Commodity Crops Research Articles

The environmental and social opportunities of reducing sugar intake

Sugar is the largest agricultural crop by mass and has seen a rapid increase in consumption around the world. There are widespread public health efforts to curb sugar intake through targeted policies given its association with noncommunicable diseases. Although curbing sugar intake aligns with sustainable diets that meet essential environmental and health targets, such a shift may be challenging from a political economy perspective. Utilizing sugar for other purposes such as the production of microbial protein, biofuels, and bioplastics, or using sugar lands to grow other food items, or rewilding could provide health and environmental win–wins that could be more politically palatable. Here, we explore several potential scenarios to illustrate the option space from which national and international stakeholders could choose locally appropriate pathways for alternative utilization of sugar or its lands. While beneficial, such alternative pathways would require the integration of environmental, economic, and health policies to provide a smoother diet transition that reduces stakeholder tensions. Given the trade in sugar as a commodity crop, international approaches that compensate sugar producers for avoided production or incentivize them for redirecting sugars to other uses will be needed. Such approaches could borrow concepts from Just Transition Partnerships that have been applied to energy system transitions in ensuring a transition for major exporters of sugar cash crops across low- and middle-income nations.

Commodity association’s roles and determinants of farmers’ participation in their climate change adaptation activities in Sierra Leone

ABSTRACT This paper examined the commodity association’s roles and determinants of farmers’ participation in climate change adaptation in Sierra Leone. The three most prominent commodity associations were purposively selected due to membership size and the diversity of services rendered to members, which was followed by random selection of elected leaders to give a sample size of 140. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data and subjected to percentages and Probit regression analysis. The results show that the majority of the respondents across the crop, fishery and livestock commodity associations are middle-aged, male, with no formal education, married, high awareness of climate change, high incidence of climate change activities and low socioeconomic status. The use of community radios to present programs on climate adaptation techniques to members across different commodity associations is the most prominent activity (55.67%). Other major prominent climate adaptation activities of commodity associations are community mobilisation (53%), community seed multiplication (52.33%), diversification of livelihoods (50.67%) and workshops (50%). The determinants of participation in community associations’ climate adaptation activities are age, gender, socioeconomic status, education, socioeconomic status, climate change incidence, farming system factors and climate change awareness. The commodity associations are thus enhancing climate adaptation through services and activities to their members.

Mapping of Food Crop Commodity Production Areas in Indonesia Using The Average Linkage Method

Mapping of Food Crop Commodity Production Areas in Indonesia Using The Average Linkage Method

Resistance of Bt and Non-Bt Soybean Cultivars Adapted to Novel Growing Regions of Brazil to Chrysodeixis includens and Spodoptera frugiperda.

Soybean is a highly valuable commodity crop for Brazil's economy. However, it faces significant threats from the attack of a complex of lepidopteran pests, particularly Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) and Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith). These pests have been managed primarily using transgenic Bt soybeans, but limited knowledge exists about the resistance levels of Bt and non-Bt cultivars adapted to novel soybean-growing areas in Brazil, such as the Minas Gerais state. This study evaluated the resistance levels of Bt and non-Bt soybean cultivars to C. includens and S. frugiperda, and whether the Bt cultivars can differentially affect these pests across larval stages. No-choice bioassays were conducted using Bt (NS6010 IPRO and P97R50 IPRO) and non-Bt soybeans (UFLA 6301 RR, P96R90 RR, and ANsc 80111 RR) at V4-stage in the laboratory with neonate (24 h) and third-instar larvae. Larvae were fed leaf discs in Petri dishes, recording the mortality, leaf consumption, and weight gain after 7 days. There was high mortality of C. includens neonates on the Bt cultivars, but this trend was not observed for older larvae. For S. frugiperda neonates, there was high mortality on the Bt cultivar NS 6010 IPRO and non-Bt cultivar UFLA 6301 RR, but only the former was effective for older larvae. Although the Bt cultivars did not kill the third instars, antinutritional effects were found, such that leaf tissue consumed was not converted to larval weight gain. These findings are important for defining regional strategies of integrated and resistance management of C. includens and S. frugiperda in expanding regions of soybean cultivation in Brazil.

A Review of Fresh Market Sweet Corn Production and Price Trends from 2010 to 2022

This publication provides information on conventional fresh market sweet corn acreage, volume, and pricing for the top four producing states: California, Florida, Georgia, and New York. (Other states produce a substantial amount of processed market sweet corn but are not the focus here.) This is one in a series of Ask IFAS publications focused on trends in Florida’s five most economically important specialty crops (excluding citrus): fresh market sweet corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, watermelons, and strawberries. This information will be useful to producers, Extension agents, and others interested in trends concerning specialty crop commodities. This publication serves as a unique source summarizing important information about the specialty crop market and production trends.

