Agricultural Food Production Research Articles

Supportable development of agriculture local market in the condition organic farming

The growth of country area, as a priority task of regional policy, is inextricably linked with the branches of agriculture, designed to provide raw materials for the processing industry, and, ultimately, with high-quality food for the population. Stimulating investments in the growth of promise area of the agro-industrial complex will satisfy the demand for agricultural products at affordable prices. State investments in the modernization of transport infrastructure and increasing the degree of its accessibility for all producers of the agro-industrial complex will also help reduce poverty, and, accordingly, optimize the physical and economic accessibility of food. In the gross agricultural product of the Siberian Federal District, a quarter is accounted for by the products of the Altai Territory. In the system of market economy, a special place is given to food markets, which in general form represent a set of commodity-money relations between all economic entities directly or indirectly involved in the production, processing, storage, transportation and sale of agricultural products, raw materials and food as at the expense of domestic producers and imports. The agri-food market, in turn, is the basic element of the food market The development of organic farming at an accelerated pace is a modern trend in the earth market However, the significant geographic differentiation of the availability of organic land significantly affects the production of organic products.

An overview on the nanotechnological expansion, toxicity assessment and remediating approaches in Agriculture and Food industry

Analytical nanoscience and nanotechnology serve to be one of the most promising avenues for streamlining the developments in the field of analytical science. The two main objects of action, the analyte and the tool have provided valuable information about the material at the nanometre​ scale and had contributed much in the development of novel analytical processes and improvement of the existing ones. Consequently, the scope of analytical nanotechnology in the biological field remains a challenge in understanding the functional aspects at the molecular level. This demands a combination of analytical methods in translating the nanoscale methods to biologically relevant tools. One such smart strategies of analytical nanotechnology toward sustainable agriculture practice and food production is the introduction of ‘nanobiosensors.’ This smart sensing approach is gaining momentum in the most important and stable sectors — the agriculture and food industry to ensure increased production with minimal inputs via real-time monitoring of the environmental conditions. This ‘sensing’ potential of nanobiosensors designed using hybrid technologies with utmost sensitivity and selectivity has been critically reviewed pertaining to a safer food production for human consumption. Furthermore, the nanotoxicity induced by the release of engineered nanomaterials into the environment, its monitoring and bioremediating measures have also been discussed in detail. • Analytical nanotechnology in biological field is of utmost importance for a more specific and selective data interpretation. • Nanobiosensor implication in agriculture sector would be a step forward in sustained and precision agriculture. • Nanobiosensor comprising nanomaterial-biological entity augments sensitive detection of analytes. • Toxins, pathogens, obnoxious gases (E-nose) and chemicals (E-tongue) detection attribute next-gen sensing strategy. • Exploring the nano-bio-ecological interaction helps resolve toxicological issues for better stewardship in agriculture.

Artisanal Gold Mining and Local Socio-Economic Development in Ife Land, Southwest, Nigeria: A situational Analysis

The article examines the effects of artisanal gold mining on cash crop plantations and safe coexistence in Ife land, Nigeria. It hypothesized that artisanal gold mining inadvertently encourages communities to sell their land cheaply to gold merchants and forego agricultural food production. These were with the view to advancing knowledge about how artisanal gold mining impedes local socio-economic development in Ife land. It utilizes mixed method of quantitative and qualitative research designs. Results showed widespread damage of cash crops, relocation of local indigenous cocoa investors from mining communities due to insecurity, and lands were sold cheaply out of fear of losing them to gold merchants, thus, jeopardizing food security in mining communities. It concludes that artisanal gold mining is progressively devastating local socio-economic development of mining communities in Ife land, Southwest Nigeria.

