Agricultural Priorities Research Articles

Resolving land use conflicts in developing photovoltaic

China is implementing ambitious solar energy development plans, with the goal of exceeding 2200–2800 GW by 2030. However, the development of solar energy necessitates substantial land use. An estimated 64,900 km2 of land would be required, posing significant challenges, particularly in balancing energy production with environmental and agricultural priorities. Without a commitment to sustainable land management, the broader goal of sustainable development in renewable energy cannot be achieved. Our findings highlight the need for policies that ensure photovoltaic developments are compatible with environmental conservation and land preservation.

A comparison of environmental impacts of three contrasting cropping systems for barley production under Mediterranean conditions

Agriculture is a key contributor to environmental degradation and to global change. Consequently, the design of sustainable agricultural systems and the assessment of their relevance is a major priority for European agriculture. Different cropping systems, with variable objectives and constraints, can be used in cereal production in Spain. This study focused in comparing three winter barley cropping systems, ranging from intensive no-till to organic approaches. To assess the environmental impacts of each system, a Life Cycle Assessment was conducted. The findings indicate that the impacts varied depending on the chosen functional unit. When land area was considered the functional unit, the lowest impacts were obtained in the organic system, while the no-till system showed the highest. This difference was primarily attributed to variations in N fertilization. Nitrogen use had a significant impact across various categories, primarily due to the energy demands for its production and transportation, as well as the emissions of NH3 and N2O. However, when evaluating agricultural goods production as the functional unit, the organic system exhibited the highest impacts in terms of energy demand, freshwater ecotoxicity and freshwater eutrophication. These differences are explained by the loss of production in the fallow year and the low yields of the legume crop. The middle-way option provided the lowest impacts when economic net revenues were considered. The main reason for this was its higher total revenues associated to high crop production and EU subsidies.

Classification of agricultural priority and reserved areas in Brandenburg under consideration of bio-economic climate simulations

Ensuring a crisis-proof food supply has become a key political issue. In Germany, official spatial planning allows the use of priority and reserved areas to secure land for agricultural use and regional food supply. The focus should be particularly on climate-resilient areas that also have a stable yield potential in the future. This paper supplements widely used, static approaches for determining priority and reserved areas with a dynamic bio-economic analysis that takes future climate scenarios into account. The results for the German federal state of Brandenburg show a high area equivalence between the static and dynamic approaches. In the case of data gaps, for example, static approaches such as soil quality indices can serve as an adequate proxy for future yield potentials. However, not all climate-robust areas can be classified as potential reserved or priority areas. Furthermore, areas that show low yield potential under future conditions are not released for other land uses. Feedback from stakeholders involved in the study showed that the use of the dynamic approach and a target value using the results of a foodshed model lead to broad acceptance. The method developed here can make a valuable contribution to climate change adaptation in spatial planning instruments.

Agricultural specialisation increases the vulnerability of pollination services for smallholder farmers

Abstract Smallholder farms make up 84% of all farms worldwide and feed 2 billion people. These farms are heavily reliant on ecosystem services and vulnerable to environmental change, yet under‐represented in the ecological literature. The high diversity of crops in these systems makes it challenging to identify and manage the best providers of an ecosystem service, such as the best pollinators to meet the needs of multiple crops. It is also unclear whether ecosystem service requirements change as smallholders transition towards more specialised commercial farming—an increasing trend worldwide. Here, we present a new metric for predicting the species providing ecosystem services in diverse multi‐crop farming systems. Working in 10 smallholder villages in rural Nepal, we use this metric to test whether key pollinators, and the management actions that support them, differ based on a farmers' agricultural priority (producing nutritious food to feed the family vs. generating income from cash crops). We also test whether the resilience of pollination services changes as farmers specialise on cash crops. We show that a farmers' agricultural priority can determine the community of pollinators they rely upon. Wild insects including bumblebees, solitary bees and flies provided the majority of the pollination service underpinning nutrient production, while income generation was much more dependent on a single species—the domesticated honeybee Apis cerana. The significantly lower diversity of pollinators supporting income generation leaves cash crop farmers more vulnerable to pollinator declines. Regardless of a farmers' agricultural priority, the same collection of wild plant species (mostly herbaceous weeds and shrubs) were important for supporting crop pollinators with floral resources. Promoting these wild plants is likely to enhance pollination services for all farmers in the region. Synthesis and applications. We highlight the increased vulnerability of pollination services when smallholders transition to specialised cash crop farming and emphasise the role of crop, pollinator and wild plant diversity in mitigating this risk. The method we present could be readily applied to other smallholder settings across the world to help characterise and manage the ecosystem services underpinning the livelihoods and nutritional health of smallholder families.

