Sustainable Agricultural Growth Research Articles

Climate Change Impact on Sustainable Agricultural Growth: Insights from Rural Areas

Agricultural production and advancement is significantly affected by climate change (CC), especially in drought-prone regions where farmers depend primarily on rainfall for their livelihoods. One of the main threats to the agricultural sector for decades has been global warming, and the sector is particularly susceptible to climatic circumstances. CC has become a crucial concern impeding sustainable development due to rapid changes in urbanization, industry, and agricultural systems. Food security, which is a worldwide concern, is another essential component connected to a country’s economy and people’s livelihoods. In view of these adverse consequences, the main objective of this study was to examine the impact of CC and food security on sustainable agricultural development in Pakistan. The study area was selected from twenty-four districts in two provinces of Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan). Collectively, the current research offers possible solutions to the dilemmas described above, which could have a significant impact on improving efficiency and technological progress. To address these issues, we introduced a slack-based approach to quantify inefficiencies in overall agricultural production. In addition, this study further scrutinized the decomposition of specific variables. The results show that Pakistan has an agricultural inefficiency of 0.62 under CC and food security constraints, of which 0.29 is primarily attributable to food security limitations. In the end, this study will help policymakers to make appropriate decisions to minimize the impact of CC on sustainable agriculture growth and improve human living standards and food security.

Assessment of potential groundwater Zones in the drought-prone Harawa catchment, Somali region, eastern Ethiopia using geospatial and AHP techniques

Groundwater is essential for the sustainable growth of society, economy, and agriculture. Identifying potential zones for groundwater is required to fulfill the needs of various sectors. This study aims to identify prospective groundwater zones in the drought-prone Harawa catchment area of the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia using geospatial and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approaches. Eight significant groundwater regulating variables were developed by combining primary and remote sensing data, and AHP analysis was performed to identify groundwater prospect zones. The findings of the prospective groundwater zone model were categorized into four groups: very low, low, moderate, and high. Approximately 14.2% of the research area was recognized as having high potential, 24.0% as having moderate potential, and 38.7% and 23.2% as having very low and low potentials, respectively. Groundwater prospect maps were examined and confirmed using the discharge data from numerous production wells in the study region. The results demonstrated a strong correlation or agreement with the yield data. The curve approach was cross-validated with the area, revealing an 81.7% correlation between the model findings and the water well points. The sensitivity analysis showed that lithology, land use/land cover, and rainfall significantly impacted groundwater occurrence. In contrast, the slope of the study region had little effect.

Minimum Support Price and the Changing Nature of Rural Economy and Its Implications on Agriculture in Haryana

Agriculture in India is undergoing a shift. It is due to a grim situation of increasing food production and rural economy linked with agriculture. On one side, agriculture production is led by 55% of cereal crops primarily based on minimum support prices (MSPs) by the Government of India. On the other side, horticulture accounts for only 16% of agriculture without many incentives. The cultivation cost is rising day by day. Unlike employee compensation, the market does not support farmers and their products. Despite rising production, sustainable agricultural growth is unlikely because of issues including groundwater depletion, climate change, and poor income. The MSP is driving the change in farmer’s lives in the changing nature of rural economy. However, the economic conditions of farmers have not changed much as the surveyed households (HHs) revealed based on MSP and its significance on economic condition of farmers. About 60% of farmers claimed that their income remained the same, 22% said that their condition got better, while about 14.43% of HHs claimed that their economic situation got worst. The study highlights that sustainable agriculture and changing nature of the rural economy will transform farmers’ conditions if they diversify the production of crops from cereals to non-cereal crops such as protein-based pulses or less water intensive crops such as millets.

A scenario-specific nexus modelling toolkit to identify trade-offs in the promotion of sustainable irrigated agriculture in Ecuador, a Belt and Road country

