Agri-food Production Research Articles

Assessing global agri-food system exceedance of national cropland limits for linking responsible consumption and production under SDG 12

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 requires countries to achieve responsible consumption and production patterns without exceeding safe environmental limits for natural resource use. This is particularly relevant to the global agri-food system, a major contributor to the exceedance of environmental limits such as cropland (a major component of the land-system change planetary boundary). However, little is known about how virtual cropland flows embedded in agri-food commodities jointly impact national consumption- and production-based environmental limits for cropland use in the context of responsible agri-food consumption and production. Using a multi-regional input-output model and cropland limits of agri-food consumption and production, we identified specific countries and commodity supply chains that contribute to the exceedance of production-based cropland limits of producer countries (both domestic and via trade), irrespective of whether their own consumption-based cropland limits are exceeded. For example, 86% of China's consumption-based cropland footprint originated from regions that exceeded their production-based cropland limits, even though China's per capita consumption footprint is within safe fair-share limits. This occurred mainly due to the consumption of domestically produced and imported commodities such as oilseeds, cereals, and fruit and vegetables. In addition, we identified patterns in international trade relationships that could inform national-level responsible agri-food consumption/production interventions across the global supply chain, thereby contributing to SDG 12. More stringent regulations and improved policies are required to reduce the exceedance of consumption-based and production-based environmental limits and avoid exceeding the global land-system change planetary boundary.

THE MAIN FACTORS OF INFLUENCE ON THE COMPETITIVENESS OF PRODUCTS OF ENTERPRISES OF THE FLOUR INDUSTRY

Introduction. The resource potential of agri-food production of the economy of Ukraine determines the expediency of its orientation towards the strategy of self-sufficiency in solving the problem of food security at the national level, as well as the important role of the export of agri-food products for the development of the agrarian sector. World trends associated with globalization, increasing degree of openness of economies and increasing their interdependencies lead to increased requirements for national production from the point of view of their competitiveness.
 The formation of the competitiveness of products of enterprises of the flour milling industry depends on a number of factors, which objectively complicates the process of its management. Depending on the level and scope of action, such factors are proposed to be combined into 10 groups in order to systematize the analysis of the competitiveness of enterprises in the flour milling industry: 1) resource; 2) innovative; 3) microeconomic; 4) sectoral; 5) infrastructure and logistics; 6) macroeconomic; 7) institutional and regulatory; 8) foreign trade; 9) social; 10) ecological.
 The hypothesis of the scientific research consists in the study of the influence of external and internal factors on the competitiveness of products of enterprises of the flour industry. 
 The purpose of the study is to analyze and justify the impact of factors on the competitiveness of the products of the enterprises under study.
 The methodology of scientific research is general scientific research methods, in particular: induction and deduction, comparison, expert analysis, grouping method.
 Conclusions and prospects for further research. It has been proven that competitiveness is a multi-component characteristic of products, business entity, region, industry, country, and also depends on factors of time and place, which lead to certain difficulties in its assessment. There is a close relationship between the formation of competitiveness at all its levels. Factors of competitiveness of the enterprise, industry, country will affect the competitiveness of products, which in turn affects the competitiveness of subjects at different levels. But in different groups of factors there are those that have a positive influence on the formation of competitiveness, and those that exert a negative influence.
 Keywords: European integration; innovative development; competitiveness; competitive advantages; influencing factors; products of enterprises of the flour industry.

Land use planning, sustainable food production and rural development: A literature analysis

In many countries agricultural land is a scarce resource, either due to natural conditions or because of competition over land. An increased need for food globally, changing environmental conditions and increased demand for environmentally sound agriculture and food systems, all require better integration of planning for rural land use and food production. A literature analysis was conducted including coding of 76 papers, to answer the question on how and to what extent, literature addresses the integration of land use policy and planning, and food system planning, in the context of sustainable rural development and agri-food production. The results indicate that land use and food system planning co-occur in literature, yet lacking the perspective of sustainable rural development, suggesting that integrated planning for sustainable rural land use and food systems needs to be strengthened. Food system research has largely focused on availability and access, or what can be associated with consumers, rather than rural land use. Likewise, the inclusion of food systems is neither common in rural land use planning nor in agricultural policies. Holistic planning for a sustainable food system may be suffering from a disjointed approach, e.g., planning for farmland may not have any links to planning for accessibility, consumer preferences or food marketing. Increased cooperation between stakeholders is necessary to break down the silos in the food system. Policies and plans for rural land use and agri-food production should be coordinated for the common goal of sustainability.

