Maintain Food Security Research Articles

Spatio-Temporal Differentiation and Driving Factors of County-Level Food Security in the Yellow River Basin: A Case Study of Ningxia, China

Food security is the primary condition for the development of human society. The Great River Basin is very important to ensure the accessibility and availability of agricultural irrigation, which is vital for food security. The Yellow River Basin plays a significant role in China’s food security, with counties serving as key administrative units for guaranteeing this security. This study uses the Yellow River Basin in China as a case study to construct an evaluation index system for county-level food security. It assesses the food security of 22 counties (districts) in Ningxia from 2013 to 2022, applying spatial correlation theories and driving factor analysis methods to explore the factors influencing county-level food security. The results reveal the following: (1) Overall, the food security index in Ningxia has been on the rise, but there is significant internal variation among counties. (2) Spatially, the food security index is relatively low in administrative centers, while the irrigation areas along the Yellow River play a crucial role in maintaining food security, and the overall food security index in the central arid areas is improving. (3) Food security is driven by multiple factors including economic, social, and climatic influences. To enhance food security in the Yellow River Basin, it is necessary to manage land resources systematically, improve grain production technology, and balance ecological protection with food security.

Life cycle assessment and synergistic effects of sustainable strategies to improve environmental sustainability in arid climates

Adapting sowing date (SD) based on environmental sustainability and increasing productivity is crucial for creating flexibility in agriculture and maintaining food security. This study aimed to optimize SD and nitrogen (N) management using environmental indices in an arid climate. Yield, N use efficiency (NUE), water productivity (WP), and total environmental impact (EI) were assessed for five SDs for barley and triticale crops, along with three levels of N fertilizer application. The AquaCrop model was used for crop yield prediction, and EI was evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Delayed SD led to a shorter growing period (10.6–12.8 %), decreased WP (76.4–87.5 %), and decreased yield (58.3–87.6 %) for both crops compared to conventional SD. In contrast, earlier SD resulted in an extended growing period (1.7–3.6 %), increased WP (14.8–20.4 %), and increased yield (8.3–10.2 %). NUE showed an inverse relationship with increasing fertilizer levels. The most significant EIs were due to N consumption (33.4 %), followed by diesel (28.5 %) and potassium fertilizer (13.7 %) for both crops. Early SD could reduce EI by an average of 12.5 %. Combining early SD with moderate N levels was the most sustainable approach to maximize yield, minimize water use, and reduce EI, thereby informing sustainable practices for cereal cultivation in similar climates.

Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural Systems Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies: A Review

Climate change poses a substantial threat to global agricultural systems, impacting crop yields, livestock productivity, and resource availability through rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events. This review synthesizes current understanding of climate change impacts on agriculture and explores strategies for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while enhancing system resilience through adaptation. Mitigation approaches, such as conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and improved nutrient and livestock management, show significant potential to reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration. However, economic, technological, and institutional barriers such as high implementation costs, limited access to finance, and inadequate policy support restrict their adoption. Adaptation strategies, including crop diversification, advanced water management, and climate-resilient technologies, are critical for sustaining agricultural productivity in variable climates. Synergies between mitigation and adaptation, such as integrating trees into croplands, can provide co-benefits, but trade-offs arise when resource competition occurs or land is diverted from food production to carbon sequestration. The review highlights the need for interdisciplinary research, robust data infrastructure, and tailored policies to bridge knowledge and resource gaps, particularly in vulnerable regions. Successful implementation requires coordinated efforts across stakeholders, supported by enabling policy frameworks that incentivize sustainable practices and align with global climate goals. Future research should prioritize understanding the long-term impacts of integrated strategies, enhancing monitoring systems, and fostering inclusive approaches that consider local contexts and socio-economic conditions. Addressing these challenges holistically will be crucial to building resilient agricultural systems capable of maintaining food security and supporting livelihoods in the face of accelerating climate change.