Increased demand for food due to development and population growth has prompted irrigated agriculture expansion, posing enhanced global challenges to water, energy, and food security. To confront these challenges, an approach that considers the water-energy-food-environment nexus can address multidimensional trade-offs that complicate the efficient use of resources and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. In order to provide insights into solutions to these challenges for a specific case, this study develops a modelling toolkit that integrates biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of nexus components in the context of agro-export and irrigation expansion in Ecuador, a Belt and Road Country. The nexus toolkit is applied to agricultural-development scenarios defined in participatory workshops and incorporates a water resources model, a lifecycle environmental assessment, and a socioeconomic analysis. The modelling exercise is constructed around specific scenario-determined land use patterns in the Santa Elena peninsula of Ecuador. Agriculture in the peninsula is water-limited, relying on delivery infrastructure and transfers from a neighbouring catchment. Impacts on nexus components are analysed for ten crops under two potential land-use scenarios: a substantial increase in irrigated area due to investment in irrigation infrastructure; and a substantial shift in land use towards export crops. The two have distinct impact on water and energy use, global warming potential, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, and fine particulate matter formation. The results provide insights into future water and energy resource challenges and environmental and socioeconomic trade-offs associated with likely changes in irrigation expansion. The results for scenarios show that, for example, banana production has the greatest environmental impacts (e.g. a 519% increase in global warming potential and 452% increase in fine particulate matter form for scenario 2), primarily due to water and energy requirements, despite the crop being mainly produced organically. In addition, total net income and labour demand increase (net income increases by 43% and 217% under scenarios 1 and 2, respectively) due to a larger crop area and crop intensification. Scale effects on labour demand are mainly due to labour intensity of maize in Ecuador, which is disadvantaged in the crop export scenario (an unexpected result). However, expanding irrigated areas would also increase total water and energy demand for irrigation, global warming potential, and freshwater eutrophication. This type of information enables stakeholders and decision-makers to design policies that achieve equitable and sustainable agricultural production, water use, and economic growth.

Assessing financial performance through green bond markets and energy reliance in Asian economies.

This article's overarching goal is to learn more about the effects of financial performance on the reliance upon or migration to energy efficiency sources in Asian countries using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and system GMM from 2017 to 2022. The results demonstrated the importance of relying on renewable energy sources when expanding the electricity sector effectively in an Asian environment. This same influence of green bond financing on energy investment during an eco-friendly improving economy is in addition to the proportion of renewable energy demands, power usage to gross domestic product, power manufacturing stretchability, electricity usage stretchability, or the overall impact of renewable energy transformation. The analysis revealed that the organizational climate has implicit implications that advance wage activity and that Asian financial systems drove a 30% point transition in the period studied from traditional power generation manufacturing and use methods toward sustainable energy. With this, we see a dramatic increase in the use of green power. This is largely attributable to the widespread use of green financing in constructing hydroelectric facilities throughout Asia. The theoretical underpinnings and empirical setting of the research are both original. Moreover, the association between green bond issuance and green, sustainable growth in industry and agriculture supports the response theory. Major governmental aspects include modernizing and expanding the finance system, updating national efficiency metrics, and creating a technological long-term infrastructure market. While previous studies have looked into the connections between green finance and economic growth, technological advancements in the energy sector, environmental responsibility, and renewable energy sources, this study is the first to focus on how green finance facilitates the shift to renewable energy in Asia's economies. The study's findings suggest how to manage renewable energy in Asia in a way that could work.

Investigating the rationale for low-carbon production techniques in agriculture for climate change mitigation and fostering sustainable development via achieving lowcarbon targets.

In China, agricultural activities are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, ranking second only to another significant source. This presents a significant obstacle to reducing emissions and jeopardizes both the availability of food and the sustainable growth of agriculture. It is primarily the farmers who utilize cultivated land and are thus accountable for the initiation of these emissions. Farmers' role is significant in adopting green and low-carbon (LC) agricultural production practices, and their actions are directly tied to the achievement of the dual goals of carbon reduction. Understanding their motivations for engaging in LC production and the factors that influence their willingness to do so is important for both theory and practice. In this study, data was collected from 260 questionnaires in 13 counties across five major cities in Shaanxi Province. The purpose was to identify factors that impact farmers' motivation and willingness to engage in LC agriculture using linear regression analysis. A structural equation model was constructed to better understand the underlying mechanisms that influence farmers' actions towards LC farming practices. The study's findings indicate that (1) farmers' behavior towards LC production practices is notably impacted by internal motivation based on joy and internal motivation based on responsibility (IMR); (2) IMR has the most pronounced effect on farmers' adoption of LC production practices; (3) the internal motivation based on joy, IMR, behavior attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavior control are related to each other; and (4) the multi-group analysis of the data indicates that the impact of internal motivation based on joy and IMR on adopting sustainable farming practices may vary among different groups. It is essential to support farmers who have strong intrinsic motivation to engage in sustainable agriculture. Additionally, policymakers must promote positive attitudes towards sustainable farming to achieve the desired environmental (LC) objectives.

Do ecological protection approaches affect total factor productivity change of cropland production in Sweden?

Ecological protection approaches are important in achieving sustainable productivity growth in agriculture. Based on an unbalanced panel dataset for 2010–2016, we used stochastic frontier analysis-based Malmquist total factor productivity index to estimate total factor productivity change of Swedish crop production and its components (efficiency change, technical change, scale change). We then examined the effect of ecological protection approaches on total factor productivity change. The empirical results demonstrated that ecological protection approaches such as organic farming, mixed cropping or integrated farming could hamper total factor productivity growth. The results also indicated that average total factor productivity change in the study period was positive and average technical efficiency of the Swedish crop production was 71%. Among the components of total factor productivity change, average scale change was positive. Average technical efficiency change and average technical change were both negative. If technical efficiency and technological progress can be improved, that would increase the positive change in total factor productivity. This suggests that policies on compensation or insurance against productivity loss are required to encourage mainstreaming of ecological protection approaches among farmers.