Digital technologies to remove the information asymmetry in the food market

In today's economic system, the quality of food production and the economic efficiency of the markets are closely connected and linked to the growing role of information. We must highlight that in the food market, the safeguarding of safety and the correct transmission of information very often does not go towards protecting consumers. From the point of view of the economic efficiency of the product markets, these elements contribute to creating a sort of functional distortions capable of preventing their correct functioning from the point of view of economic theory and of fueling misunderstandings and information asymmetries. These specific conditions seem to be able to produce disadvantages at the same time for producers (agricultural enterprises and food enterprises) and for consumers in terms of the natural contest of relationships between supply and demand both in markets oriented towards short-term and long-term equilibrium. The research highlights how the modern analysis of the role of information, through digital technology, and the evaluation of the qualitative value of agri-food production can contribute to the improvement of the functional efficiency of agri-food production markets and also reduce the information asymmetries on the question. The results of the study highlight that the Yuka app 'offers a very efficient service that analyzes, by simply scanning the barcode of a food product, the composition of a wide range of foods, drawing on an extremely comprehensive and constantly updated database. This seems particularly important for the positive effects it can have on the food market as it would ensure greater transparency in transactions making the food market more efficient.

The Relationship between Agri-Food Production and Macro-Economic Dynamics: A Study on Soybeans in Brazilian South and Chinese Mainland

This research article aims to establish a relationship between regional conditions of agri-food production and their correlations with macroeconomic structures. To this end, soybeans production in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and its trade with Chinese Mainland are observed. The analysis draws on the Food Regimes approach in dialogue with institutionalist theory, especially considering the construction of agricultural production habits and models. The argument takes secondary quantitative data on soybeans production and trade, triangulating them with information gathered from international platforms—primarily FAOSTAT and Trase Platform—and with qualitative data collected during field research—using landscape analysis and interviews conducted with soybean cooperatives (in the Brazilian case). Findings on the formation of the soybean market between Rio Grande do Sul and Chinese Mainland reveal historically constituted elements that shaped trade flows as they are configured contemporarily. A correlation between the Third Food Regime and effects on agricultural practice in the Brazilian region was also observed.

Energy-Efficient IoT-Based Light Control System in Smart Indoor Agriculture.

Indoor agriculture is emerging as a promising approach for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of agri-food production processes. It is currently evolving from a small-scale horticultural practice to a large-scale industry as a response to the increasing demand. This led to the appearance of plant factories where agri-food production is automated and continuous and the plant environment is fully controlled. While plant factories improve the productivity and sustainability of the process, they suffer from high energy consumption and the difficulty of providing the ideal environment for plants. As a small step to address these limitations, in this article we propose to use internet of things (IoT) technologies and automatic control algorithms to construct an energy-efficient remote control architecture for grow lights monitoring in indoor farming. The proposed architecture consists of using a master-slave device configuration in which the slave devices are used to control the local light conditions in growth chambers while the master device is used to monitor the plant factory through wireless communication with the slave devices. The devices all together make a 6LoWPAN network in which the RPL protocol is used to manage data transfer. This allows for the precise and centralized control of the growth conditions and the real-time monitoring of plants. The proposed control architecture can be associated with a decision support system to improve yields and quality at low costs. The developed method is evaluated in emulation software (Contiki-NG v4.7),its scalability to the case of large-scale production facilities is tested, and the obtained results are presented and discussed. The proposed approach is promising in dealing with control, cost, and scalability issues and can contribute to making smart indoor agriculture more effective and sustainable.