Exploring Potential Adaptation Strategies for Smallholder Farmers to Climate Change: A Case Study at Abala Abaya, Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia

Background: The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are expected to increase as a result of climate change, which will contribute to changes in precipitation and temperature, and therefore will affect food security. Research issues related to increasing the sustainability of the agricultural sector, eliminating climate risks in agriculture are coming to the fore. This is especially relevant in arid regions. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers to climate change in Abela Abaya, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Finding optimal practices adapted to random extreme events is fundamental for sustainable food production. In particular, the study attempted to understand the preferences of smallholder farmers in adaptation strategies to climate change in the study area; the main influencing factors determining the choice of adaptation strategies to climate change by smallholder farmers in the study area. Methods: To investigate this issue, qualitative and quantitative data were used within a descriptive research approach to assess potential adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers to climate change. Data on demographic, socio-economic, institutional, physical and psychological factors for adaptation strategies of smallholder farmers were collected through specially designed and pre-tested questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs). Rural counties for the study were selected using simple random sampling due to the same agroecology. The multivariate probit (MVP) model was used as it is a type of correlated binary response regression model that allows for the simultaneous identification and assessment of the impact of a set of independent factors on each of the possible approaches. Five adaptation methods are identified as dependent variables for the Multi-Variate Probit. These include Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) practices, use of drought-tolerant varieties, adjustment of planting dates, use of agroforestry, and implementation of water harvesting. The following were selected as independent variables for the current study. Results: Most farmers (96.7%) acknowledge the ongoing climate change and are concerned that their agriculture will not suffer under the new conditions. This is justified by the fact that farmers confirm their observations regarding the increase in air temperature, the increase in the frequency of plant diseases and the decrease in precipitation. At the same time, only 36.2% of the surveyed farmers reported that society is aware of the possible risks associated with global warming and is trying to adapt agricultural activities to new climatic conditions. In particular, the current study revealed for the first time that smallholder farmers in Abela Abaya primarily prefer approaches such as soil and water conservation (71.6%), adjustment of planting dates (59.4%), and agroforestry (44.5%). Conclusion: The study identified the most influential factors on the adoption of adapted agricultural practices in a specific region of Abala Abaya (Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia), namely, household heads’ access to education, frequency of extension visits, access to climate information and land slope. Thus, decision makers can design and adopt appropriate programs based on the current results to preserve smallholder farming and maintain food security at the national level.

Development of Sago Ecotourism in Negeri Rutong to Maintain Food Security

Pengetahuan lokal Masyarakat Negeri Rutong tentang tradisi sagu telah terjadi turun temurun, dan berpartisipasi penuh mendukung kebijakan pemerintah untuk mengelola dan melestarikan sagu secara berkelanjutan baik sebagai ketahanan pangan maupun sebagai potensi ekowisata. Dalam tulisan ini akan menjelaskan bagaimana pemerintah Negeri Rutong dan masyarakat mengelola hutan sagu mulai hulu hingga hilir, mulai tanam hingga penjualan, yang dilakukan secara sinergi dan berkelanjutan untuk ketahanan pangan dan ekowisata. Data yang dikumpulkan dalam penelitian ini terdiri dari data primer dan data sekunder. Data primer diperoleh langsung dari informan melalui wawancara serta melakukan observasi ke daerah penelitian. Data sekunder diperoleh dari data-data yang dimiliki oleh instansi-instansi yang terkait berupa studi pustaka dan literatur-literatur yang relevan dengan penelitian. Ekowisata hutan sagu di Negeri Rutong merupakan salah satu bentuk ekowisata yang lebih spesifik dan sebagai alat untuk mewujudkan pembangunan pariwisata yang berkelanjutan, dimana pemerintah desa/negeri Rutong dan masyarakat lokal memiliki kontrol langsung terhadap pengembangan dan pengelolaan sehingga banyak memperoleh manfaat baik untuk pangan lokal, ekonomi, sosial budaya, konservasi lingkungan alam. Ekowisata hutan sagu di Negeri Rutong menemukan signifikansinya sebagai alat proteksi terhadap dampak lingkungan, ekonomi, sosial dan budaya.

FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY: LESSONS FROM TOFU INDUSTRY IN TRUNAN VILLAGE, MAGELANG

This study aims to examine the financial analysis of the Food Processing Industry in Tofu Center of Trunan Village in an effort to maintain the calculation of operational costs, profit and loss, and investment in minimizing investment losses. In particular, this study aims to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Payback Period (PP), and Profitability Index (PI) in the Processed Food Industry in the Tofu Center of Trunan Village. The urgency of this research is to maintain the sustainability of the tofu industry in Trunan Village, which is one of the leading MSME centers in Magelang City and in an effort to maintain food security. Based on the results of the analysis it was found that financially the MSME management in the Tofu Center Food Processing Industry in Trunan Village did not fulfill the feasibility aspect. Net Present Value (Rp 2,147,030,794), Internal Rate of Return shows 2%, Payback Period 2 Years 8 months, and Profitability Index 4.10. Keywords: Feasibility Study, NPV, IRR, PP, PI

A qualitative exploration of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and nutrition behaviours during the first 1000 days in Sri Lanka.