Emissions in agricultural-based developing economies: A case of Nigeria

Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions (methane and nitrous oxide) contribute substantially to global warming. This article explores and develops roadmaps towards mitigating these emissions in developing economies. Nonetheless, mitigating the impacts of global warming on humanity entails curtailing the greenhouse emissions which is very challenging given that this Greenhouse Gas (GHG) is emitted during agricultural food production processes. The Kaya and Index Decomposition Analysis (Kaya-IDA) models are used to decompose and study the drivers of the agricultural Greenhouse Gas emission (methane and nitrous oxide) in Nigeria from 1990 to 2019. Moreover, different policies are developed using scenario-based analysis from 2020 to 2050 to show possible Greenhouse Gas emission mitigation pathways. The results show that the agricultural greenhouse emission intensity and per capita output are the leading drivers of the total agricultural level of emission in Nigeria. There is also a decline in agricultural value-added contribution in the past decade to the overall emission level. Among the four policy scenarios, the Special Package Policy, which achieves a more than a proportional reduction in agricultural greenhouse emission intensity relative to other driving factors, results in a favourable and substantially reduced level of overall emission in the agricultural sector of Nigeria. The implications of this study also apply to other African economies with similar agricultural sectors like that of Nigeria.

Diskursus Pangan, Ekofeminisme dan Food Sovereignty di Era COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many sectors experienced shocks, not the food sector. In the food sector, there are still many problems facing difficulties from the presence of the COVID-19 wave. Some of the contributing factors are the transformation of agriculture from traditional to modern. Since the introduction of the green revolution, food has led to an intensification framework ranging from global agricultural food production and a focus on productivity, such as requiring farmers to grow monocultures. This condition causes land degradation, environmental degradation and biodiversity so that in the long term food security is threatened. Quantity-based intensification also causes local wisdom of farmers' agriculture, such as farmers' attachment to the ecosystem, the ability to produce local seeds, and the determination of subsistence factors, one of which is the barn system. On the other hand, besides having an impact on the ecological aspect, it also has an impact on gender, which in the end leads to women's injustice. Several notes in previous research have found that agricultural intensification resulted in a gender burden in farmer households, as well as an increased burden on female farmers. The disconnection of farmers from the ecosystem, the threat of ecological cracks and gender climate change, are links that cannot be separated, because they affect each other. This paper will describe and analyze the problem of food insecurity; pay attention to gender and ecological gaps using ecofeminism and food sovereignty approaches as an effort to reconstruct the existence of food insecurity; and learn from the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Next-Generation Genetic and Fermentation Technologies for Safe and Sustainable Production of Food Ingredients: Colors and Flavorings

A growing human population is a significant issue in food security owing to the limited land and resources available for agricultural food production. To solve these problems, sustainable food manufacturing processes and the development of alternative foods and ingredients are needed. Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology can help solve the food security issue and satisfy the demand for alternative food production. Bioproduction of food ingredients by microbial fermentation is a promising method to replace current manufacturing processes, such as extraction from natural materials and chemical synthesis, with more ecofriendly and sustainable operations. This review highlights successful examples of bioproduction for food additives by engineered microorganisms, with an emphasis on colorants and flavors that are extensively used in the food industry. Recent strain engineering developments and fermentation strategies for producing selected food colorants and flavors are introduced with discussions on the current status and future perspectives.

Plant-Based Proteins: The Good, Bad, and Ugly.

Our global population is growing at a pace to exceed 10 billion people by the year 2050. This growth will place pressure on the agricultural production of food to feed the hungry masses. One category that will be strained is protein. Per capita protein consumption is rising in virtually every country for both nutritional reasons and consumption enjoyment. The United Nations estimates protein demand will double by 2050, and this will result in a critical overall protein shortage if drastic changes are not made in the years preceding these changes. Therefore, the world is in the midst of identifying technological breakthroughs to make protein more readily available and sustainable for future generations. One protein sourcing category that has grown in the past decade is plant-based proteins, which seem to fit criteria established by discerning consumers, including healthy, sustainable, ethical, and relatively inexpensive. Although demand for plant-based protein continues to increase, these proteins are challenging to utilize in novel food formulations.