Legume integration for biological control deserves a firmer scientific base

Diversification measures are widely recognized for their potential to enhance the resilience of agri-food production systems under global change. Nitrogen-fixing legumes commonly feature in diversification schemes, where they exert positive impacts on soil structure, nutrient retention, carbon sequestration or fertilizer reduction. Though legumes are premier tools for conservation agriculture, their impacts on (invertebrate, microbial) biological control are far less clear. As legumes secrete copious amounts of energy-rich (floral, extra-floral) nectar and provide alternative host or prey items for resident natural enemies, their deployment is expected to benefit biological control. Yet, its mechanistic basis is poorly understood and scientific underpinnings weak. In this Perspective piece, we collate data from the published literature and open-access databases on the extent to which different natural enemy guilds interact with 25 legume species that are commonly used as intercrops in the (sub)tropics. Our work unveils how natural enemies regularly forage on legumes, but the portrayal of those interaction linkages –or “biostructure” data- is profoundly incomplete and their ensuing implications for biological control are under-investigated. For instance, merely 4 (out of 167) parasitoids of the globally invasive fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda have been recorded in association with legumes. We hope that this Perspective piece will stimulate further thought, drive a new wave of biodiversity x ecosystem function research, and ultimately result in the design and implementation (or preservation) of more resilient, resource-frugal and pest-suppressive farming systems.

Biostimulant effect of chitosan and phenolic extracts on the phenological development of the halophyte Salicornia bigelovii (Torr.)

The agri-food production areas of global importance are the arid zones, which represent 43%. Notwithstanding this, there are factors that decrease the productivity of glycophyte crops. A global proposal is focused on generating agricultural technologies that innovate endemic agro-industrial crops (halophytes) that have a high potential for industrialization under arid and salinity conditions. The agro-industrial importance of some halophytes is on their capacity to produce fodder, vegetable oils and food for human consumption on salads and flours. In addition, its applicability has been demonstrated in industries such as cosmetology, construction, dry-pressed fiber, and above all for the recovery of areas degraded by salinization; either natural or induced by inadequate agricultural practices; which favors the rural economy. Likewise, to promote the optimal development of these novo monocultures, it is the use of vegetative stimulants of those areas, preventing the application of chemical agro-inputs in which chitosan and phenolic extracts stand out. The first, obtaining an industrial level is from crustaceans, allowing the large volumes of crustacean waste to be used in coastal areas; Its biological characteristics allow it to be elucidated as a product with a high biostimulant effect to improve the germination process in seeds, yields, the ability to adsorb plant nutrients and potentiate the defense mechanism. In relation to phenolic extracts, they are a group of important micronutrients for the human diet and are present in vegetables with different chemical structures and biological activity, and their effect has been related to a better development of plants. Based on the above, the objective of the study was to demonstrate the potential of chitosan from crustaceans and phenolic compounds from Maclura tinctoria as biostimulants in the ecophysiology of the halophyte Salicornia bigelovii. The results show that the phenological variables are promoted by chitosan and phenolic compounds, the former standing out, a ratio of 1000 ppm in all the variables analyzed, this behavior may be due to the fact that chitosan allows a better use of the water resource and better nutrient absorption, as well as the availability of Nitrogen through chitosan deficiency in the soil, which is reflected in the agronomic yields and eco-physiological variables of the plant.

Calcium nanoparticles mitigate severe salt stress in Solanum lycopersicon by instigating the antioxidant defense system and renovating the protein profile