Theoretical framework to foster and assess sustainable agriculture practices: Drivers and key performance indicators

Introducing sustainable practices in farms' value chains to transform their business models into sustainable business models (SBMs) is a priority for farmers and policymakers. This paper first aims to provide a framework for implementing sustainable agriculture practices. We explain managerial practices, key drivers, and the agents involved through different theories and in four main stages. Secondly, using a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), we offer an update and a complete list of 133 sustainable (economic, social, and environmental) key performance indicators, which can be used to measure farms' sustainability performance and the success of the SBM applied. Our insights show that there are different drivers that may affect farms’ commitment to sustainability practices. However, the importance of these drivers is not equal. Similarly, not all the agents have the same relevance since this depends on the stage.

Evaluating the Path to the European Commission’s Organic Agriculture Goal: A Multivariate Analysis of Changes in EU Countries (2004–2021) and Socio-Economic Relationships

This study comprehensively analyzed the dynamic landscape of organic farming in the European Union (EU) from 2004 to 2021, investigating the shifts in dedicated agricultural areas influenced by evolving preferences and the priorities of farmers and consumers. Examining the impact of socio-economic factors, including gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the human development index (HDI), and human population density, this study established multivariate relationships through country-level analyses based on correlations, principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and panel analysis. Despite a universal increase in the organic agriculture areas across all the EU countries during the study period, the production levels exhibited negative correlations with the human population density, GDP per capita, and HDI. Notably, the Baltic countries and Austria led in organic farming production, while Malta, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, and Luxemburg formed a distinct group in the cluster analysis with less intensive organic agriculture per capita. These insights are crucial for supporting the resilience and sustainability of organic farming as it continues to evolve. Predictions of organic agriculture share for 2030 based on trends evaluated using linear regression in the years 2004–2021 estimated about 12% of utilized agricultural area, which was much lower than the target share of the European Commission at 25%. Predictions based on linear regression showed that achieving the European Green Deal target of a 25% share of organic agriculture in unlikely in most EU countries by 2030. The target is only highly probable to be obtained in Austria, Estonia, and Sweden. The EU countries varied significantly across various indices characterizing organic agriculture, including organic agriculture area share. It should be noted that the study was conducted on the data obtained prior to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, which could potentially alter the previous trends in the development of organic agriculture in the EU.

Quantifying the impacts of management and herbicide resistance on regional plant population dynamics in the face of missing data

Abstract A key challenge in the management of populations is to quantify the impact of interventions in the face of environmental and phenotypic variability. However, accurate estimation of the effects of management and environment, in large‐scale ecological research is often limited by the expense of data collection, the inherent trade‐off between quality and quantity, and missing data. In this paper we develop a novel modelling framework, and demographically informed imputation scheme, to comprehensively account for the uncertainty generated by missing population, management, and herbicide resistance data. Using this framework and a large dataset (178 sites over 3 years) on the densities of a destructive arable weed (Alopecurus myosuroides) we investigate the effects of environment, management, and evolved herbicide resistance, on weed population dynamics. In this study we quantify the marginal effects of a suite of common management practices, including cropping, cultivation, and herbicide pressure, and evolved herbicide resistance, on weed population dynamics. Using this framework, we provide the first empirically backed demonstration that herbicide resistance is a key driver of population dynamics in arable weeds at regional scales. Whilst cultivation type had minimal impact on weed density, crop rotation, and earlier cultivation and drill dates consistently reduced infestation severity. Synthesis and applications: As we demonstrate that high herbicide resistance levels can produce extremely severe weed infestations, monitoring herbicide resistance is a priority for farmers across Western Europe. Furthermore, developing non‐chemical control methods is essential to control current weed populations, and prevent further resistance evolution. We recommend that planning interventions that centre on crop rotation and incorporate spring sewing and cultivation to provide the best reductions in weed densities. More generally, by directly accounting for missing data our framework permits the analysis of management practices with data that would otherwise be severely compromised.