This study sought to understand reported impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child health and nutrition behaviours during the first 1000 days of life. This qualitative and participatory substudy was embedded within mixed methods formative research conducted during 2020-2022 across two urban, three rural and one estate sector site in Sri Lanka. Semi-structured interviews among caregivers of children aged 6-23 months (n = 34), influencers of caregivers, such as health workers (n = 37), leaders (n = 10) and pregnant women (n = 20) were conducted. Participatory workshops (n = 14) triangulated interview findings. Interview data were analyzed to identify salient themes using Dedoose. Numerical data from voting conducted in workshops were summed and triangulated with interview data. Findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic and imposed restrictions shaped maternal and child health and nutrition behaviours through a complex interplay of factors. Imposed restrictions and changes to the food system contributed to temporary unemployment for wage workers and reduced purchasing power to maintain food security for vulnerable households. While deciding whether to seek care, fears of infection prevented usual care-seeking decisions. Also, reduced incomes and disrupted public transportation made transport to health care facilities for antenatal care services difficult. Once women reached facilities, medical services and quality of care were negatively impacted. Implementing expanded community-based services during home visits focused on the first 1000 days and beyond was one effective strategy to maintain maternal and child health and nutrition during the early pandemic in Sri Lanka.

Global Ecosystem Nitrogen Cycling Reciprocates Between Land-Use Conversion and Its Reversal.

Anthropogenic land-use practices influence ecosystem functions and the environment. Yet, the effect of global land-use change on ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling remains unquantified despite that ecosystem N cycling plays a critical role in maintaining food security. Here, we analysed 2430 paired observations globally to show that converting natural to managed ecosystems increases ratios of autotrophic nitrification to ammonium immobilisation and nitrate to ammonium, but decreases soil immobilisation of mineral N, causing increased N losses via leaching and gaseous N emissions, such as nitrous oxide (e.g., via denitrification), resulting in a leaky N cycle. Changing land use from intensively managed to one that resembles natural ecosystems reversed N losses by 108% on average, resulting in a more conservative N cycle. Structural equation modelling revealed that changes in soil organic carbon, pH and carbon to N ratio were more important than changes in soil moisture content and temperature in predicting ecosystem N retention capacities following land-use conversion and its reversion. The hotspots of leaky N cycles were mostly in equatorial and tropical regions, as well as in Western Europe, the United States and China. Our results suggest that whether an ecosystem exhibits a conservative N cycle after land-use reversion depends on management practices.

The Role of Local Wisdom in the Development of Aquaculture: A Qualitative Approach

Aquaculture is an important sector in meeting global food needs and maintaining food security, especially in countries with coastal areas. As the largest archipelagic country, Indonesia has great potential in aquaculture that supports domestic food security and exports. However, the sector faces complex challenges such as climate change and environmental degradation. Sustainable management and integration of local wisdom, such as the "sasi" system, are important solutions in facing this challenge. This study aims to explore the role of local wisdom in supporting sustainable aquaculture through a qualitative approach to case studies. The results of the study show that local wisdom plays an important role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem and supporting environmental sustainability. The combination of modern technology and traditional practices is an effective strategy to create a resilient and environmentally friendly aquaculture system. This research emphasizes the importance of collaboration between the government and the community in recognizing and strengthening custom-based regulations to achieve a balance between environmental sustainability and economic resilience.

Model for Determining Sustainable Food Agricultural Land through a Spatial Optimization Approach in Bantul Regency

Land use is a characteristic of the arrangements, activities, and contributions made by humans to either effect changes or maintain a certain type of land cover (Gregorio and Jansen, 1998). Agricultural land is a crucial resource for sustainability and food security. In an effort to control and anticipate the conversion of agricultural land, the Bantul Regency Government has issued Regional Regulation No. 10 of 2023 on the Protection of Sustainable Food Agricultural Land, with a total area of 12,831 hectares. However, the area designated for protection according to the 2021 study recommendations is 14,407.50 hectares. This represents a reduction of 1,576 hectares due to agricultural land in Sewon and Kasihan Districts being planned for non-agricultural use. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the modeling of sustainable food agricultural land designation in Bantul Regency, using a linear programming optimization approach with the aid of Microsoft Excel Solver. The linear programming model, with the objective function to minimize the area designated in the regional regulation, determined the need for 11,356.52 hectares of agricultural land to maintain food security in Bantul Regency over a period of 20 years.