Due to increasing global climate change problems to biota, salinity has been recognized as a realistic hazard critically affects the sustain agri-food production and crop quality in many regions of the world. Nanotechnology as an innovative approach can effectively improve plant performance under risky conditions such as salinity. Taking in consideration the ameliorative role of nanoparticles such as calcium nanoparticles (Ca-NPs) in enhancing plant growth and tolerance against various abiotic stresses, the present study was undertaken to illuminate the powerful effect and the underlying mechanism of soil-applied Ca-NPs (20 mM) in preventing salt damage at saline conditions (NaCl at 50, 100 and 200 mM) in tomato. Data revealed that NaCl drastically imposed the morphological parameters, primary and secondary metabolism, photosynthesis pigment content, hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation levels, antioxidant enzyme activities, mineral contents, and protein patterns. In contrast, the supplementation of exogenous Ca-NPs modified salinity toxicity effects by improving the survival, growth parameters, anabolic (soluble ions and osmolytes) and defense mechanisms (enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants). Interestingly, under lethal salinity level (200 mM), Ca-NPs was capable of suppressing the excessive damage effect of salinity by up-regulating the performance of the plants when these plants were completely dead in the absence of Ca-NPs. The descriptive cluster analysis separated treatments and characteristics into 3 to elucidate negative and positive correlations. Moreover, Ca-NPs was more efficient than CaCl2 in eliciting salt tolerance under all investigated NaCl levels. Therefore, all these findings together conclude that Ca-NPs have a positive role in motivating resilience strategies in tomato plants toward salt stress via lessening the ROS overproduction, stimulating enzymatic antioxidants, promoting osmolytes accumulation, and renovating protein profile under mild and severe salinity levels.

Crop diversity, sustainable food and nutritional security among smallholder farmers in Ghana

PurposeThe nexus between sustainable agri-food production and food security outcomes of farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is attracting policy attention. This study analyzes the effects of crop diversity on the incidence of food scarcity, dietary diversity, and the sale and consumption of own crops.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses panel data collected in 2015 and 2018 on a randomly selected sample of 2553 households from 49 villages in northern Ghana. The study employed a fixed effects modeling approach in the empirical analysis.FindingsThe study finds that crop diversity is positively associated with better dietary diversity, reduced hunger, lower food expenditure, and higher consumption of own produce. The results show positive effects of crop diversity on the total harvested output and sale of agricultural production. Whilst sales improved sustainable food and nutrition security by providing purchasing power to buy nutritional inputs in the market, consumption of own produce rather improved food availability by reducing food scarcity and malnutrition.Practical implicationsCrop diversity is one of the pathways for promoting sustainable agri-food production systems to ensure the food and nutritional security of vulnerable populations and promote biodiversity to achieve environmental goals in sub-Saharan Africa. Crop diversity reduces food expenditure and raises rural incomes through improved outputs and sales, which empowers farm households to diversify their dietary options to be able to overcome incidences of hunger and malnutrition in periods of food scarcity.Originality/valueThe present study improves the understanding of sustainable agri-food production through crop diversity and its implications on food and nutrition security outcomes. The panel data and fixed effects modelling approach address the endogeneity problem between crop diversity and household tastes and preferences.

Environmental, economic, and social of <em>Colletotrichum gloeosporioides</em> in the cultivation of the Creole yam.

Maintaining some productivity of the Creole yam (Dioscorea alata L.), affected by anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), from agrochemicals, generates changes in soil fertility, water quality and in the agricultural ecosystem of peasant agri-food production, but the proportion in which the management of an endemic fungus impacts and therefore persistent over time is unknown. This situation leads to investigate the environmental, economic, and social impact caused by the management of anthracnose in the cultivation of yam in the municipality of Colosó, department of Sucre, Colombia. A descriptive quantitative methodology was followed; A sample of 135 producers participated from techniques such as direct observation, interviews, surveys, focus groups and for the trade-off analysis of environmental, economic and social impacts the Leopold matrix. The results show a peasant production composed mainly of men (96%), of mestizo origin (91.6%), aged 41 to 60 years (55%); level of education in primary (56.5%) and baccalaureate (20.6%); They plant areas of 1.0 to 1.75 hectares (60.1%) and little technical assistance. Soil (47.3%) was impacted by accumulation of agrochemicals and water when contaminated (71.7%). Leopold's matrix considered the transformation of the territory around tutoring, soil loss, contamination of water bodies and burning of crop residues. In conclusion, maintaining the productivity of the Creole yam cultivar involves establishing the trade-off of the relationship between the planned solutions and the impacts on ecosystems in terms of environmental costs.

Nanomaterials an Overview & Green Synthesis of Zn and Mg Oxide Nanomaterials for Agri-food Production.