Seeking a multi‐dimensional approach to understand agricultural commodity expansion in Asian tropics

AbstractAgricultural commodity expansion into natural and semi‐natural ecosystems in Asia is a multi‐dimensional sustainability challenge posing a threat to natural and human capital. At the symposium pertaining to agricultural commodity landscapes organized at the 59th meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, we aimed to identify key aspects that require further attention to address the negative impacts of commodity‐driven agricultural expansion in the Asian tropics. Using a combination of insights obtained both from participants' research and those that developed organically in the symposium, we identified five key themes: (1) Robust land use suitability assessments to determine the viability of agricultural expansion or other competing demands on productive land in given landscapes; (2) the need for plot‐level studies of soil biodiversity and ecological functions for commodity crops; (3) Irrigation for commodity crops with blue and green water and evaluating co‐dependent drivers and outcomes; (4) an improved understanding of local producer motivations and supply chains and (5) the analysis of co‐benefits, trade‐offs and synergies in agro‐commodity systems. These themes include the various steps involved in agricultural commodity expansion, right from land selection and crop patterns to aspects pertaining to the post‐harvest value chain. These themes are inter‐connected and span across multiple local and regional spatial scales in tropical Asia but hold relevance to agricultural landscapes elsewhere too. Immediate and sustained attention on these themes would secure multiple goals of sustainable land use, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and human well‐being.

Are agricultural commodity production systems at risk from local biodiversity loss?

Compelling evidence for feedbacks between commodity crop production systems and local ecosystems has led to predictions that biodiversity loss could threaten food security. However, for this to happen agricultural production systems must both impact and depend on the same components of biodiversity. Here, we review the evidence for and against the simultaneous impacts and dependencies of eight important commodity crops on biodiversity. We evaluate the risk that pollination, pest control or biodiversity-mediated soil health maintenance services are at risk from local biodiversity loss. We find that for key species groups such as ants, bees and birds, the production of commodities including coffee, cocoa and soya bean is indeed likely to be at risk from local biodiversity loss. However, we also identify several combinations of commodity, ecosystem service and component of biodiversity that are unlikely to lead to reinforcing feedbacks and lose-lose outcomes for biodiversity and agriculture. Furthermore, there are significant gaps in the evidence both for and against a mutualism between biodiversity and agricultural commodity production, highlighting the need for more evaluation of the importance of specific biodiversity groups to agricultural systems globally.

Biodegradable plastic film mulch increases the mineralisation of organic amendments and prevents nitrate leaching during the growing season in organic vegetable production

AbstractIntroductionOrganic vegetable production relies on inputs of organic forms of nitrogen (N). This presents a challenge as it needs to be mineralised by the soil microbial community. Difficulties matching the timing and rate of organic N amendments to crop demand could potentially lead to high rates of nitrate leaching. The use of plastic film mulch (PFM) has the potential to increase crop yield, accelerate N mineralisation, reduce rainfall infiltration and therefore N leaching. Biodegradable PFM reduces the risk of contaminating soil with plastics. Although these positive effects have been proven in major conventionally grown commodity crops, the effects of PFMs are poorly understood in organic vegetable crops, particularly in moist temperate climates prone to N losses via winter leaching.Materials & MethodsOur plot‐scale field experiment attempted to quantify the effect of biodegradable PFM on N leaching and N mineralisation in organic lettuce production in the presence and absence of biodegradable PFM. It took place in one season within a longer‐term experimental organic vegetable rotation.ResultsWe used two methods to measure the rate of carbon and N mineralisation: the buried bag method showed biodegradable PFM resulted in no additional N mineralisation; however, the ion exchange membrane method indicated an increase in N mineralisation of 30%. During heavy rainfall at the end of the growing season, nitrate leaching was observed only in the non‐PFM plots, leading to N losses equivalent to 6.3 g N m−2. This led to surplus mineral N at harvest of 18.1 g N m−2 in the PFM treatment and 8.6 g N m−2 in the corresponding unmulched plots. This did not lead to more leaching in the mulched plots in the following 6 months.ConclusionIn conclusion, our evidence supports the use of biodegradable PFMs to enhance the sustainability of organic vegetable production systems in temperate climates.

