Plastic Dreams

Sustainable agricultural practices have been extensively used to reduce water pollution; however, the effectiveness of these practices may be significantly affected by climate change. In this study, we assess the effectiveness of sustainable agricultural practices in reducing sediment and nutrient export to rivers under future climate conditions, using the Soil & Water Assessment Tool in a Portuguese river basin exposed to high levels of agricultural pollution. In our study, filter strips demonstrated a significant mitigation effect on sediment and nutrient increases under simulated climate change conditions, with maximum sediment export depletion reaching 65% and the highest nutrient export depletion observed at 35%. The implementation of multiple sustainable practices resulted in the highest depletions, with a notable 71% depletion in sediment export and a 35% depletion in nutrient export. Additionally, our research underscores the crucial role of filter strips and multiple sustainable agricultural practices in mitigating the projected rise in nutrient concentrations during summer, given the effect of climate change on river discharge. Further studies exploring sustainable agricultural practices across different climates and watersheds can improve our understanding of their effectiveness for adaptation to climate change.

Climate change is posing significant challenges in the agricultural sector. While olive trees are well adopted to the mediterranean environment, olive oil production is being especially vulnerable due to its reliance on stable climatic conditions [1]. A recent example of drought and heatwaves in the previous two years slashed Spanish production and contributed to the doubling of olive oil prices [2]. Changes in temperature and precipitation are affecting olive tree cultivation by posing challenges in the flowering and growing season [3], as well as the soil moisture and the available water resources for irrigation.This study investigates the impacts of climate change on olive cultivation in Greece, by analyzing key climatic indicators relevant to olive cultivation, focusing on their historical trends and projected changes under mid-range (RCP4.5) and high-concentration (RCP8.5) scenarios. The analysis considers key indicators such as changes in the length of the dry season, the frequency of heat stress events, consecutive dry years, and shifts in critical flowering conditions (temperature, wind, and chilling accumulation). This research further explores soil management related sustainable agricultural practices to enhance crop resilience.This research develops representative climatic indicators and examines their evolution across multiple scenarios and time horizons to provide a comprehensive overview of the climate change challenges faced by Greek olive producers. The findings are aiming to inform the development of strategies for implementing sustainable agricultural practices that enhance resilience, ensuring the long-term viability of olive oil production in the context of climate change. [1] Kaniewski, D., Marriner, N., Morhange, C., Khater, C., Terral, J.F., Besnard, G., Otto, T., Luce, F., Couillebault, Q., Tsitsou, L. and Pourkerman, M., 2023. Climate change threatens olive oil production in the Levant. Nature Plants, 9(2), pp.219-227.[2] Reiley, L., 2023. Olive oil prices reach record highs as Spain's harvest is halved. The Washington Post, Oct. 6, 2023, pp.NA-NA.[3] Grillakis, M.G., Kapetanakis, E.G. and Goumenaki, E., 2022. Climate change implications for olive flowering in Crete, Greece: Projections based on historical data. Climatic Change, 175(1), p.7. This work is supported by MINERVA Ltd. under the research project “Assessment of climate change impacts on olive oil production and implementation of sustainable agricultural adaptation practices in Greece”.

Sustainable agriculture practices are essential for ensuring long-term food security, environmental health, and economic stability. This paper explores various agricultural methods, including Organic Farming, Conservation Tillage, Agro forestry, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and Crop Rotation. Each practice is assessed based on its impact on soil health, yield increase, time to benefit realization, and market accessibility. Additionally, the effectiveness of these practices is evaluated using a weighted decision matrix to balance cost efficiency, customer satisfaction, security, and implementation complexity. The findings highlight that Integrated Pest Management (IPM) offers the most balanced performance across these criteria, while Agro forestry, despite its strong soil health benefits, presents significant challenges in implementation and benefit realization. The paper concludes with recommendations for selecting sustainable practices based on specific agricultural goals and constraints. Sustainable agriculture is pivotal in addressing the growing demands of global food production while preserving environmental integrity and promoting economic viability. As traditional farming methods face increasing scrutiny for their environmental impacts and resource inefficiencies, sustainable practices offer promising alternatives. This introduction outlines the key sustainable agriculture practices and their roles in enhancing agricultural sustainability. Organic Farming focuses on using natural inputs and processes to maintain soil health and reduce environmental impact. Conservation Tillage aims to minimize soil disturbance and erosion, enhancing soil structure and moisture retention. Agro forestry integrates trees and shrubs into agricultural landscapes, promoting biodiversity and improving soil fertility. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) combines biological, cultural, and chemical practices to manage pests sustainably. Crop Rotation involves alternating different crops in a sequence to improve soil health and reduce pest and disease pressures. To evaluate and compare sustainable agriculture practices, the Multi-Objective Optimization on the Basis of Ratio Analysis (MOORA) method was employed. MOORA is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique that allows for the assessment of alternatives based on multiple conflicting criteria. This method is particularly useful for evaluating complex agricultural practices where multiple objectives need to be considered simultaneously. The significance of researching sustainable agriculture practices lies in addressing the critical challenges faced by modern agriculture, including environmental degradation, resource depletion, and the need for increased food security. As the global population continues to grow, there is an urgent need to develop and implement agricultural practices that not only enhance productivity but also ensure environmental sustainability and economic viability. Organic Farming, Conservation Tillage, Agro forestry, Integrated Pest Management, Crop Rotation.Soil Health Improvement (%),Yield Increase (%),Time to Benefit Realization (months), Market Accessibility (%). The results indicate that Integrated Pest Management achieved the highest rank, while Agro forestry had the lowest rank being attained. “The value of the dataset for Corporate SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES according to the moora Method, Integrated Pest Management achieves the highest ranking.”

