The availability of functional facilities and equipment is a cornerstone of effective school-based agricultural education (SBAE) programs. Therefore, access to functioning facilities and equipment is essential for SBAE teachers to further the knowledge of students as they pertain to agriculture, food, and natural resource (AFNR) standards. Beyond providing practical learning experiences, adequate facilities and equipment are crucial for meeting the diverse needs of students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the availability of facilities and equipment amongst SBAE teachers in the United States across National Association of Agriculture Educators (NAAE) Regions II, III, and IV using a descriptive, survey research design. While proper facilities and equipment are a crucial for facilitating experiential learning in SBAE, we found many teachers are not properly equipped to carry out such experiences for their students. While it is important for SBAE teachers to advocate for themselves and their programs, it is paramount that support systems be provided through teacher educators, agricultural education teacher associations, agricultural education state staff, and program advisory councils in order to obtain proper equipment and facilities and the knowledge to use them. Future research should explore the impact of resource (i.e., equipment and facilities) access on teacher satisfaction and career retention.

The agricultural sector occupies a central role in Ghana’s economic development, with agripreneurs contributing to job creation, tax-base diversification, and foreign exchange earnings. However, these agripreneurs face social, economic, environmental, and technical challenges that impact their venture performance. This study employed a hybrid thematic analysis to investigate factors influencing agripreneurship venture performance in the Accra and Kumasi Metropolitan areas. Findings revealed that social factors, such as human and social capital, were critical determinants of success. Key elements included technical expertise, strong interpersonal relationships, excellent customer relationships, and leadership skills. Conversely, economic constraints, including insufficient capital and business-model fragility, were the primary drivers of agripreneurship venture failures. Based on these findings, to promote long-term sustainability and profitability, we recommend establishing integrated agripreneurship support centers that provide financing and on-demand trainings; establish dedicated agricultural financing programs with flexible, cycle-aligned terms, and encourage agripreneurs to leverage Ghana Incentive-based Risk-sharing System for Agricultural Lending. Also, creating structured mentorship programs that pair experienced agripreneurs and novice agripreneurs can help strengthen the social and human capital needed for business growth. Future research should investigate financial institutions’ cautious approach extending credit to agripreneurs in the study areas, and also examine how employee attitudes and behaviors influence venture performance.

So-called ‘agriculture 4.0’ technologies, such as robotics, AI, drones etc., are apparently set to revolutionise farming, helping us to produce more, with less. However, a growing literature from social science disciplines, such as Science and Technology Studies (STS), Sociology, and Transition Studies, illustrates that new technologies have both positive and negative consequences. For the future of farming to be responsible, the consequences of adopting different technologies and practices need to be anticipated. Students at university, who are studying courses related to agri-food systems, are a key cohort that will shape the future of farming. This paper describes the use and refinement of creative teaching methodologies that help to expose students to literature from Science and Technology Studies (STS), particularly on ‘responsible innovation,’ which many agri-food students rarely study. The concept of responsible innovation is important for agri-food students to understand because it enables them to consider the opportunities and risks of different future farming systems, helping to make future trade-offs more tangible. With one main learning objective in mind, to enable students to interrogate the opportunities and risks of agricultural technologies, we shared student-led stories of future agricultural utopias and dystopias, using them as a tool for critical discussion.

Extant research supporting digital mental health interventions for farmers and the successful delivery of psychological interventions by laypeople is predominantly nomothetic (aggregate, group-level). Since conclusions we draw from inter-individual data may not apply at the intra-individual level, it is important to cultivate a diverse evidence base for these topics. Adding alternative methods, such as idiographic (individual-level) single-case experimental designs is imperative. Akin to a pilot randomized-controlled trial, the present study examined the feasibility and suitability of a quasi-randomized multiple-baseline single-case experimental design for testing agricultural advisors’ experiences of training in a digital acceptance and commitment therapy intervention. 18 agricultural advisors enrolled in the study and were asked to (i) complete a three-item measure daily for 55 days, (ii) attend two 2.5-hour training sessions via Zoom, and (iii) complete three longer surveys preintervention (Time 1), immediately after the intervention (Time 2), and three months postintervention (Time 3). Appropriate participant retention, data missingness, and errors were observed, suggesting that the present method is feasible and suitable. In addition, outcomes were generally consistent with expectations at the nomothetic level at Times 2 and 3. Future research should employ single-case experimental designs and target various levels of analysis (psychological, sociocultural, and biophysiological).