Nanomaterials an Overview & Green Synthesis of Zn and Mg Oxide Nanomaterials for Agri-food Production.

Identifying sustainability assessment parameters for genetically engineered agrifoods

Societal Impact StatementA diverse portfolio of genetically engineered food crops, as well as animal livestock and fish, are currently being developed and commercialized. To ensure their contributions to long‐term sustainability, a broad range of environmental, health, ethical, and societal parameters should be used in their evaluations. This paper proposes a set of parameters to evaluate the sustainability of genetically engineered food and agriculture products and discusses mechanisms to improve their governance and oversight. With such holistic evaluations, genetic engineering applications that are deemed beneficial to sustainable agriculture could be identified in an effort to foster sustainability.SummaryTo achieve international sustainable development goals, food and agricultural production need to rely on sustainable and resilient practices. Traditional breeding as well as the use of new agricultural technologies, including genetic engineering and gene editing, have the potential to help achieve sustainable agrifood production. Although numerous oversight mechanisms exist to guarantee the secure and sustainable advancement and utilization of genetically engineered agrifoods, the majority of these mechanisms heavily depend on a narrow set of parameters to assess risks and safety concerning human health and nontarget organisms. However, a more comprehensive range of parameters should be considered to promote environmental and social sustainability in a more holistic manner. This Opinion article argues that to achieve a more sustainable agrifood production that relies on genetic engineering, governance systems related to new agrifood biotechnologies should incorporate a broader array of environmental, health, ethical, and societal factors to ensure their sustainability in the long‐term. To facilitate this process, we propose a set of parameters to help evaluate the sustainability of agrifoods that rely on genetic engineering. We then discuss major challenges and opportunities for formalizing sustainability parameters in US governance policy and decision‐making systems. Overall, this work contributes to further developing a more comprehensive assessment framework that aims to minimize potential risks and maximize potential benefits of agrifood biotechnology while also fostering sustainability.

Chinese public perceptions of food applications based on synthetic biology

Synthetic biology (SB) is an emerging area of technological innovation with potential to be applied across a range of sectors, including within agri-food production. However, societal responses to SB and its applications will shape its development, commercialization and regulation trajectories. This research aimed to understand Chinese public responses to SB food in general and in relation to specific agri-food applications using an online survey (n = 1,330) and structural equation modelling. The results showed the Chinese respondents have slightly positive attitudes towards SB food in general. Respondents reported an overall acceptance of SB soybean and SB yeast but rejected an SB pig. Of the included factors, benefit perceptions were the most influential in shaping acceptability. Affective reactions influenced benefits perceptions more than risk perceptions across all the applications. General attitudes towards SB food can positively affect the acceptability of specific applications directly, and indirectly via benefit perceptions. Greater perceived unnaturalness was a strong predictor of respondents’ risk perceptions but not of application acceptability. These results suggest that regulations for SB agri-food applications might most align with societal priorities if developed on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, regulatory frameworks and emerging commercialization strategies should consider the roles of multiple factors to address specific public perceptions and attitudes.

Green recovery optimization of phenolic compounds from “Spinoso sardo” globe artichoke by-products using response surface methodology

The reuse and valorization of agri-food by-products is a pivotal activity in the pursuit of a circular model that can improve sustainability and efficiency of agri-food production. During artichoke processing, 60–80% of the biomass produced by the plant consists of inedible fractions, which nevertheless represent a natural source of high value-added compounds, such as phenolics. In this study, response surface methodology was applied to investigate and optimize the amount of ethanol and the reduction of extraction time to achieve the maximum yield of polyphenols and flavonoids from artichoke stems, leaves, and bracts, by using two extraction methods, namely maceration and ultrasound-assisted extraction. Overall, phenolic compounds were most concentrated in extracts obtained from the stems, followed by those derived from the bracts and leaves, with the percentage of ethanol being the most influential factor. After applying the optimization criteria, the best factor setting to achieve maximum extraction yields and strong antioxidant capacities was: 53% ethanol for stems, 45% for leaves, and 50% for bracts and 60 min for all by-products in the case of maceration; 10 min for stems and leaves with 42 and 20% of ethanol, respectively, and 41 min and 64% ethanol for bracts in the case of ultrasound-assisted extraction. Comparison between the two techniques evidenced that maceration was significantly more efficient, but similar recoveries were obtained with ultrasound-assisted extraction in shorter extraction time and lower ethanol consumption. Therefore, using this unconventional method to convert Spinoso Sardo artichoke by-products into bioactive ingredients with interesting industrial applications could be a viable strategy to reduce food losses and mitigate related environmental impacts.