Impact and tolerance mechanism of heat stress in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): A review

Wheat is one of the major cereal crops preferred by world’s population. About 55% of world’s population depend on wheat to meet their 20% calorie requirement. Wheat being a winter crop grows best in 15-25 degree Celsius of temperature range. But due to increasing global warming climatic requirement of wheat is not fulfilled and suffer different abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, salinity, cold, excess water etc. Among which heat stress is one of the major abiotic stresses faced by wheat. It has different morphological, biochemical and physiological consequences on wheat for instance poor grain quality, decreased grain number and weight, decreased photosynthesis due to disruption in chlorophyll structure and function, reduced starch content due to poor efficiency of enzyme required in biosynthesis. To cope up with all these impacts of heat stress wheat has developed various tolerance mechanisms such as release of heat shock protein, antioxidant defense mechanism, membrane thermostability, stay green, omics approaches etc. Heat shock protein helps to prevent death of cell, accumulation of denatured protein, refolding of protein, transmission of heat shock responses etc. While omics approaches help in gene profiling, protein identification etc. knowledge about both the effect and tolerance mechanism of heat stress in wheat helps to develop heat tolerant varieties with collaborative effort of plant breeder, physiologist etc. that helps to maintain food security.

Irrigation using slightly saline water from emerging desalination technologies as a solution to short‐term drought

Societal Impact StatementWith global weather patterns becoming more extreme and unpredictable, sourcing reliable irrigation water is vital for improving food security and conserving drinking water in drought‐prone areas. Emerging desalination technologies, which are still in the development phase, could potentially provide large quantities of slightly saline water for irrigation. However, we must first ensure that any benefits of alleviating drought using this water outweigh the negative impacts of salt stress. We examine the viability of such a system, using Tonga as a case study, with the aim of advocating for future use of emerging desalination technologies for irrigation in low‐ and middle‐income countries.SummaryEmerging desalination technologies have the potential to be a cheap and energy‐efficient source of irrigation water that could be used to alleviate short‐term droughts in low‐ and middle‐income countries. However, the water produced is unlikely to be completely salt‐free, potentially increasing the risk of salt stress in crops. In this review, we give an overview of the various emerging desalination technologies. We then use Tonga as a case study for assessing the viability of temporarily irrigating crops with moderately saline water (≤100 mM salt) and assess whether the benefits of alleviating drought outweigh the negative impacts of salt stress. We conclude that, in Tonga, important food security crops are likely to have higher survival and growth rates if they are provided with moderately saline water during drought, including taro, pumpkin and yam. Water derived using the new technologies would not be prohibitively expensive to produce. Moreover, it would minimise the need to divert a diminishing supply of water away from drinking to irrigation. The continued improvement of emerging desalination technologies, together with field trials, will help to optimise the use of moderately saline water for irrigation. This is likely to be especially beneficial for achieving and maintaining food security in low‐ and middle‐income countries in increasingly capricious conditions for agriculture.

Factors affecting households food security during pandemic Covid-19

Purpose. The importance of this study is underscored by the possibility of recurring pandemics in human history. In this context, efforts to overcome or adapt to such crises, particularly in maintaining food security at the household level, become essential for sustaining human life. The study was conducted to identify and analyse the relationship between food security and various dimensions, along with the coping strategies adopted by three different food security statuses in Banten province, Indonesia. Methodology / approach. Primary data were collected from a survey of 170 households selected by stratified random sampling based on three regions with different food security status. To address the research question, regression analysis was used to develop a logistic model illustrating the relationship between independent variables, including social, economic, and demographic factors, dimensions of food security, coping strategies, and the dependent variable of household food security, as assessed by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) score. Results. The Coping Strategy Index (CSI) variable significantly affected food security with a 99 % confidence interval. Variables such as the age of the family head, the number of family members in the household, and the Food Consumption Score (FCS) were identified to have a significant effect with a 95 % confidence interval. Meanwhile, the education level of the family head was the only independent variable found to have a significant effect at the 90 % confidence interval. Originality / scientific novelty. This research is the first study conducted in Indonesia regarding the effect of household coping strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic, dimensions of food security, socio-demographic factors on household food security status for three different regional characteristics in Banten province, Indonesia, using a logistic regression model. This model has been tested and has shown high feasibility. Practical value / implications. This study provides evidence of a significant influence of household coping strategies, household consumption scores, age of the household head, and family size. This has implications for the role of households in improving adaptation during times of crisis, particularly in acquiring quality food and meeting daily food needs. The selection of the right and quality menu can enhance the resilience and nutrition of each household member in crisis situations such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The results of these findings will also have implications for government policies related to ensuring education for all citizens, setting a minimum age for marriage, and promoting the Family Planning program to control the number of children in households.