Overpopulation is a root cause that impedes food production and supply to the continuously growing population. Since agriculture is the primary source of food production, producers are inclined towards various unsustainable agriculture practices contributing to climate change. Therefore, sustainable agricultural practices have gained the spotlight to reduce the risk of climate change and increase crop yields. Specifically, South Asian countries take a significant hit with respect to agriculture and climate change because much of the population is earning their livelihood through agriculture. We conducted a comprehensive review to map different sustainable agriculture practices and understand how these practices impact climate change, the livelihood of farmers, and food security in South Asia. A systematic search carried out on PubMed (NCBI) and Scopus (Elsevier), resulted in the inclusion of 42 articles for analysis. The review identified agroforestry and organic farming as the most commonly used practices in the South Asian region, followed by zero tillage practices, use of hybrid seeds, residue and integrated pest management, and cropping systems. These sustainable agriculture practices ensure that sufficient food can be produced to feed the rising population with efficient use of natural resources. In addition, sustainable agriculture gains economic profitability for farmers and improved employment opportunities for women. Since sustainable agricultural practices are the best way forward, we recommend encouraging it by incentivizing the farmers. Due to contextual variations, future research can focus on identifying best practices for specific contexts.

Switching the Telescope Lens: A Sociomaterial Perspective of Sustainable Agricultural (Proto)Practices Transfer in an Agrifood Supply Chain

Cotton farmers’ intention to adopt biochar as climate change adaptation and sustainable land management strategy in Benin

Sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) that lead to an increase in productivity are central to the acceleration of economic growth; this will alleviate poverty and help to overcome the recurrent food shortages that affect millions of households in Africa. However, the adoption rates of SAPs remain below expected levels. This paper analyzes the factors that facilitate or impede the probability and level of adoption of interrelated SAPs, using recent data of multiple plot-level observations. Multivariate and ordered probit models are applied to the modeling of adoption decisions by farm households facing multiple SAPs which can be adopted in various combinations. The results show that there is a significant correlation between SAPs, suggesting that adoptions of SAPs are interrelated. The analysis further shows that both the probability and the level of decisions to adopt SAPs are influenced by many factors: a household’s trust in government support, credit constraint, spouse education, rainfall and plot-level disturbances, household wealth, social capital and networks, including the number of traders known by a farmer in his vicinity, his participation in rural institutions, and the number of relatives he has inside and outside his village, labor availability, and plot and market access. These results imply that policy makers and development practitioners whose aims are to strengthen local institutions and service providers, maintain or increase household asset bases, and establish and strengthen social protection schemes, can speed up the adoption of SAPs.

Background: The world will need to feed a population of nearly nine billion by 2050 (Godfray, 2010). To do so agricultural systems will have to contend to with risks to soil and water resources and the impacts of climate change, including changing weather patterns, an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events and increased pest and disease-related threats. These risks threaten the livelihoods of nearly 475 million smallholder farmers in the global south and pose a significant threat to the world's food and nutritional security (IPCC, 2022). Sustainable agricultural technologies and practices offer an innovative and holistic way of meeting food and nutrition needs of current and future generations while ensuring profitability, and environmental and social sustainability (Güven, 2023). Sustainable agriculture practices and technologies seek to transform and reorient agricultural systems to support food security while preserving natural capital including soil, water, and biodiversity, increase resilience to the impacts of climate change, and promote health, and social and economic equity (Brodt et al., 2011) By systematically integrating goals of sustainability along with economic profitability into the planning and development of agricultural systems, sustainable agriculture technology and practices aims to increase agricultural productivity, mitigate negative environmental impacts of agriculture while furthering social objectives. Women play a critical role in agricultural and food systems and often have higher work and time burdens and are less productive due to limited access to social and economic resources. The 2023 Status of Women in Agrifood Systems report by FAO estimates that if female farmers had the same access to productive resources as men, their productivity could increase by up to 30 per cent, reducing the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 per cent. Recognizing existing gender inequalities and the vulnerability of women in agricultural systems is one of the goals of sustainable agriculture furthering goals of gender equity and women's empowerment. Studies show that sustainable agriculture technologies and practices have the potential to reshape gender dynamics, challenging existing gender norms by providing social and economic agency and empowerment. However, this depends on how particular needs, priorities, and realities of women are recognized and adequately addressed in the design and application of these technologies. Presently, there is limited evidence systematically assessing the appropriateness, accessibility and outcomes of sustainable agricultural technologies and practices for women and girls, as well as their effectiveness in addressing longer-term gender-equity goals. Evidence syntheses in this domain remains focused on gendered approaches within interventions or programs targeting women. We seek to broaden the perspective by focusing on how different sustainable agriculture technologies affect women's well-being, empowerment and gender equity even when women specifically are not targeted.