Наращивание объемов агропромышленного производства для обеспечения продовольственной безопасности и увеличения экспортного потенциала АПК России

Currently, the Russian agricultural sector aims to simultaneously achieve two priority goals: to ensure import substitution (or the country’s food security, taking into account rational consumption standards) and to increase exports of agricultural products and food. In this regard, the present study develops proposals for improving agricultural policy and linking these two tasks. The study analysed existing normative legal documents in the field of agricultural policy management and agricultural exports development, relevant foreign experience, as well as Russian and international statistics. It was revealed that an increase in agricultural food production and in the mass of commodities led to export growth. As a result, the negative balance of foreign trade in food decreased, and Russia became a net exporter in 2020-2021. The structure of agri-food exports was examined in order to identify the export potential. Approximately 1/3 of exported goods belong to the group of low-processed products, while only 15 % are highly processed products, which are characterised by a significant negative balance. Competitiveness of products, which plays the most important role in increasing exports, requires the development and implementation of domestic advanced scientific and technological solutions. According to the competitiveness assessment, Russia is a competitive supplier of a wide range of agri-food products, since the prices offered by Russian farmers and exporters are lower or comparable to the prices of major global exporters. Since export growth depends on an increase in agricultural food production, production growth opportunities were considered. The analysis of the consumer purchasing power and food consumption demonstrated their significant differentiation, both by decile groups and by place of residence. The presented findings can be used to improve agricultural policy and adjust state support for the agricultural industry aimed at its effective development.

Challenges Faced by Congolese Women Farmers to Access Agricultural Productive Resources: A Review

In developing countries, the long decades of the battle against malnutrition, and poverty have placed women on the frontline because they actively play significant roles in agricultural food production, processing, and distribution to ensure food security in the communities. Using peer-reviewed papers and reports from credible organizations, this work examines women’s constraints in agricultural food production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The key findings show that socioeconomic, environmental, and institutional constraints limit women’s control of, and access to necessary resources (land, credit, agricultural technologies, information). Additionally, exchanges and connection between remote rural areas and cities are increasingly limited by impassable roads. This has a negative impact on women’s ability to access information on agricultural technologies, in a country where the extension services are barely functioning. While in entities close to cities, agricultural input dealers are the main source of information on agricultural technologies for farmers, in remote areas, women value only their endogenous experiences, shared among farmers. On top of these challenges, the depreciation of the local currency (Congolese francs), the volatile security situation, and the impact of COVID-19 on the international and regional trade have also led to an increase in the price of agriculture inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides) and food commodities, thus exacerbating women’s vulnerability. Here, we also address questions about women’s limited decision-making power within households (communities), and their low participation in the management of natural resources in DRC where women are poorly represented in decision-making bodies and still have less political influence.

Transfer Learning for Multi-Crop Leaf Disease Image Classification using Convolutional Neural Network VGG

In recent times, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture has become the most important. The technology adoption in agriculture if creatively approached. Controlling on the diseased leaves during the growing stages of crops is a crucial step. The disease detection, classification, and analysis of diseased leaves at an early stage, as well as possible solutions, are always helpful in agricultural progress. The disease detection and classification of different crops, especially tomatoes and grapes, is a major emphasis of our proposed research. The important objective is to forecast the sort of illness that would affect grapes and tomato leaves at an early stage. The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) methods are used for detecting Multi-Crops Leaf Disease (MCLD). The features extraction of images using a deep learning-based model classified the sick and healthy leaves. The CNN based Visual Geometry Group (VGG) model is used for improved performance measures. The crops leaves images dataset is considered for training and testing the model. The performance measure parameters, i.e., accuracy, sensitivity, specificity precision, recall and F1-score were calculated and monitored. The main objective of research with the proposed model is to make on-going improvements in the performance. The designed model classifies disease-affected leaves with greater accuracy. In the experiment proposed research has achieved an accuracy of 98.40% of grapes and 95.71% of tomatoes. The proposed research directly supports increasing food production in agriculture.