Increasing Agricultural Sector Investment through Sectors and Regional Leading Products in Central Java Province

This article aims to analyze the advantages and competitiveness of agricultural sectors and sub-sectors that have advantages in the economy of Central Java Province. The analytical tools used to determine the leading sectors and sub-sectors are location quotient (LQ), Klassen Analysis, Shift Share Analysis, and Sectoral Typology. By using data from 2023, it was found that overall, most of the sub-fields in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries business sector of Central Java Province were categorized as competitive sectors. The subsector that is not categorized as competitive is food crops. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector is categorized as an advanced business field and its growth is very fast, but the forestry and logging, fisheries sub-sector has a slow growth speed but is a growing industry. The agriculture, livestock, hunting, and agricultural services sub-fields have very fast and advanced growth so that they can become regional superior potential. The commodities of food crops and plantation crops still need further attention because the speed of growth is still hampered, although the industry has potential and is developing.

Sustainability of the community model of avocado production in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Michoacán, México

The avocado is a commodity crop that has generated severe environmental and social impacts in Michoacán, the world’s leading producer. Current studies overlook the diversity of avocado production by focusing on Michocán’s central region, while the regions of a more recent expansion remain poorly studied. We analyzed the model of avocado production in five indigenous communities in the municipality of Zitácuaro that have part of their territory within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. We use the Framework for the Evaluation of Management Systems using Sustainability Indicators to characterize and evaluate the sustainability of the Community Model of Avocado Production (CMAP). Based on 42 interviews with producers, we identified eleven critical points related to environmental (small-scale production; forest conservation; high prophylactic use of agrochemicals; high dependence on irrigation), economic (high crop diversity; low profitability; high yield loss to pests; low economic diversification), and social (high dependence on technical advisors; low dependence on labor force external to the community; few changes in land ownership) aspects of sustainability. The CMAP has productive and socio-political characteristics that represent strengths and weaknesses for its sustainability. The main environmental results suggest that the avocado expansion (2007–2022) in the communities did not involve a change in forest land use. Socially, the CMAP favors the local workforce and facilitates the maintenance of land ownership. The sustainability of CMAP is mostly limited by its economic aspects. With adequate economic support for socially and environmentally sustainable productive practices, the CMAP can improve the local livelihoods while promoting forest conservation.

Critical overview of the expansion of Hass avocado plantations in Salamina, northern Caldas, Colombia

ABSTRACT This paper sheds light on the broader impacts of high-value commodity crops in the tropics by examining critically the rapid expansion of Hass avocado plantations (HAP). Using Salamina as a case study, this paper provides empirical evidence of local impacts and highlights the need for more sustainable and equitable governance strategies to manage emerging socio-economic and environmental challenges. HAP are transforming Salamina’s traditional landscape by seizing considerable areas for avocado cultivation in response to the ongoing coffee sector crisis. Since 2018, the region has transitioned from a coffee-centered economy to one dominated by capital- and labor-intensive avocado production. While HAP has become a significant economic driver, it has also exacerbated social grievances and inequalities among local communities. This paper stresses the economic shift, environmental disturbances, and comments on governance policies for inadequately addressing sustainability and social issues.

Monitoring the Use of Synthetic Pesticides for Pest and Disease Control of Rice Plants in Tidal Marshlands

The majority of people in tidal marshland areas are farmers. Many of the crops grown by the community are food crops such as rice. Rice is one of the food crop commodities that has high economic value. In cultivating rice plants to improve the quality of production, farmers on tidal land currently use chemical pesticides as the most effective alternative source in controlling pests and diseases. This study aims to determine the various types of pests and diseases in rice plants, and the types of synthetic pesticides used by farmers in increasing awareness of the environment from good and proper agricultural practices. The research was conducted in 2023 during the rice season. The method of implementation was carried out by surveying 40 rice farmers in Air Salek District, Banyuasin Regency, namely interviewing according to the questionnaire. The results of the monitoring and interviews showed that the pests and diseases that attacked rice plants were False White Pest (Cnaphalocrosis medinalis), Rice Stem Borer, Brown Stem Leafhopper (Nilaparvata lugens), Armyworm (Spodoptera litura), Leaf Blast, and Neck Blast. There are two types of synthetic pesticides used to control pests and diseases, namely insecticides made from the active ingredient Klorpiripos with a percentage of 55% and 85% fungicides made from the active ingredient Trifloxystrobin 25%, Tebukunazol are in demand by farmers. In the application of synthetic pesticides farmers do not meet the standards due to the low education of farmers.