Background: Climate change poses significant challenges to global food security, exacerbating issues such as land degradation, water scarcity, and crop yield variability. Agrarian law reform has the potential to enhance resilience and sustainability in agricultural practices, thereby improving food security. However, the existing agrarian legal frameworks in many countries are not adequately equipped to address the impacts of climate change. Objective: This study aims to analyze the role of agrarian law reform in enhancing food security in the context of climate change. The research seeks to identify legal gaps and propose reforms that can facilitate adaptive and sustainable agricultural practices, ensuring stable food production and distribution. Methods: A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing document analysis and comparative legal analysis. The study examined existing agrarian laws, policies, and international agreements related to climate change and food security. Data were collected from legal texts, policy documents, and reports from various countries and international organizations. Expert interviews with legal scholars, policymakers, and agricultural practitioners were conducted to gather insights on effective legal frameworks and practices. Results: The analysis revealed significant gaps in current agrarian laws regarding climate adaptation and sustainable agricultural practices. Key issues identified include inadequate land tenure security, insufficient legal support for sustainable farming techniques, and lack of integration between agrarian laws and climate policies. into their agrarian legal frameworks. Conclusion: The study concludes that comprehensive agrarian law reform is essential for enhancing food security in the face of climate change. Recommendations include strengthening land tenure security

Climate change is vital issue hindering sustainable agriculture development and adjustments in farming practices. Conventional agriculture practices often lead to environmental degradation, ground water depletion, financial issues and even social conflicts.The population of the Globe is experiencing increased temperatures, low rainfall patterns with scarcity of water availability and drought persistence due to climate change. This article, thus, focuses on the challenges of adoption of sustainable agriculture practices (SAPs) in the water-scarce, drought-prone province of Pakistan. Data was collected from 164 farmers by semi-structured questionnaire following multistage clustering sampling and empirically analyzed through Binary Logistic Regression Model. The results of the study elucidated that farmers’ education, their risk-taking behavior, participation in training, limited availability and high cost of agricultural land, inherited system of irrigation, and access to agricultural credit as the main barriers in adopting SAPs. The study recommends expansion of knowledge, planning, financial assistants from related institutes, proper training by the agriculture department, and policy intervention to cope with these barriers that hold back the adoption of SAPs. The Government needs to develop sustainable adaptive strategies for minimizing the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture by on-farm demonstrations in the field thereby saving depleting water resources and encourage farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices.

Food insecurity, financial loss, and a decline in agricultural output are among the significant challenges to the global food chain caused by extreme climatic events, high variability and change, rapid urbanization, and land degradation. Therefore, it is essential to explore alternative, sustainable agricultural practices to meet the growing population’s food needs. Sustainable agriculture is foundational to farm management, rural development, and water conservation. This includes sustainable practices such as crop rotation, intercropping, and planting crops with varying rooting depths to maximize soil moisture absorption, as well as mulching to improve nutrient recycling and enhance productivity in smallholder cropping systems. The adoption of sustainable agricultural practices has become a priority for smallholder farmers, policymakers, extension agents, and agricultural experts to improve agricultural productivity, contribute to food security, and generate income. However, adoption rates have been slow, especially in Southern Africa, due to a lack of access to technology, financial constraints, limited information, and limited knowledge. This review was conducted using a comprehensive literature search on the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices by legume smallholders, examining various factors that contribute to the failure of legume smallholder farmers to adopt new agricultural practices. The timeframe of the reviewed literature was from 2010 to 2024. The results showed that smallholder farmers face numerous challenges, including limited access to technology, inadequate knowledge, and insufficient financial resources. Research conducted by the Water Research Commission (WRC) indicates that commercial farmers have access to technology, and this group of farmers possesses more substantial financial resources compared to smallholder farmers. In the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. It is essential to strengthen the linkage between researchers, agricultural extension, and legume smallholder farmers to promote sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs). Smallholder farmers must be informed about such interventions and sustainable agricultural practices to improve rural livelihoods and enhance resilience, adaptation, and responsiveness.