Глобальна продовольча криза, спричинена війною в Україні: виклики для управління

The paper examines the reasons and ways of overcoming the global food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine in 2022. The processes that caused problems in the area of providing the population with food are revealed. The management reports and reports of the leading international organizations are analyzed as a reaction to the consequences of the russian-Ukrainian war, which is currently the main catalyst of challenges on a global scale. The problem of food supply is combined with political processes and the need to overcome political chaos, which further worsens the situation, destroys social life, and creates even more dangerous conditions for ordinary people. It is noted that the growth of the food crisis in the world due to the armed aggression of russia against Ukraine forces to change the opinion of most countries regarding the food problem, and to assess it as a global catastrophe. In particular, the aggressor wants to monopolize wheat trade under global crisis. In the paper the problems and potential risks associated with the crisis are considered: the absence of an appropriate regulatory and legislative framework for the regulation of the food industry; lack of a clear investment and innovation state policy; corruption schemes of the shadow economy; low purchasing power of the population; unsatisfactory use of the potential of individual industries; insufficient financial support of enterprises; wear and tear of the enterprise's production facilities and the high cost of their renewal; low volumes of production, which do not contribute to the restoration, reconstruction, modernization of non-current assets and the implementation of research achievements; dependence on political and general economic changes in the country, possible armed conflicts. The main recommendations of the FAO on ensuring food security in Ukraine and the main measures for their implementation are analyzed. It is concluded with the ways out of the crisis - in particular, through close cooperation with the governments of those countries that support the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine, international financial organizations, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations to receive financial and humanitarian aid. In general, it is advisable to start the preparation of a comprehensive program for the restoration of the production of agricultural products and food in Ukraine.

Africa's food security: Malnutrition and obesity

Food security in Africa is characterized by pronounced regional aspects, with the largest number of hungry people living in sub-Saharan Africa. The continent accounts for a third of all hungry people in the world, and this indicator demonstrates an upward trend in recent years. At the same time, a significant part of the population suffers from obesity. This alarming twofold nature of the food problem on the continent is rooted in poverty and a high degree of social stratification, insufficient economic growth, low productivity of agriculture and food industry, lack of investments in these sectors of economy, military and other conflicts, climate shocks, etc. The article explores the current trends of this problem at the international, continental and national levels. Attention is paid to the inclusiveness vector of food systems, taking into account the need to introduce advanced innovations, including digital ones, into agriculture and the food industry. Special attention is focused on the tracks of food systems transformation according to the official representatives of African countries at the UN Summit held in September 2021. The need to attract investments in sectors of the economy, not only involved in food production, but also capable of providing employment to eradicate the extreme poverty and, as a consequence, malnutrition is emphasized. The desire of a number of African states to reflect in their national programs intention to increase the production of agricultural raw materials and food, and to develop intra-African and global cooperation to enhance the resilience to climate change is positively assessed. Such intentions are in line with global concepts of transforming food systems to eradicate hunger.

About agricultural products, raw materials and food with improved characteristics (scientific commentary on the Federal Law)

The production of ecological agricultural products in all countries of the world is one of the main tasks of the further existence of society. Nowadays, this direction is usually called the “green economy”. But, if in many European countries this direction has been developing quite successfully for several decades, then in Russia it is only at the initial stage of development. Our country occupies 12% of the entire world territory and has a favorable geographical position between Europe and Asia. And now Russia must occupy its own niche in the world market for the production of environmentally friendly products. For this, a number of legislative acts and federal laws were adopted in the country aimed at creating environmentally friendly agricultural products and in industrial production. Adopted on June 11, 2021, Federal Law No. 159-FZ “On agricultural products, raw materials and food with improved characteristics” [1] establishes the legal basis for the implementation of agricultural and other activities related to the production, storage, transportation and sale of agricultural products, food, industrial and other products with improved characteristics.

