Nagaland, located in the northeastern region of India, is marked by its rugged, mountainous terrain. Among its indigenous communities, the Angami Nagas have developed sophisticated agricultural practices, most notably the construction of bench terraces for paddy cultivation on steep slopes. This study examines the terrace cultivation practices of the Angami Nagas, highlighting the embeddedness of these agricultural methods within their cultural frameworks and environmental contexts. Drawing on ethnographic insights, the article examines how indigenous knowledge (IK) informs agricultural organization, resource management, and sustainability. The findings demonstrate that the Angamis’ farming practices are not only ecologically adaptive but also culturally resilient, contributing to long-term sustainability in both food production and environmental stewardship. By illustrating the dynamic interplay between culture and agriculture, this study highlights the importance of preserving IK systems in the face of modern agricultural challenges. It argues that the enduring sustainability of Angami terrace cultivation lies in the synergistic relationship between traditional ecological practices and community life.

To foster deeper economic integration across South Asia, the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) was instituted, with India assuming a central role in advancing trade relations among SAARC member states. This study examines the trade creation (TC) and trade diversion (TD) effects resulting from India’s participation in the SAARC nations under the SAFTA framework. Employing the gravity model framework developed by Anderson and van Wincoop (2003, American Economic Review , 93(1), 170–192), the analysis is conducted on a panel comprising 28 countries—including India, seven SAARC partners, and 20 India’s major trading counterparts during the 1988–2023 period. To overcome the limitations inherent in traditional gravity specifications, the model incorporates multilateral trade resistance terms and employs the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator to handle zero trade flows and ensure robust estimation effectively. Findings indicate the coexistence of TD and TC effects in terms of imports. These outcomes suggest that SAFTA’s destination-specific liberalization policies—particularly tariff concessions granted to Least Developed Countries (LDCs)—have positively influenced regional trade dynamics. However, gains from reciprocal liberalization appear uneven, diminishing with greater geographical distance among members. Thus, the findings contribute significantly to shaping informed trade policy frameworks across the region.

Nepal’s geographic and ecological diversity render it highly susceptible to climate change, while its complex social structure, characterized by entrenched caste, gender, and ethnic inequalities, exacerbates this vulnerability. The intersection of climatic variability and socio-cultural disparities creates compounded risks, with marginalized groups disproportionately affected by extreme events like droughts and floods. This study focuses on the adaptive strategies and vulnerabilities of Madheshi Dalit Women (MDWs) in the eastern Tarai, using the 2008 Koshi flood as a case study. Grounded in qualitative field research, it employs an intersectional lens to explore how caste, ethnicity, and gender shape MDWs’ livelihood challenges, adaptive responses, and socio-economic deprivation regarding climate-change-induced disaster risks. The research seeks to answer three interrelated questions: the post-disaster changes in MDWs’ labour and livelihoods, their access to land, food security and local conflict, and the state’s role in facilitating post-flood livelihood recovery.

Purpose: The Housing for All 2022 initiative by the Indian Government aims to provide every household with a pucca house and access to essential services. Utilizing data from the 76th round of the NSSO, this study calculates the implicit rent for housing attributes needed for a decent standard of living, using two-stage hedonic analysis. It also estimates rent differentials for improvements in housing quality and the minimum budget required to rent a house that meets the standards for adequate living. Findings: The existing definitions of affordability address the financial aspects of housing but do not focus on critical qualitative aspects. This study explores the dynamics of rental housing and affordability, indicating the influence of housing amenities on rental values. Conclusion: The study recommends that while addressing sustainable and affordable housing ownership, it is crucial to address rental housing affordability. Policies should incorporate the quality of housing amenities in their guidelines.

The strategic connection between Vietnam and Laos is characterized by functional cooperation agreements spanning political–ideological, military, economic and cultural–social domains. This partnership aims to foster a new developmental state or a sustainable strategic space for both nations. The foundation of this connection is not solely based on geographical and demographic proximity but is significantly strengthened by the special friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Laos, as well as practical necessities. Nonetheless, this strategic relationship also encompasses elements of competition and the exertion of Vietnam’s influence over Laos. In the current context, Vietnam and Laos must navigate competitive pressures from external partners, particularly China; seek resources, including domestic private enterprises; prioritize technical infrastructure connectivity and institutional innovation; and leverage advantages from various bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms within the Mekong Subregion to enhance Vietnam–Laos strategic connectivity.