Application of K-Means Clustering and OR-Tools to Optimize Rice Distribution: A Case Study of Perum Bulog Indonesia

Food security is one of the Indonesian government's priority policies aimed at maintaining economic and political stability. To ensure the nutritional needs of its population are met, the government requires sufficient food availability distributed nationwide at stable and affordable prices. Rice is the main staple food in Indonesia. According to data from the National Food Agency, rice consumption in Indonesia is very high, averaging 139 kilograms per capita per year, with a dependency rate of 97%. In response to food security challenges, the Indonesian government has entrusted the Food Supply and Price Stabilization Program (SPHP) for rice to Perum BULOG, a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) specializing in food logistics. To optimize distribution to Perum BULOG’s retailers, called Rumah Pangan Kita (RPK), efficient routes and transport capacity are prioritized. Therefore, this paper proposes an approach using the Heterogeneous Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (HCVRP) to enhance distribution efficiency and reduce delivery costs. By employing the K-Means algorithm to cluster RPK addresses and Guided Local Search via OR-Tools to determine suitable transportation types, this study successfully identified optimal delivery routes for each cluster and corresponding vehicle types. The results demonstrated a reduction in delivery costs of up to 21%, significantly improving the efficiency of the SPHP rice distribution process. This outcome ultimately supports rice availability and price stability, crucial for maintaining food security in Indonesia.

Field scale wheat yield prediction using ensemble machine learning techniques

Wheat is crucial for global food security and plays significant role in achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger). In India, wheat accounts for 33.5 % of total cereal production. Accurate and cost effective yield predictions are essential for maintaining food security. Wheat yield forecasting is influenced by various factors, such as genotype and environmental conditions. Among these, the effect of morpho-physiological traits in the field is important for predicting yield but hasn't been studied much using ensemble machine learning methods. This study aims to bridge this gap by evaluating 29 morpho-physiological traits to predict site specific wheat yield. Big data framework was used to develop and refine several ensemble machine learning models based on field trial datasets. The developed models are optimized to reduce errors and prevent overfitting and underfitting, boosting their predictive precision. Each model's efficiency was evaluated using performance metrics such as mean absolute error, mean absolute deviation, root mean square error, R2, and overall accuracy. The ensemble model, which combines random forest (RF) and artificial neural networks (ANN), demonstrated better performance by achieving a mean absolute percentage error of 4.65 %, and R2 value of 98.48 % and 98.18 % accuracy on test data.Our results demonstrate that ensemble models combining RF with support vector regression (SVR) outperformed individual models such as RF, SVR, ANN, multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). These findings are a promising step towards future research focused on creating more advanced ensemble methods with finely tuned hyperparameters for improving the accuracy of large-scale wheat yield prediction.

Early Detection and Prediction of Pests in Field Crops Using Transfer Learning

This research study addresses the problem of early detection and prediction of pests in field crops. The primary objective of this research is to identify and distinguish pest species from an open-source dataset that includes 5,494 images across 12 classes. We developed an efficient model with a high probability of detecting pests in field crops using pre-trained models such as EfficientNetV2 and deep learning techniques. We applied hyperparameter tuning to the model to enhance its accuracy. Our proposed model is designed to detect and predict pests at an early stage, thereby preventing crop damage. Experimental results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed model is more accurate and precise compared to state-of-the-art existing studies. The F1 scores of the model for different classes of pest images are as follows: Ants 0.96, Bees 0.98, Beetles 0.97, Caterpillars 0.98, Earthworms 0.95, Earwigs 0.97, Grasshoppers 0.96, Moths 0.96, Slugs 0.97, Snails 0.99, Wasps 0.99, and Weevils 0.98. The overall accuracy of the model across all classes is 97.17. These results demonstrate the improved performance of the proposed model for early pest detection. In the agricultural sector, this model can be immensely beneficial, aiding in quick, accurate, and reliable pest detection to support decision-making processes. Identification of pest occurrence at their early stages leads to actions on interventions, which helps in reducing crop losses avoids unnecessary spraying for chemicals, and ensures sustainable eco-friendly agricultural practices. An approach like this would help in maintaining food security and economic sustainability of farmer communities.