Prospects of Using Nanotechnology in Agricultural Growth, Environment and Industrial Food Products

Prospects of Using Nanotechnology in Agricultural Growth, Environment and Industrial Food Products

ЯКІСТЬ ВІТЧИЗНЯНИХ КОНЬЯКІВ У КОНТЕКСТІ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИХ НОРМ ЗАХИСТУ ГЕОГРАФІЧНИХ ЗАЗНАЧЕНЬ ТОВАРІВ

As part of the signed Association Agreement with the EU, Ukraine undertook a number of obligations to harmonize its legislation with European standards, which gives our country the opportunity to import its products into the countries of the European Union almost without restrictions. Namely, the laws that will regulate the use and protection of geographical names for agricultural products and food products, as well as for wines and spirits. This identifies the product by a specific geographical location (not a geographical name), has a special quality, reputation, or other characteristics that are largely attributable to its origin. This indicates the quality, authenticity, uniqueness of the product and serves as a tool for added value and profit. To date, due to military restrictions, Ukrainian manufacturers have suspended the process of changing the names of some domestic products, which are borrowed European geographical names and should not be used both on the foreign and domestic markets. The article examines the problems associated with the preparation of Ukrainian legislation for the registration and protection of geographical indications of alcoholic beverages, namely cognac. Cognac occupies a special place among all alcoholic beverages in the world. Today, in order to obtain the status of the geographical territorial indication IG Cognac, the drink must meet the specifications that were approved by the French decree «Cahier des charges». For the production of cognac, the law allows the use of only grapes of certain varieties, which is also related to climatic and historical conditions. The article describes the characteristics and unique properties of French cognacs (certain grape varieties, climatic conditions, production technology), as well as brief information about the most popular and oldest cognac houses in France. Most cognacs of Ukraine are not competitive on the international market in terms of the name of the drink and organoleptic and physicochemical indicators. In order to identify the compliance of the quality of alcoholic beverages with the norms of Ukrainian standards, an examination of samples of domestically produced cognacs sold in the retail network was carried out.

Polizești-19, a New Rice Variety Created in the Pedoclimatic Conditions in Southeastern Romania

Rice is an extremely important crop in the balance of agri-food products used by mankind. This crop feeds over 66% of the world's population and responds favorably to zonal cultivation conditions around the world. In Romania, rice is a perspective crop in the context of diversifying the agricultural production and of the need to find solutions to reduce import of agricultural products and to increase the country’s food security. There are few crops such as rice, which can provide in optimal production conditions over 8-10 tons of good quality agricultural food product, usable in human food after relatively simple processing, or which allow to obtain a wide range of food products by industrialization. The creation of new varieties and hybrids through breeding activities is important for the fact that, in the economy of a crop, a new variety contributes to the increase of productivity by 5-10% compared to the varieties in the crop. In addition, the acclimatization is better and the behavior of new varieties against stressors is improved. Hence, plant breeding, including in rice crops, is the main method of progress and efficiency of agriculture and it must be further developed in Romania. This paper presents the new Polizești-19 rice variety, obtained at Brăila Agricultural Research-Development Station, located at the northern limit of rice cultivation in Romania.

Factors preventing smallholder farmers from adapting to climate variability in South Africa: lessons from Capricorn and uMshwati municipalities

Climate variability has adversely compromised food production in South Africa, with severe consequences for the livelihood of smallholder farmers. However, the extent to which adaptation has enabled rural farmers to continue earning their livelihoods has received limited attention. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by examining the constraints faced in food production and the coping strategies adopted by these farmers in responding to climate variability and change. A mixed research approach (primary and secondary) was used to obtain data from the municipalities of Capricorn and uMshwati in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, South Africa. Structured questionnaires, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were used to obtain primary data, while internet, libraries and organizational reports were consulted to obtain secondary data. Results showed that rain-fed agriculture was the most common type of farming (60%), compared to irrigation farming (40%). Furthermore, 25% (8/30 respondents) of smallholder farmers practising mixed cropping had been involved in agriculture for more than a decade. Smallholder farmers have adopted mitigating strategies ranging from social adjustments at the household level and combining food production with off-farm activities to sustain their livelihoods and overall wellbeing. This study argues that an enabling environment will facilitate the ability of rural farmers to adapt to climate variability in the local context and present beneficial socio-economic dynamics within the small-scale agricultural food production sector.