Scenario Analysis of Carbon Emission Changes Resulting from a Rural Residential Land Decrement Strategy: A Case Study in China

Greening the unused or inefficient land surface is of vital importance to increase the carbon pool in environmentally fragile but depopulated rural areas. A proactive land-use strategy, rural residential land decrement (RRLD), is triggered by rural land abandonment and can contribute to greening the land surface. A RRLD can be designed and implemented according to the specific regulations and rules and linked to regional environmental change. However, the carbon consequences of implementing multi-scenario RRLDs remain unknown. Thus, this study exemplifies a rural county of China, proposes a framework that illustrates how spatial zoning, decision model, and prediction techniques jointly determine the RRLD, and accounts for the associated carbon emissions under three scenarios. The results demonstrate that half of the 2012.23 hectares of RRLs were recommended for conversion to farming or gardening use. Under the scenarios of agricultural priority, compact ecological priority, and complete ecological priority, the change of carbon emission capacity in one township could be up to 77.41 tCO2 yr−1, −172.32 tCO2 yr−1, and −209.07 tCO2 yr−1. The total change of Fang’s carbon budget ranged from −1179.91 tCO2 yr−1 (sequestration) to 461.53 tCO2 yr−1 (emission). The findings provide a practical paradigm for utilizing land-use strategies to improve the carbon-related environment.

Blood supply to the stomach of Yorkshire pigs at the stages of postnatal ontogenesis

The development of the agro–industrial complex of the Russian Federation is one of the priorities in agriculture. Pig breeding is one of the most profitable branches of animal husbandry. This is due to the fact that pigs have a number of biological features that are successfully used to produce products (pork, bacon, bacon). With the intensification of pig breeding, special attention is paid to scientific approaches to improving pig feeding. In this regard, we set ourselves the goal of the study – to study the arterial vascularization of the stomach in Yorkshire piglets and to determine the morphometric data of the organ at the stages of postnatal ontogenesis. The study was conducted at the Department of Animal Anatomy of the St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine. Cadaver material for the study was delivered to the Department of Animal Anatomy of the St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine from the Idavang Agro pig breeding complex in Nurma village, Tosnensky district of the Leningrad Region. The study was conducted in three age groups, according to the periodization of the life of pigs. To achieve this task, traditional morphological research methods were used, namely: fine anatomical dissection, photographing, vasorentgenography with morphometry in the "RadiAnt" program. During the study, it was found that arterial gastric vascularization in Yorkshire piglets at the stages of postnatal ontogenesis is carried out due to the hepatic and splenic arteries, which are branches of the abdominal artery. The branches of the arteries of the first order branch in a loose type. When conducting a comparative analysis of the morphometric characteristics of the hepatic and splenic arteries and their branches, we came to the conclusion that the diameter of the hepatic artery will prevail over the splenic, and their branches of the first order are diametrically opposed to each other.

Soil security under salt attack: Protection of the soil against the salinization caused by drying up of Lake Urmia

In recent decades, Lake Urmia (LU), a hypersaline lake in northwestern Iran, has suffered significant water loss due to both human-induced and natural causes. This drought could lead to the emission of millions of tons of saline particulates from its dried bed, resulting in saline dust storms that compromise soil and food security in LU basin as an agricultural region. Despite some restoration programs by the central government and provincial administrations, efforts have not been sufficient to revive LU and mitigate risks. This paper explores the legal dimensions of the impact of LU's drying on soil security and assesses current legal initiatives for LU restoration and soil security along with their challenges. The study concludes that current legal initiatives for soil security against LU drought are inadequate, and without significant changes in sustainable water and soil governance, soil and food security in the region will be impossible. The paper recommends taking more serious actions to prevent LU drying according to the precautionary principle, promoting sustainable and polycentric soil and water governance, shifting economic and agricultural priorities, and protecting the environment and local people against the impacts of this catastrophe.