Fly Bioash Ameliorates Acid Luvisol and Increases Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Yield in Field Conditions without Compromising the Risk of Radioactive Contamination

Fly bioash (FBA) as a by-product of biomass-fuelled facilities exhibits alkaline properties and is enriched with phytonutrients, thereby offering the potential to effectively ameliorate acidic and nutrient-deficient soils. However, concerns about health risks due to a potential FBA radioactive contamination are still not well studied, notably under field conditions. This study examined pH changes and concentrations of natural (238U, 232Th, 226Ra, 40K) and anthropogenic (137Cs) radionuclides after application of very alkaline (pH > 12) FBA in: (i) highly acid (pHKCl = 4.1) Luvisol and (ii) sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seeds, grown in organic farming and rain-fed conditions. FBA (originated from a modern cogeneration, fuelled on certified deciduous forest wood chips) was applied at increasing doses; 0, 4.5, 8.6, 13, and 17.2 t/ha. After 54 months of application, FBA significantly increased soil pHKCl by up to 1.8 unit and the seed yield by 15%, compared with no amended Control, without compromising soil electrical conductivity (salinity). The activity concentrations (Ac) of all observed radionuclides, measured using high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry, were not altered under FBA application, neither in the surface (0–30 cm) Luvisol horizon nor in the sunflower seed. Moreover, the Ac of 238U, 232Th, and 137Cs in the seed were below detection limit, whereas the Ac of 40K and 226Ra were lower by up to 2.6 and 61 times, respectively, than their corresponding Ac in the soil treatments. The radiological footprint of FBA exhibited lower Ac for most of the observed radionuclides compared with both (i) Croatian non-arable topsoils (with reductions of 238U 3.6 times, 232Th 1.8 times, 226Ra 1.7 times, and 137Cs 1.5 times) and (ii) widely used mineral N/P/K fertilisers in conventional agroecosystems (with reductions of 238U 12.5 times; 226Ra 1.3 times, and 40K 2.4 times). Our findings provide evidence that the application of FBA as a soil conditioner does not pose radiological health or environmental risks, contributing to more sustainable agri-food production and circular bioeconomy. However, it is essential to conduct further studies to comprehensively investigate the effects of FBA application on soil and crop quality across diverse environmental conditions and extended spatiotemporal scales.

The Role of Blockchain Technology in Promoting Traceability Systems in Agri-Food Production and Supply Chains.

Due to recurring food quality and safety issues, growing segments of consumers, especially in developed markets, and regulators in agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) require a fast and trustworthy system to retrieve necessary information on their food products. With the existing centralized traceability systems used in AFSCs, it is difficult to acquire full traceability information, and there are risks of information loss and data tampering. To address these challenges, research on the application of blockchain technology (BCT) for traceability systems in the agri-food sector is increasing, and startup companies have emerged in recent years. However, there have been only a limited number of reviews on the application of BCT in the agriculture sector, especially those that focus on the BCT-based traceability of agricultural goods. To bridge this knowledge gap, we reviewed 78 studies that integrated BCT into traceability systems in AFSCs and additional relevant papers, mapping out the main types of food traceability information. The findings indicated that the existing BCT-based traceability systems focus more on fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy, and milk. A BCT-based traceability system enables one to develop and implement a decentralized, immutable, transparent, and reliable system in which process automation facilitates the monitoring of real-time data and decision-making activities. We also mapped out the main traceability information, key information providers, and challenges and benefits of the BCT-based traceability systems in AFSCs. These helped to design, develop, and implement BCT-based traceability systems, which, in turn, will contribute to the transition to smart AFSC systems. This study comprehensively illustrated that implementing BCT-based traceability systems also has important, positive implications for improving AFSC management, e.g., reductions in food loss and food recall incidents and the achievement of the United Nations SDGs (1, 3, 5, 9, 12). This will contribute to existing knowledge and be useful for academicians, managers, and practitioners in AFSCs, as well as policymakers.