Valorization of Agricultural Wastes to Offset Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) Emissions: An Insight in Southeast Asia

This paper aims to review and synthesize the existing literature on agricultural waste valorization in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region, with a focus on its potential to offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The SEA region generates abundant agricultural wastes from major commodity crops, such as: rice, palm oil, sugarcane, coconut, and corn, which present opportunities for valorization. The review found that countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have conducted several studies on agricultural waste valorization, exploring pathways such as bioenergy, value-added products, and soil amendments. However, only a few studies exist for some countries with high residue valorization potential, such as Vietnam and the Philippines. The reviewed literature showed a relationship between agricultural waste valorization and emissions that could contribute to air pollution, but no direct association was established with the associated GHG emissions. The abundance of agricultural residues across SEA presents opportunities for valorization to offset GHG emissions. However, effective valorization is hindered by challenges like open burning practices, logistical issues, and a lack of sustainable waste management strategies. This review highlights the need for further research to establish the direct relationship between agricultural waste valorization and GHG emissions reduction in the SEA region.

A Review of Bell Pepper Production and Price Trends from 2010 to 2022

In the United States, bell peppers are cultivated for both fresh and processed markets, with California, Florida, and Georgia producing most of the crop. Production varies across states, and, in Florida, bell pepper production varies by region within the state with growing seasons ranging from July to March for northern Florida and August to February for southern Florida. This publication provides information on conventional bell pepper acreage, volume, and pricing for the top three producing states: California, Florida, and Georgia. It will be useful to producers, Extension agents, and others interested in trends concerning specialty crop commodities. It serves as a single location where important information about the specialty crop market and production trends can be found.

The LTAR cropland common experiment in the Lower Mississippi River Basin.

The Lower Mississippi River Basin-Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Site (LMRB-LTAR) encompasses six states from Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico and is coordinated by the USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, MS. The overarching goal of LTAR is to assess regionally diverse and geographically scalable farming practices for enhanced sustainability of agroecosystem goods and services under changing environment and resource-use conditions. The LMRB-LTAR overall goal is to assess sustainable row crop agricultural production systems that integrate regional environmental and socioeconomic needs. Primary row crops in the region include soybeans, corn, cotton, rice, and sugarcane with crop rotations influenced by commodity crop price and other factors. The field-scale common experiment (CE) includes four row crop farms (26-101 ha) established in 2021 and 2023. Three fields are managed with alternative practices, including reduced tillage, cover crops, and automated prescription irrigation, and three fields are managed with prevailing farming practices, consisting of conventional tillage, no cover crop, and nonprescription irrigation. Treatment effects on crop productivity, soil quality, water use efficiency, water quality, and carbon storage are assessed. Research from the LMRB CE will deliver outcomes linked to overarching LTAR network goals, including innovative agricultural systems, strengthened partnerships, data management technologies, and precision environmental tools.

Performance of sorghum varieties with various fertilizer doses in peatlands of West Aceh Regency

West Aceh Regency is one of the regions in Indonesia with quite extensive peatlands, but the diversity of food crop commodities is still very low. To enhance food diversification programs of rice, sorghum production is important. The purpose of this research was to test several varieties of sorghum in the peatlands of West Aceh Regency. This research was carried out from July to November 2023. Several new varieties of sorghum released by the Indonesian Cereals Research Institute (ICERI) were evaluated in the peatland of West Aceh. The research method used a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two factors and three replications. The first factor was different varieties of sorghum, and the second factor was various doses of fertilizers. The varieties used were Soper 7 Agritan, Bioguma 1, and Suri 3. The doses used Control (no treatment), Dose I (75 kg Urea ha-1 + 50 kg SP-36 ha-1 + 50 kg KCl ha-1), Dose II (150 kg Urea ha-1 + 100 kg SP-36 ha-1 + 100 kg KCl ha-1), and Dose III (225 kg Urea ha-1 + 150 kg SP-36 ha-1 + 150 kg KCl ha-1). The results showed that the Bioguma 1 variety adapted better than the other varieties, where the plant height was 187.97 cm, the number of leaves was 15.08, the panicle diameter was 35.92 mm, and the panicle weight was 79.52 g. Meanwhile, fertilizer dose II is better on the character of the number of leaves and panicle length. The interaction effect between the two factors only showed a significant influence on panicle length. Therefore, the Bioguma 1 sorghum variety can be a recommended variety for planting in the shallow peatlands of West Aceh. Keywords: Acidic soil; alternative food; food diversification

Pengaruh Kombinasi BAP (Benzyl Amino Purine) dan Kinetin Terhadap Multiplikasi Tunas Tanaman Tebu (Saccharum officinarum L.) Varietas AAS Agribun