Coconut played a vital role in Malaysia’s food security strategy, particularly within the agrifood sector’s fruit category. The National Agrofood Policy 2021–2030 (NAP 2.0) aimed for a self-sufficiency level (SSL) of 83% by 2030; however, the coconut sector continued to underperform, achieving only 70.3% in 2023. This shortfall was attributed to structural challenges, including land conversion, ageing tree populations, low replanting rates, and limited access to high-yield hybrid seedlings. To address these issues, this study employed a system dynamics (SD) modelling approach to evaluate the effects of various policy interventions, including utilizing abandoned land, providing financial grants, and offering seedling subsidies, on coconut production and SSL outcomes. Simulation results indicated that an integrated policy mix significantly improved production and raised SSL to nearly 80% by 2040. These findings provided actionable insights for revitalizing Malaysia’s coconut sector and underscored the importance of coordinated, long-term strategies to strengthen national agricultural resilience and food security.

The study aimed to assess farmers’ perceptions towards digital solutions for agricultural credit, the effect of FinTech adoption on financial inclusion and challenges faced by farmers in adopting digital financial services in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh. The key factors shaping perceptions included accessibility, trustworthiness, and convenience, with FinTech services generally preferred over traditional credit sources. Behavioural intention and facilitating conditions (FC) emerged as primary drivers of FinTech adoption, reinforcing farmers’ readiness to embrace digital finance when supported. While social influence and financial awareness contributed positively, barriers such as trust issues, low digital literacy, a preference for cash transactions, and limited awareness impeded wider adoption. Despite concerns, most farmers reported no financial losses and generally trusted digital platforms. Adoption of FinTech demonstrated a positive influence on financial inclusion, explaining 51.7% of the variance in access to financial services. Farmers also encountered challenges like a strong cash preference, technical difficulties, and resistance to change. The findings emphasize the necessity for enhanced digital literacy, better security measures, and more user-friendly platforms to boost FinTech adoption and build trust among smallholder farmers.

This study uniquely quantifies the gap between entrepreneurial behaviour (EB) and sustainable entrepreneurial behaviour (SEB) among farmers in the Ratnapura District of Sri Lanka, and offers a context-specific framework with policy-oriented strategies to bridge the divide. Data were collected through a pre-tested, structured questionnaire administered to a sample of 392 farmers in the study area using a non-proportional random sampling, complemented by two focus group discussions involving 10 farmers each. The data were analyzed using Reliability Analysis, KMO Test, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Descriptive Statistics and Thematic Analysis. Results revealed that while farmers exhibit a neutral level of EB, with an EB index of 3.481 out of 5, their commitment to sustainability is relatively lower, as reflected by an SEB index of 2.916 out of 5. The positive gap of 0.565 between EB and SEB indicates that farmers prioritize short-term profitability over long-term sustainability. The context-specific framework and policy-oriented strategies underscore the need for gradual changes and strong external support systems to transition toward SEB, with targeted interventions such as incentives for eco-innovation, stronger market linkages for sustainable products, and financial de-risking measures.

Access to premarket resources, such as education, depends on multiple socio-economic and demographic factors that encompass determinants like age, gender, caste, income, and occupational status. Notwithstanding the clarion call for ‘leaving no one behind’ under the SDG framework, educational and skill gaps at the inter-gender level continue to persist in rural India. In the case of rural Punjab, India, this article presents a modest attempt to examine the issue of gender-based premarket discrimination in access to formal education and skilling. Utilizing data from the National Sample Survey Organization’s (NSSO) 75th Round on Social Consumption in Education (2017–2018), two binary logistic models were formulated to analyze the role played by gender in an individual’s access to general and technical education (TE). The odds ratios estimated in both models suggest that a female’s odds of accessing formal and skill-based TE are 39% and 30% lower than their male counterparts, ceteris paribus . Thus, the analyses support our hypothesis of gender-based premarket discrimination in access to education and skilling in rural Punjab. To sustain a developmental model rooted in equity, addressing these gender-based inequalities will be of paramount importance in Punjab’s growth story.

Rapid urbanization in Asia has intensified concerns over rising CO 2 emissions, yet the moderating influence of human capital in this process remains underexplored. This study examines whether human capital can mitigate the environmental impact of urbanization in five major Asian economies—China, India, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia—during 1990–2021. Employing advanced panel econometric techniques, including cross-sectional dependence tests, panel co-integration analysis and a panel ARDL framework with Panel Mean Group (PMG), MG and DFE estimators, the study captures both long- and short-run dynamics. Robustness is ensured through dynamic OLS estimation, while Granger causality and variance decomposition provide insights into the direction and strength of causal linkages. The results reveal that urbanization significantly increases CO 2 emissions, with a 1% rise in the urban population contributing to a 7.53% increase in emissions. In contrast, human capital directly reduces emissions by 1.68% and, when interacting with urbanization, offsets its adverse effect by 11.76%. Evidence broadly supports the Environmental Kuznets Curve, although country-specific heterogeneity emerges: human capital fosters sustainable urbanization in China and South Korea, and moderates environmental stress in India, while financial development intensifies emissions in Japan and Indonesia. By quantifying the moderating role of human capital, this study adds novel evidence to the environmental economics literature and underscores human capital development as a key policy instrument for achieving sustainable urban growth and low-carbon development in Asia.