. Results . The analysis of sustainable land use made it possible to define the concept of sustainable land use, identify the factors affecting such land use, and consider the stages of the formation of sustainable land use in the multi-level management system. In particular, certain hierarchies of levels of sustainable land use administration were established, namely conceptual, ideological, political, and economic. Each level determines the conceptual mechanisms of actions in relation to land resources. Among the factors of influence on sustainable land use, those due to economic, natural, ecological, legal, technological, and social nature were distinguished. However, urbanization and cultural worldviews have also influenced the sustainable use and management of land resources. At the same time, understanding the jurisdiction of public managers, setting clear goals, developing initiatives for these goals, monitoring and evaluating progress, reporting, and cooperating and partnering were determined as the relevant stages of forming sustainable land use in a multi-level management system. Сonclusions . Thus, sustainable land use requires the involvement of all parties interested in land use, taking into account their needs and supporting the broader cultural, economic, environmental, legal, political, technological, and social frameworks. In addition, the state needs to increase the category of nature conservation lands by creating parks, nature reserves, etc. At the legislative level, it is necessary to establish the principle of land use for the purpose of carrying out economic activities only on developed lands where there is a housing stock and developed infrastructure.

The relationship between farm size expansion and efficiency is a key topic in agricultural economics, especially for achieving sustainable land use and food security. While existing literature focuses on land productivity, technical efficiency, and total factor productivity, the link between farm size and cost efficiency remains less explored. Cost efficiency is a critical indicator of production effectiveness and directly impacts agricultural sustainability and food security. This paper analyzes how farm size expansion affects the cost efficiency of Chinese rapeseed production, with a particular emphasis on sustainable agricultural production and food security. Our findings indicate an average cost efficiency of 0.740 for rapeseed in China, suggesting potential for improvement. We observe an inverted U-shaped relationship between farm size and rapeseed cost efficiency, with variations based on regional and topographic conditions. Optimal rapeseed farm size is between 10 and 30 mu in eastern and central China, and smaller than 10 mu in western China. Interestingly, in central China and plains regions, larger farm sizes have a less negative impact on cost efficiency. Finally, increasing plot size positively moderates the relationship between farm size and rapeseed cost efficiency, suggesting benefits from expanding both plot and farm sizes simultaneously. These findings provide empirical evidence to inform policy decisions related to sustainable land use, cost-efficient agriculture, and food security.

Achieving sustainable land use is one of the most important ways to achieve regional socio-economic sustainable development. We have collected 12 papers in this special issue “Sustainable Land Use in China” to show the varied application of sustainable land use studies and to provide meaningful decision-making information and policy implications for land use planners. We summarize the contributions to this special issue on sustainable land use and place them in perspective. Several studies focus on sustainable urban land use, some focus on sustainable rural land use, and others on environmental issues on land use. These studies have analyzed a broad array of topics related to land use, including the dynamic changes and driving forces of land use spatial patterns, sustainable land use, land use policy and optimization, and the environmental problems related to certain types of land use.

Evaluation of sustainability is the core of research on sustainable land use. To a certain extent, traditional social, economic and ecological evaluation for sustainable land use can be regarded as an appraisal on the temporal scale without evaluation of spatial patterns. Landscape ecology can help to realize spatial evaluation for sustainable land use. In this paper, we construct landscape ecological indicators for evaluating sustainable coastal land use from the aspects of landscape productivity, threats and stability, to realize a synthetic temporal-spatial evaluation. These cover the five pillars of sustainable land use, i.e. productivity, security, protection, viability and acceptability. The results of applying landscape ecological evaluation to a case study in Wudi County in China show that land use sustainability is somewhat low and there are great regional differences between its 11 villages. We classified the 11 villages into 5 grades: strong sustainable land use, sustainable land use, weak sustainable land use, weak unsustainable land use, and strong unsustainable land use. Each grade has different land use characteristics and differs in the counter-measures required. But the core countermeasures in all the grades are to improve landscape productivity, to reduce human threats and to optimize landscape patterns.

In today’s conditions, issues related to the ecology and sustainability of natural ecosystems and their components are becoming more relevant. It should be noted that the main driving force affecting the use of land resources is climate change. The demand for land will only grow. At the same time, sustainable (balanced) land use, which is carried out on the basis of sustainable development, equally concerns not only ensuring the protection and maintenance of land potential for future generations, but also providing social and economic opportunities today. Comprehensive spatial development plans for territorial communities are a strategic tool for ensuring effective management of territories. They must not only meet the current needs of the population, economy and infrastructure, but also form the basis for sustainable land use in the long term. In this context, it is important to integrate the principles of land management, which are based on scientific justification for the distribution of land for specific purposes, taking into account state, public and private interests. In addition, comprehensive spatial planning of the development of territorial communities in the face of modern environmental challenges requires the integration of strategic environmental assessment as a key tool for ensuring sustainable development. The growth of anthropogenic load, degradation of natural resources and the consequences of military actions require an objective assessment of the state of the environment, analysis of the potential impacts of planning decisions and the search for alternative approaches that minimize the negative impact on ecosystems. Effective strategic environmental assessment will contribute to the adoption of balanced decisions that will ensure environmental safety, biodiversity conservation and compliance with the goals of sustainable development of territorial communities. It is obvious that sustainable land use, for example, for forestry lands and sustainable use of forest resources are interconnected, since they relate to the use of natural resources that are in an inextricable organic connection. Therefore, the simultaneous integrated use of natural resources, inextricably linked to land, carried out at the level of sustainable nature management, is an important object of planning territorial development, environmental safety, and rational use of land resources. In this regard, the subordination of the legal regime of forestry lands to the legal regime of forests growing on these lands becomes important. In this case, the role of recreational and health-improving forests, which perform mainly recreational, sanitary, hygienic, health-improving functions and are located on relevant lands that require special protection at the level of comprehensive spatial development plans, is actualized in the planning process.