Advancements in Agricultural Development hosted its second symposium, centered on the theme of “Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies in Agricultural Development Research and Practice,” co-hosted by the University College Dublin School of Agriculture and Food Science, on October 13 and 14, 2025. Invited experts from Auburn University, Digital Green, Harper Adams University, International Food Policy Research Institute, the University of Florida, University College Dublin, and Utah State University shared papers that advanced our understanding of the role of these emerging technologies in our extension and teaching efforts. This article summarizes each of the papers presented. We are proud of this special issue and hope the agricultural development community finds it useful.

Recent generative AI offers personalized, high-quality advice to smallholder farmers in resource-limited settings. Yet, most large language models (LLMs) lack training data for diverse agroecologies, often yielding generic, inaccurate, or locally misaligned advice. Digital Green adapted Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) to agricultural advisory to deliver highly localized, relevant, information. This refined tool, called Farmer.Chat, is an AI assistant supporting over 670,000 farmers in India, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria with text, image, and voice-based content. This paper details Digital Green's RLHF approach: a web-based annotation tool, multi-phase implementation, and quality assurance. Over 25,000 expert-reviewed Q&A pairs yielded significant improvements in response quality, tone, context, and cultural fit, especially for region-specific agricultural queries. The work outlines key lessons, cost/equity, and replication guidance. It calls for researchers, governments, and NGOs to pool validated Q&A data, strengthening global AI systems. Future work explores multimodal RLHF (image, voice, video), aiming to foster a global, inclusive, evidence-based ecosystem for AI agricultural advice.

This article is a written reflection of common themes shared by experts at the second biennial symposium and in their accompanying special issue articles, presented as a forward-looking story integrating themes of purpose, ethics, and human dimensions into decisions about the responsible use of artificial intelligence and digitial technologies as innovations for agricultural development.

This study investigates the applicability, practicality, and effectiveness of a low-cost AI foundational model (FM) in agricultural extension through the development, fine-tuning, and evaluation of a custom GPT named Utah PeachBot, built using OpenAI’s GPT platform. The research focused on facilitating real-time, evidence-based advisory service support for Extension agents assisting small-scale peach producers in Utah. Methods involved training the GPT with curated, research-based horticultural resources and assessing model outputs through an expert panel of six Extension agents. Results showed high reliability and accuracy for general inquiries about peach cultivation. However, inconsistencies in regional specificity and the practicality of recommendations emerged as limitations. Feedback indicated a need for iterative fine-tuning of the model through continuous expert feedback and integration of local, context-specific data. Recommendations include a phased approach to implementing customized GPTs in agricultural advisory services to improve information dissemination, decision-making quality, and operational efficiency within extension systems.

Pollinators are vital for agricultural sustainability, yet their populations face increasing threats from habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. This study aimed to design and evaluate a five-day instructional unit for fifth-grade students focused on pollinator conservation and the human impacts affecting pollinator populations. Grounded in Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, the curriculum incorporated scaffolded, inquiry-based strategies to foster both scientific understanding and environmental stewardship. Using a one-group pretest–posttest design, data were collected from 104 students across three classrooms in Georgia. A researcher-developed assessment measured content knowledge and self-reported confidence. Results indicated significant gains in student comprehension with mean scores improving by over four points. Students also reported higher confidence in their understanding of pollinator conservation. Findings suggest that scaffolded, real-world instruction effectively enhances elementary learners’ knowledge and engagement with environmental issues. Recommendations include integrating pollinator concepts into state science standards, expanding professional development for teachers, and conducting longitudinal studies to assess retention and behavior change. This study demonstrates the potential of early agricultural literacy initiatives to build student capacity for addressing sustainability challenges.

This is the annual state of the journal report for Advancements in Agricultural Development. 2025 was another great year for AAD. First, we experimented with novel methods to elevate the digital presence of research published in AAD. Second, we held our second symposium. Third, we refined several policies to provide greater clarity for our authors. Fourth, we have implemented a new way of recognizing the best articles published each year.