Land suitability analysis of urban agriculture for different investment scenarios: Evidence from fuzhou of China

Urban agriculture provides a new strategic idea for solving the problem of urban food demand. The main objective of this study is to develop a spatial model for land suitability evaluation of urban agricultural development under different investment demands (urban agriculture 1.0 and 2.0), based on prospect theory and using GIS and TOPSIS analysis techniques. As a whole, we have developed a land suitability evaluation system for urban agricultural development under different investment needs (urban agriculture 1.0 and 2.0). We constructed a land suitability evaluation system for urban agriculture including ecological environment, social demand and investment cost. The results of the land suitability analysis for urban agriculture 1.0 show that the most suitable area is located in Changle. Compared with urban agriculture 1.0, the most suitable area for urban agriculture 2.0 is in Gulou. It is worth noting that Cangshan ranks second in both scenarios and can be used as a potential solution to balance the ecological environment, social demand and investment cost. Determining appropriate land suitability priorities for urban agriculture will facilitate future agricultural investment management and land use planning.

Food security's broken link: The misalignment of stakeholder priorities in agriculture and nutrition in Vihiga County, Kenya

Global food security will exist when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Today, about 2 billion of the 7.96 billion people on Earth are food insecure. Food insecurity is still a challenge in Kenya despite different sectors' interventions in nutrition and agriculture. This study sought to identify programs and stakeholders who are influential on food security by analyzing farmers' participation in programs, the link between agriculture and nutrition goals, factors that influence the success of programs, and the impact of policy on food security. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional design using mixed methods of data collection. Qualitative data were obtained from thirty purposively selected stakeholders through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The themes formed from the qualitative data were analyzed manually, and verbatim quotes were used to explain the findings. Additionally, two hundred and seventy-three structured questionnaires were administered to farmers to collect quantitative data. The data revealed that (75%) of farmers were beneficiaries of key programs. Pearson's chi-square test gave x^2(4, n=273)>=91.045, with a p-value of 0.000 which is less than 0.05, indicates a strong relationship between education level and farmers' awareness of key agricultural programs. The primary motivation in agriculture production was income generation, but the nutritional value of the food was overlooked. Poor collaboration among stakeholders was shown to not only result in unequal program coverage but also pose an obstacle in aligning agricultural programs with local nutrition demands. Moreover, although food and agriculture policies are in place, gaps exist in implementing and adhering to these policies. It was revealed that budget allocation to the agriculture sector is at (2.4 %) which is still a quarter way to the international commitment of (10%). Lastly, land ownership limitations hinder smallholder farmers' ability to meet income and nutrition needs, as approximately a third of those surveyed (n=136, 35.5%) reported owning less than 0.5 acres of land. It is, therefore, necessary to build the capacity to support smart agriculture, using technological methods to increase productivity on small land. Additionally, stakeholders must create policy strategies, collaboration and program distribution mechanisms to promote nutrition and agriculture to improve food security. Key words: Agriculture, Food Security, Influence, Linkage, Nutrition, Program, Policy, Stakeholders

Support for young farmers in the European Union: How much discretion for Member States?

AbstractGenerational renewal is at the heart of the European Union's (EU) agricultural priorities embedded in the Green Deal and Farm to Fark Strategy, since young farmers not only play a vital role in ensuring the competitiveness of European agriculture but also have significant potential in transitioning towards a sustainable agri‐food system. However, the number of young farmers across the EU has been rapidly decreasing over time. To address this issue and enable better access of young people to the farming profession, the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) lays down various mechanisms to support young farmers. In case C‐119/20, the Court of Justice of the EU took important steps to clarify the exact degree of discretion for Member States in terms of these support schemes, specifically on the definition of a ‘young farmer’, as well as the possibility to accumulate different types of financial support under the CAP. This case note presents the reasoning behind the Court's judgement, before discussing the judgements' impact on young (female) farmers in light of the goal of fostering generational renewal in rural areas and a transformation towards a sustainable agri‐food system. We conclude that the Court's decision might threaten to meet the goal of generational renewal, along with associated sustainability goals.