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is a plantation commodity crop and raw material for making sugar. The need for sugar increases every year so it is necessary to provide superior sugarcane seeds in large quantities in a relatively short time. This can be done by propagating using the plant tissue culture method. The research method used was an experimental method using a combined Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 replications and 8 treatments consisting of: Control (P0); 0.5 ppm BAP + 0 ppm kinetin (P1); 1 ppm BAP + 0 ppm kinetin (P2); 2 ppm BAP + 0 ppm kinetin (P3); 0 ppm BAP + 0.1 ppm kinetin (P4); 0.5 ppm BAP + 0.1 ppm kinetin (P5); 1 ppm BAP + 0.1 ppm kinetin (P6); and 2 ppm BAP + 0.1 ppm kinetin (P7). The data then explained the variations and then continued with the DMRT test at the 5% level. The results showed that treatments P3 and P7 showed the best results at the time of shoot emergence. The P3 treatment also showed the best results in the number of shoot (8.25) and number of leaves (16.50). The P7 treatment showed the highest shoot yield (4.58). Keywords: sugarcane, BAP, kinetin, shoot multiplication

Smallholder participation in zero-deforestation supply chain initiatives in the Indonesian palm oil sector: Challenges, opportunities, and limitations

As actors in tropical agricultural commodity supply chains implement commitments to end deforestation, they risk exacerbating social inequities by excluding smallholder farmers, who are important producers of many tropical commodity crops. Here, we explore the potential for independent oil palm smallholders in Indonesia to participate in zero-deforestation supply chains. We find that these smallholders are underrepresented in the share of zero-deforestation compliant oil palm production. We then synthesize perspectives from key actors in the oil palm industry including smallholders and their representatives, palm oil producing and consulting companies, nongovernmental organizations, and academic researchers. Based on these perspectives, we find that challenges to smallholder supply chain participation include limitations in knowledge (e.g., smallholders may not know the location of protected forests), institutional issues (e.g., absence of trust between oil palm growing companies and smallholder farmers), and financial constraints (e.g., the opportunity cost of not clearing forest). To address these shortcomings, we encourage oil palm growing and milling companies to take the lead on incentivizing, supporting, and facilitating smallholder participation in zero-deforestation initiatives. Specifically, these companies could build and use their technical and political resources to identify and map all forests in their entire supply shed and ensure small producers have land rights that enable participation in zero-deforestation supply chains. These policy levers would need to be combined with economic incentives such as access to improved inputs or price premia for their products. However, we caution that smallholder integration into existing zero-deforestation supply chains alone is unlikely to result in significant additional forest conservation at scale in Indonesia due to selection bias, leakage, and existing land tenure norms. Community-led and jurisdictional or landscape-scale supply chain initiatives that acknowledge multi-commodity production are more likely to provide equitable and just avenues for Indonesian smallholder farmers to steward forest resources.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN FARMERS' HUMAN RESOURCES IN PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES IN CORN FARMING IN KARO DISTRICT, NORTH SUMATRA PROVINCE

The food crop commodity whose production continues to be increased to support national food needs is corn. Karo Regency is the largest corn producer in North Sumatra. In production activities on corn farming, the role ratio between the human resources of male farmers and female farmers is balanced, but the ratio of workers is more female farmers than male farmers. This research aims to analyze the role of female farmers' human resources in production activities and decision making in corn farming in Karo Regency. This type of research is a quantitative research method. The method for determining the research area was carried out purposively. The sampling method was carried out using Nonprobability Sampling using the Accidental Sampling technique. The data analysis method is in the form of qualitative and quantitative analysis based on the primary data and secondary data obtained. The research results show that the amount of labor provided by female farmers is higher than that of male farmers and the contribution of female farmers in decision making is very influential in production activities in corn farming in Karo Regency.

Finding synergies between agroecology and industrial ecology toward sustainable agricultural systems

The question of how humans will co-create better food and agricultural systems is ex­tremely complex, and responses vary significantly due to experiences, worldviews, and values. Those of us working on this question typically agree that the goal is to realize systems that are equitable, just, minimize harm to, and ultimately support healthy ecosystems for current and future generations. I will refer to this goal as sustainability. My training is in industrial ecology and civil and environmental engineering, and my professional research focuses on questions of the climate and nutrient impacts associated with agriculture and food products as they are in our time, i.e., dominated by commodity crops. I was introduced to agroecology about 15 years ago while looking into ways to reduce nutri­ent runoff and improve soil and ecosystems, such as alternative cropping systems, integrated farming practices, permaculture, and more. Eventually, I learned of agroecology as a science, movement, and practice, which increased my interest to learn more. Both industrial ecology and agroecology, and the many branches within them, earnestly pursue facets of sustainability in agriculture, food, and other bio-based systems, and collaboration could lead to synergistic efforts. . . .