Partial base sequence analysis of MdαE7 gene and ali-esterase enzyme activities in field collected populations of house fly ( Musca domestica L.) from Mediterranean and Aegean Regions of Turkey

This article explores the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector in Morocco and examines the challenges and opportunities associated with adapting to and promoting agricultural investments in response to these changes. By focusing on sustainable agricultural practices, innovative technologies, and adaptation policies, we will analyze the effects of climate change on agricultural investments. The aim of our work is to assess the current and future impacts of climate change on agriculture in Morocco and to identify the main challenges faced by agricultural investments due to climate change, such as water availability, precipitation variability, and rising temperatures. We also aim to examine adaptation strategies and sustainable agricultural practices that could enhance the resilience of agricultural systems in the face of climate change. Finally, we will propose policy recommendations and innovative solutions to mobilize agricultural investments in climate change adaptation initiatives in Morocco.

This comprehensive review explores sustainable farming practices in both Africa and the USA, shedding light on innovative approaches that address the challenges posed by climate change, resource depletion, and increasing global food demand. As agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economies of both regions, identifying and adopting sustainable practices is crucial for ensuring long-term food security and environmental health. In Africa, the review highlights the diverse array of sustainable farming innovations that have emerged to address the unique challenges faced by the continent. Agroecological practices, such as intercropping and agroforestry, have gained prominence for their ability to enhance soil fertility, conserve water, and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Additionally, the integration of precision farming technologies, such as remote sensing and data analytics, is facilitating more efficient resource use and crop management. Community-based initiatives and farmer cooperatives are also proving instrumental in promoting sustainable practices while fostering social and economic resilience in the face of environmental uncertainties. In the USA, the review explores the evolution of sustainable farming practices in response to changing consumer preferences and the imperative to reduce agriculture's environmental footprint. Precision agriculture technologies, including GPS-guided tractors and sensor-based monitoring systems, are being widely adopted to optimize resource use and minimize environmental impacts. Agroecological principles are gaining traction, with a growing emphasis on regenerative agriculture practices that prioritize soil health, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, the integration of cover cropping and crop rotation strategies is enhancing resilience to pests and diseases, reducing the reliance on synthetic inputs. Comparative analysis reveals commonalities and differences in the adoption and adaptation of sustainable farming practices between Africa and the USA. The review emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts, knowledge exchange, and policy support to ensure the widespread adoption of sustainable farming practices, promoting global food security and environmental sustainability.

In this study, the strength of the regional changes in near-surface climate associated with a global warming of 2°C with respect to pre-industrial times is assessed, distinguishing between 26 different regions. Also, the strength of these regional climate changes is compared to the strength of the respective changes associated with a markedly stronger global warming of 4.5°C. The magnitude of the regional changes in climate is estimated by means of a normalized regional climate change index, which considers changes in the mean as well as changes in the interannual variability of both near-surface temperature and precipitation. The study is based on two sets of four ensemble simulations with the ECHAM5/MPI-OM coupled climate model, each starting from different initial conditions. In one set of simulations (1860–2200), the greenhouse gas concentrations and sulphate aerosol load have been prescribed according to observations until 2000 and according to the SRES A1B scenario after 2000. In the other set of simulations (2020–2200), the greenhouse gas concentrations and sulphate aerosol load have been prescribed in such a way that the simulated global warming does not exceed 2°C with respect to pre-industrial times. The study reveals the strongest changes in near-surface climate in the same regions for both scenarios, i.e., the Sahara, Northern Australia, Southern Australia and Amazonia. The regions with the weakest changes in near-surface climate, on the other hand, vary somewhat between the two scenarios except for Western North America and Southern South America, where both scenarios show rather weak changes. The comparison between the magnitude of the regional changes in near-surface climate for the two scenarios reveals relatively strong changes in the 2°C-stabilization scenario at high northern latitudes, i.e., Northeastern Europe, Alaska and Greenland, and in Amazonia. Relatively weak regional climate changes in this scenario, on the other hand, are found for Eastern Asia, Central America, Central South America and Southern South America. The ratios between the regional changes in the near-surface climate for the two scenarios vary considerably between different regions. This illustrates a limitation of obtaining regional changes in near-surface climate associated with a particular scenario by means of scaling the regional changes obtained from a widely used “standard” scenario with the ratio of the changes in the global mean temperature projected by these two scenarios.