Quantum agriculture and experimental detection of wheat flour quality using thermal image technology

Crop quality and productivity are the fundamental strategies of agricultural practice and technology; consequently, one of the priorities in agriculture is to be aware of new and innovative field experiments and production practices. The effectiveness of innovative practices and resources is influenced by a multitude of factors. This study aimed to propose a new quantum-based approach in agriculture using homoeopathic methodology which incorporates theories and concepts of quantum physics and employs a wave-based methodology for the functional measurement phase. A novel utilization of thermal imaging technology is suggested, wherein each pixel of the image indicates the wave parameters, frequency, or amplitude of wave, is proposed to analyse the functional information of the plant. The relationship between the new quantum-agriculture-based method and the functional characteristics of flour as measured by bio-photonic emissions was estimated, and the findings of this preliminary study on wheat flour are presented. Our preliminary results (i) confirm the superior performance of quantum agriculture (QA) based proposed soil and plant treatments, and (ii) suggest that quantitative analysis based on precise measurements of biophoton emission will provide a novel reliable tool for monitoring the quality of wheat in the future. Further investigations are required to replicate the results of this study under different environmental conditions. Additionally, incorporating comparative chemical analyses that would enhance our knowledge of the proposed agronomic practice.

Water quality information for farmer decision making in the Nguturoa catchment, Manawatu

In 2021 a group of farmers and landowners along the Nguturoa Stream in the Manawatū-Whanganui Region began a study into water quality. The farmers felt that they needed precise information to establish their farming priorities for improving the waterway, and for monitoring the effects of making management changes. Monthly sampling and laboratory testing were carried out across the catchment and field tests werealso undertaken at the time of sampling. The results were compared to those in the Manawatū River, the ultimate receiving environment for the catchment. The results highlighted that throughout the year the water in the Nguturoa Stream had lower dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations than the Manawatū River, but it had higher organic nitrogen concentrations in most months. Almost all the phosphorus results were above those measured in the Manawatū River as were the turbidity results. On seven occasions the Nguturoa Stream had E.coli results above the standard in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020. Compared to the laboratory test results, the fieldtests that were used were found to be inconsistent and unreliable for catchment and farm management decision making. The results highlighted for the farmers that overland flow was a more important source of instream contamination than they expected, for nitrogen,phosphorus and E.coli as well as sediment.

Assessment of map based variable rate strategies for copper reduction in hedge vineyards

Reduction of Plant Protection Products (PPP) has become a priority in agriculture, led by European directives and regulations due to the negative impacts and social awareness that pesticides have raised in the population. In viticulture, the use of copper to control Downy Mildew (Plasmopara viticola) is posing severe problems of soil, water and environment contamination, and European Commission is regulating its use through the EU regulation 2018/1981. A targeted spraying management can be done benefiting from the novel development of variable rate application (VRA) technology for orchard sprayers, resulting in savings of PPP. In this research, the quality of the application in terms of copper deposit in leaves of two VRA strategies where compared versus the conventional strategy performed by the farmer (REF). In each of the two VRA strategies, copper dosage was selected 1) maintaining copper dose per hectare (VRA) and 2) following the copper concentration listed in the product label (VRA[Cu]). Drone based NDVI maps from three commercial vineyards were used to characterize the structure of the vegetation in every vigour zone and manual measures in field were used to determine the most appropriate spraying volume rate according to canopy characteristics.Results show that a reduction of 33 and 44 % of copper used per hectare did not have significant impact on the quality of the application. On the contrary, while leaf deposit was comparable to that achieved by REF strategy, the product was better distributed across the entire canopy. Savings of 40 % of copper could be achieved in in the PPP application calendar along the season 2019 with no influence in disease control. Impact of PPP can be reduced by incorporating digital technologies, and the objectives of the Farm to Fork strategy and the European Green Deal can be met ensuring a more sustainable agri-food production.