Food security in a just energy transition is a growing debate about designing sustainable food secure networks worldwide. Energy transition, land-use change, and food security are crucial factors for food security and provision. The increased demand for food products and customer preferences regarding food safety provide various issues for the current agriculture food supply chain (AFSC). Along with rising sustainability concerns, strict government regulation, food security, and traceability concerns compel managers, business houses, and practitioners working in AFSC to adopt new tools, techniques, and methodologies to model current food supply chain problems. Thus, in turn, design the food logistics network for food security. Hence, this study investigates the core determinants of food security and supply in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon over the period of 2010–2019. In order to estimate the objectives of the study, we employ the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares estimators (DOLS) to draw the study findings. However, the estimated results show a negative association of land use with food security and supply. Likewise, energy transition, gross domestic product, and agricultural value added (AVA) contribute to the food security supply. In contrast, urbanization's negative but insignificant contribution to the food supply in selected economies exists. Besides, another core objective of the study is to investigate the moderate role of the energy transition on the gross domestic product, agriculture sector, and land use and find the significant contribution to the food supply. However, the current study also tries forecasting for the next 10 years and employs the impulse response function (IRF) and variance decomposition analysis (VDA). Congruently, this study uses the pairwise panel causality test and finds exciting outcomes. The COVID-19 crisis has posed challenges such as energy consumption and food security issues. On behalf of the results, the current study proposes imperative policies to investigate the desired level of food supply. The findings provide valuable insights for experts, policymakers, and officials to take practical measures for energy use and food security challenges.

Currently, the problems of sustainable and rational land use are becoming relevant in most countries of the world. Ukraine is no exception. And these issues have become extremely urgent as a result of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In view of this, the purpose of the article is to study and summarize the international experience in the development of the system of sustainable and rational land use; identification of modern problems of land use in the conditions of the legal regime of martial law in Ukraine and ways to solve them. To achieve this purpose, the following general scientific methods were used: analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, component analysis, comparison, analogy, classification, statistical analysis, expert survey, bibliometric analysis, trend analysis (using the Google Trends), structural and logical generalization. A bibliometric and trend analysis of the relationship between the terms «sustainable land use» and «rational land use» is carried out. On the basis of the study and generalization of international experience, specific features and differences in the development of the system of sustainable land use in some countries of the world have been identified. A statistical analysis of indicators of land use development in Ukraine in the pre-wartime period is carried out. The problems, threats and risks of land use associated with hostilities on the territory of Ukraine are identified. The experience of implementing national land restoration policies by countries affected by hostilities is analyzed. It is determined that the current economic conditions in Ukraine require the creation of appropriate institutional conditions and the improvement of mechanisms for ensuring sustainable land use, taking into account the specifics of wartime. As a result of the study, it is proved that in order to ensure sustainable and rational land use in Ukraine, taking into account the best world practices that are used in most countries of the world, it is necessary to develop a set of provisions and recommendations of a theoretical, methodological and practical nature.

The article examines issues related to the features and current trends in the functioning of land and resource potential in the context of the sustainable development paradigm. It is substantiated that the land and resource potential of Ukraine is a strategic asset of the country, its effective use contributes to economic development, food security and environmental stability. The essence of the concept of land and resource potential and its content through the concept of sustainable (balanced) use are determined. An assessment of trends in the use of land and resource potential of Ukraine is carried out. It is substantiated that since the beginning of the war, land resources and their potential have undergone significant transformations. The dynamics of changes in the land fund for 2021–2024 are determined. The current state of functioning of agricultural lands and their potential, which is a key factor in ensuring food security, is investigated. It is substantiated that the implementation of the global UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 2 (“No Hunger”), Goal 12 (“Responsible Consumption and Production”), Goal 13 (“Combating Climate Change”) and Goal 15 (“Conservation of Terrestrial Ecosystems”), in the context of sustainable use of the country’s land and resource potential is aimed at ensuring environmentally balanced, economically efficient and socially responsible management of land resources. Priority areas of sustainable use of land and resource potential and mechanisms for their implementation are identified.

Introduction. Science and practice are faced with the need for a balanced revision of ideological, theoretical and methodological foundations of agricultural land use. The formation of a new philosophy and methodology of sustainable agricultural land use in Ukraine opens the possibility of applying its results not only for effective regulation of land relations, but also the organization of protection and rational use of land, definition and justification of economic and organizational measures to restore their productivity. Sustainable agricultural land use requires taking into account economic, environmental and social factors that significantly affect the condition of land, their productivity, and at the same time the efficiency of agricultural formations. The purpose of the article is to highlight the main aspects of sustainable development in the field of agriculture in the formation of sustainable land use, to clarify promising areas for economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability. The article is devoted to the definition of the basic principles, system of indicators on which the conceptual bases of formation of agricultural land use through the prism of sustainable development are based. Problems and modern tendencies of development of agricultural land use in the conditions of land reform are revealed. The complexity and versatility of sustainable agricultural land use necessitates systemic and process-functional approaches to its formation. The basic scientific principles, concepts and the proposed system of indicators that reflect the functioning of land use - give a systematic idea of the formation of sustainable agricultural land use. The functioning of sustainable agricultural land use will not only increase soil fertility, rational land use and positive impact on the environment, but also allow to obtain environmentally friendly products, the need for which is due to negative socio-demographic processes. Key words: sustainable development, agricultural land use, aspects of sustainability, rational use.

Evaluating the effectiveness of sustainable urban land use in China from the perspective of sustainable urbanization

A new framework of land use efficiency for the coordination among food, economy and ecology in regional development