Economic effects of sustainable agri-food production in Taiwan: Does spatial agglomeration make a difference?

PurposeThis study investigates the economic outcomes of organic farming controlling for the four major aspects of a cropping system, including climate, genotypes, management and soil. Considering possible variations in treatment responses, this study also presents empirical evidence of heterogeneous treatment effects associated with spatial agglomeration or farm covariates.Design/methodology/approachRice farm households data taken from the 2015 Agriculture Census is merged with township-level seasonal weather data, crop suitability index and average income per capita in Taiwan. To address the selection bias problem, the authors apply the Probit-2SLS instrumental variable (IV) method in the binary treatment model under homogeneous and heterogeneous assumptions.FindingsIt is found that organic farming leads to a significantly positive effect on rice farms' economic performances in terms of cost reduction and profit growth. This positive treatment effect is more sizable with spatial agglomeration. Furthermore, the treatment effect of organic farming is found to vary with the farm characteristics such as farmland area and the number of hired workers.Practical implicationsTwo important implications for the promotion of sustainable agri-food production are inferred: (1) establishing organic agriculture specialized zones may benefit rural development; (2) providing economic incentives to small farms to expand their scale may be a more effective policy means to promote sustainable agri-food production.Originality/valueThe findings in this study complement the body of knowledge by drawing insights from the agriculture census data and providing profound evidence of the heterogeneous outcomes of organic farming due to spatial clustering and farm covariates.

Trends in broiler chicken meat production and food security in the sulaymaniyah governorate

This study aims to report the trends in chicken meat production, importing, and per capita consumption in the Sulaymaniyah governorate, as well as, identify the challenges and opportunities of poultry sector development to become a substantial contributor to food security and poverty alleviation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). This study reviews ten years of data on the production of broiler chicken and per capita consumption patterns from 2011 to 2020, in the Sulaymaniyah governorate in KRI. The data from this study explain that more than half of the broiler chicken production projects are located in the Sulaymaniyah governorate. Thus, the growing number of poultry projects has significantly contributed to increasing local broiler chicken meat production by 6 folds and achieving 85.44% of self-sufficiency in broiler chicken meat production, even though their productivity is lower than their production capacity due to the high rate of broiler chicken mortality and uncertain supply chain management. Furthermore, frequent fluctuations and instability in the production rates are observed during the last decade, as broiler chicken meat production increased from 1,669.77 tonnes in 2011 to 20,034.06 tonne in 2015, then dropped to 11,802.36 tonnes in 2016 then rose again to 23,816.13 tonnes in 2019 and then declined again to 11,352.23 tonnes in 2020. These fluctuations and instabilities in local production may harm agri-food production sustainability and food security in the KRI in general, and, the Sulaymaniyah governorate in particular.
 Keywords: Poultry; Broiler chicken meat; Meat consumption; Food security; Sulaymaniyah; Kurdistan Region

Theoretical and Legal Perspectives on Energy-Smart Agri-Food Systems: Sustainability and the Right to Food

Abstract This research addresses the theoretical and legal perspectives of energy-smart agri-food systems (ESAFS) concerning sustainability and the right to food. ESAFS supplies self-generated sustainable energy for agricultural production. These are an alternative for reducing agri-food systems’ dependence on fossil fuels and building their resilience against exponential energy prices. There is a scarce legal regulation on the implementation of renewable energy sources in the agri-food sector, which decides the poor theoretical and legal treatment. This research’s main objective is to approach renewable energy sources in agri-food production in Latin America and the Caribbean from a theoretical and legal perspective.