Потенциал растений-фитобиотиков для развития отечественного животноводства и птицеводства (обзор)

In order to fully realize the genetic potential of the productivity of farm animals, it is necessary to use complete feeding rations, including the introduction of biologically active additives that increase productivity and normalize homeostasis. Currently, various substances are used, including those of plant origin, that reduce the bacterial load, the so-called phytobiotics (phytogenics). More than 800 medicinal plants have been described in pharmacology. They contain a number of biologically active substances: essential oils, tannins, polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids and have antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory effects. The uniqueness of phytobiotics lies in the fact that they can replace antibiotic growth stimulants in livestock and poultry farming, especially today the search for an alternative to antibiotics is a priority in agriculture. Keywords: PHYTOBIOTICS, FEED, ANTIBIOTICS, BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES, FARM POULTRY

Towards more sustainable diets: Insights from food production responses to diet transitions in China

AbstractSimilar to most middle‐income countries, residents' dietary patterns are continuously changing in China. However, their future development directions (for instance, to a more sustainable diet) and impacts on national food production systems remain uncertain. This study links a diets driver module to a dynamic computable general equilibrium (DCGE) framework to identify potential diet changes and the consequent food production responses. The results show that China would shift its dietary structure towards a high consumption of vegetables, fruits and animal‐source foods in ‘conventional paths’, which are a continuation of previous variation trends. This is likely to induce a rapid expansion in the yields of major foods during the period from 2018 to 2030, following which this increase would slow down. However, there would be a considerable decrease in staple foods, meat and egg intakes, as well as a sharp increase in dairy demand when diets shift towards the targets put forth in the Chinese Dietary Guideline. Under this shock, most food production activities would decrease in scale and the ‘cereal–pork’ agricultural priority would be diminished. These findings also stress the importance of synergy between the two endpoints of the food system and potential challenges facing the shift to sustainable diets.

Public Investment, Environmental Regulation, and the Sustainable Development of Agriculture in China Based on the Decomposition of Green Total Factor Productivity

This study aims to accurately assess the growth of agricultural total factor productivity and its driving components under the constraints of resources and environment, and provides reliable information for agricultural policy formulation and agricultural development practices. According to the input and output panel data of provincial agricultural planting in China and employing the Global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) index method and the Bootstrap method, this paper measures China’s agricultural green total factor productivity (GTFP), technical efficiency change (EC), and technical best-practice gap change (BPC). In addition, the Tobit model is applied to analyze the impact of public investment and environmental regulation variables on China’s agricultural GTFP and its components. The results show that (1) China’s agricultural GTFP has steadily improved, and technological promotion is the main contributor; (2) agricultural GTFP and its components present significant spatial differences, which are overall manifested as agricultural priority development zone > agricultural moderate development zone > agricultural protection development zone; and (3) financing support of technical innovation and the intensity of environmental regulation have a significant positive impact on agricultural GTFP and its components. The combination of positive technical innovation support and appropriate environmental regulation helps to improve agricultural GTFP and achieve the sustainable development of China’s agriculture.

Activization of enterepreneurship in terms of changing institutional conditions: the agricultural priority

The relevance of the stated topic is determined by the necessity to provide activization of entrepreneurship in terms of changing institutional conditions. In the article the priority to develop entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector is determined because of the crucial role of the sector for fulfilling economic and social goals. The authors describe the relationship among the main economic entities – households, enterprises and government using the model of circulation of goods and income in the economy that is used in the macroeconomic analysis. The peculiarity of the agricultural sector is that households can frequently act as both households and entrepreneurs fulfilling both functions simultaneously and contributing to the overall output whereas other forms of agricultural enterprises also exist. To provide activization of entrepreneurship favorable institutional conditions should be created. The authors emphasize that before the war the institutional environment had not been favorable enough that was proved by the analysis of indices of economic development presented by international organizations. Nowadays there are positive shifts in direction of improvement of institutional environment in particular this is fostered EU integration and rising investment attractiveness of Ukraine. In general, it is preferable to consider using the experience of developed countries to create the favorable institutional environment for entrepreneurship.