A Deep Learning-Based Novel Approach for Weed Growth Estimation

Automation of agricultural food production is growing in popularity in scientific communities and industry. The main goal of automation is to identify and detect weeds in the crop. Weed intervention for the duration of crop establishment is a serious difficulty for wheat in North India. The soil nutrient is important for crop production. Weeds usually compete for light, water and air of nutrients and space from the target crop. This research paper assesses the growth rate of weeds due to macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) absorbed from various soils (fertile, clay and loamy) in the rabi crop field. The weed image data have been collected from three different places in Madhya Pradesh, India with 10 different rabi crops (Maize, Lucerne, Cumin, Coriander, Wheat, Fenugreek, Gram, Onion, Mustard and Tomato) and 10 different weeds (Corchorus Capsularis, Cynodondactylon, Chloris barbata, Amaranthaceae, Argemone mexicana, Carthamus oxyacantha, Capsella bursa Pastoris, Chenopodium Album, Dactyloctenium aegyptium and Convolvulus Ravens). Intel Real Sense LiDAR digital camera L515 and Canon digital SLR DIGICAM EOS 850 D 18-55IS STM cameras were mounted over the wheat crop in 10 × 10 square feet area of land and 3670 different weed images have been collected. The 2936 weed images were used for training and 734 images for testing and validation. The Efficient Net-B7 and Inception V4 architectures have been used to train the model that has provided accuracy of 97% and 94% respectively. The Image classification using Inspection V4 was unsuccessful with less accurate results as compared to EfficientNet-B7.

ANALIZA LANACA SNABDEVANjA U AGROBIZNISU U CILjU UNAPREĐENjA

Global competitive game is present in all spheres of business, in which is very difficult to reach comparative advantage compared to other companies. One of the business segments which is the subject of research in this work, is supply chain analysis. All actors in mentioned supply chain participate in creation of values and all of them expect compensation for their participation in return. There is a need for an analysis of the current functioning of retail supply chains for agricultural food products in Serbia, so as perception of the place and role of all actors in supply chain, including manufacturing, distribution and sale of agricultural products. The goal is to determine current state in this sphere and making strategic business decisions which can improve overall business results. The emphasis is on securing a better competitive position of individual agricultural producers (in the role of suppliers) and improving their competitive position, as the weakest link in the supply chain.

A genomic perspective on South American human history

It has generally been accepted that the current indigenous peoples of the Americas are derived from ancestors from northeastern Asia. The latter were believed to have spread into the American continent by the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. In this sense, a joint and in-depth study of the earliest settlement of East Asia and the Americas is required to elucidate these events accurately. The first Americans underwent an adaptation process to the Americas’ vast environmental diversity, mediated by biological and cultural evolution and niche construction, resulting in enormous cultural diversity, a wealth of domesticated species, and extensive landscape modifications. Afterward, in the Late Holocene, the advent of intensive agricultural food production systems, sedentism, and climate change significantly reshaped genetic and cultural diversity across the continent, particularly in the Andes and Amazonia. Furthermore, starting around the end of the 15th century, European colonization resulted in massive extermination of indigenous peoples and extensive admixture. Thus, the present review aims to create a comprehensive picture of the main events involved in the formation of contemporary South American indigenous populations and the dynamics responsible for shaping their genetic diversity by integrating current genetic data with evidence from archeology, linguistics and other disciplines.