Microbial production of food compounds with carbon dioxide and derived low-carbon molecules as substrates

The construction and optimization of microbial cell factories are crucial steps and key technologies in achieving green biomanufacturing. As concern has been aroused regarding the excessive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and food security, a new and promising research field, microbial conversion of CO2 into food compounds, has emerged. The research in this field not only holds significant implications for achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals but also plays a role in maintaining food security. This paper provides a comprehensive review and outlook of the research on utilizing CO2 and its derived low-carbon chemicals for the production of food compounds, focusing on the production of glucose, sugar derivatives, and single-cell proteins and the development of artificial CO2 fixation pathways.

Food Taboos and Cultural Resilience: A Study on the Role of Rice Prohibition in Maintaining Food Security and Ecological Sustainability

: This research explores the role of food taboos in Kampung Adat Cireundeu, focusing on the community’s prohibition against rice consumption and its significance in maintaining cultural identity and food security. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with key informants and direct observations of the community’s food practices. Historical and secondary data were also reviewed. The study found that the food taboos in Cireundeu are deeply connected to the community's historical resistance to colonisation and their religious beliefs in Sunda Wiwitan. These taboos serve as a cultural safeguard and a strategy for ensuring food resilience by relying on cassava as a staple crop. The findings suggest that indigenous knowledge systems and food taboos can play a critical role in promoting sustainable food security and cultural preservation. This has implications for policy development in areas of food sovereignty and ecological sustainability. This research offers a novel perspective on the intersection of historical, cultural, and ecological factors in shaping food practices, contributing to the broader understanding of how food taboos function within indigenous communities to maintain resilience against modern challenges.

Irrigation and food security in the context of water shortage: legal issues and perspectives

The article examines the legal problems and prospects of ensuring the irrigation of agricultural land in conditions of a lack of traditional water resources. Modern hydromelioration reform in the form in which it is currently implemented is not a panacea. It mostly solves property and administrative-functional issues, but leaves a call for attention to environmental and natural resource problems. In view of the tendency to decrease the quantity and quality of water in the country, the question arises about the prospects of irrigation under such conditions. In recent decades, there has been a constant search for innovative solutions of not only technological, but also legal nature in the world for solving the complex problems of distributing limited resources and providing agriculture with vital moisture for maintaining food security. The objective problem of the lack of water suitable for irrigation against the background of the rapid growth of such needs is getting worse every year and in the long run can endanger the food security of the country. World experience demonstrates the approbation of various approaches to solving the problem of sufficient irrigation. According to the main way of achieving the goal, these approaches are presented by us in the form of three groups: 1) use of alternative sources of water resources (use of underground water, treated wastewater, desalinated salt water); 2) application of alternative irrigation technologies (modernization of irrigation systems; use of micro-irrigation); 3) use of alternative crops (voluntary and mandatory transition). Having analyzed the foreign and domestic experience of the legal regulation of selected methods of solving the problem of water shortage for irrigation, it is possible to trace some general trends: a) self-removal of the state from the implementation of large-scale irrigation projects, the need for which is generated by global environmental challenges; b) slow ecological transformation of legislation regulating agricultural irrigation; c) the predominance of separate legal norms and separate legal mechanisms aimed at regulating alternative irrigation, and the lack of comprehensive regulatory and legal support for the reconstruction of the irrigation system taking into account objective environmental problems.

Wild rice: unlocking the future of rice breeding.

Germplasm resources serve as the foundations of advancements in breeding and are crucial for maintaining food security. Wild rice species of the genus Oryza include rich sources of genetic diversity and high adaptability, making them a substantial resource for rice breeding. The discovery of wild-type cytoplasmic male sterility resources enabled the achievement of the 'three lines' goal in hybrid rice, significantly increasing rice yields. The application of resistance alleles from wild rice enables rice production to withstand losses caused by stress. Reduced genetic diversity due to rice breeding poses a significant limitation to further advances and can be alleviated through a systematic use of wild genetic resources that integrate geographic, climatic and environmental data of the original habitat, along with extensive germplasm collection and identification using advanced methods. Leveraging technological advancements in plant genomics, the understanding of genetic mechanisms and the application of artificial intelligence and gene editing can further enhance the efficiency and accuracy of this process. These advancements facilitate rapid isolation and functional studies of genes, and precise genome manipulation. This review systematically summarizes the utilization of superior genes and germplasm resources derived from wild rice sources, while also exploring the collection, conservation, identification and utilization of further wild rice germplasm resources. A focus on genome sequencing and biotechnology developments is leading to new breeding and biotechnology opportunities. These new opportunities will not only promote the development of rice varieties that exhibit high yields, superior stress resistance and high quality but also expand the genetic diversity among rice cultivars.