A Perspective on the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Sustainable Agriculture with Special Reference to Precision Agriculture

Agriculture has undergone rapid technological changes in the search for greater productivity. At the same time, environmental changes, agricultural crises from the possible repercussions of climate change and the different uses of land and technology make tools that look to minimise the negative aspects of the environment and human beings increasingly necessary. In this context, the concern with sustainability is imperative. Different agricultural systems have been trying to connect with this issue, making the term sustainable a field of conceptual, political, ideological, and power dispute. On this note, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to enhance sustainable agriculture's growth prospects. Therefore, this paper analyses how AI could aid sustainable agriculture, keeping in mind the accessibility challenges for small and marginal farmers. The paper will also explore the prospects of agrometeorology and precision agriculture as a concept and how it would play a significant role in smart harvesting. Finally, the documents will also look to oversee the influence of AI in agroecology. The article will also explore the common grounds between Indian and Brazilian agriculture, especially the small and medium farmers scenario, their challenges in accessing this technology, and how the government could aid the use of these technologies through inclusive policy interventions.

Rural Industrial Integration's Impact on Agriculture GTFP Growth: Influence Mechanism and Empirical Test Using China as an Example.

Agricultural carbon emission is an significant cause of global climate change and many environmental and health problems. Achieving low-carbon and green development in agriculture is not only an inevitable choice for countries around the world to cope with climate change and the accompanying environmental and health problems, but also a necessary path for the sustainable development of global agriculture. The promotion of rural industrial integration is a practical way to realize sustainable agricultural growth and urban-rural integration development. The analysis framework of agriculture GTFP is creatively extended in this study to include the integration and growth of rural industries, rural human capital investment and rural land transfer. According to the sample data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020 and the systematic GMM estimation method, and through the combination of theoretical analysis and empirical testing, this paper discusses the influence mechanism of rural industrial integration development on agriculture GTFP growth, as well as the regulating role of rural human capital investment and rural land transfer. The results show that rural industrial integration has significantly promoted the growth of agriculture GTFP. Additionally, after decomposing agriculture GTFP into the agricultural green technology progress index and agricultural green technology efficiency index, it is found that rural industrial integration has a more obvious role in promoting agricultural green technology progress. Furthermore, quantile regression found that with the increase in agricultural GTFP, the promoting effect of rural industrial integration showed an "inverted U-shaped" feature. Through heterogeneity testing, it is found that the agriculture GTFP growth effect of rural industrial integration is more obvious in areas with high level of rural industrial integration. Additionally, as the nation places more and more focus on rural industrial integration, the promotion role of rural industrial integration has become more and more obvious. The moderating effect test showed that health, education and training, migration of rural human capital investment and rural land transfer all strengthened the promoting effect of rural industrial integration on agricultural GTFP growth to varying degrees. This study provides rich policy insights for China and other developing countries around the world to address global climate change and many related environmental and monitoring issues by developing rural industrial integration, strengthening rural human capital investment and promoting agricultural land transfer to achieve sustainable agricultural growth and reduce undesirable output outputs such as agricultural carbon emissions.

Role of Smart Farm as a Tool for Sustainable Economic Growth of Korean Agriculture: Using Input–Output Analysis

This study focused on smart farms in Korea to confirm that the fourth industrial revolution technology is a tool that can be used for sustainable economic development in agriculture. This study used the input–output table, which included the production-inducing effects of the demand inducement model, value-added inducing effects, supply shortage effects of the supply inducement model, and the interlinkage effect. These methods were used to compare the impact of smart farm machinery on agriculture and the impact of smart farms on the Korean economy compared to conventional agriculture, thereby confirming the extent of the effect of fourth industrial revolution technology on agriculture. This study was conducted to determine whether this agricultural sector could lead to sustainable economic development. The analysis revealed that the production-inducing effects of smart farms showed a greater ripple effect than those of the agricultural sector. However, both value-added inducing effects and supply shortage effects showed a larger ripple effect in the agricultural sector. Considering only the indirect effect, the smart farms were found to evenly affect secondary and tertiary industries. In the case of value-added inducing and supply shortage effects, agriculture was found to have a greater impact on the secondary industry, whereas smart agri-machines and farms had a greater impact on the tertiary industry. Moreover, according to the interlinkage effect, agriculture was classified as a raw industry with final demand, and smart farms as a manufacturing industry with intermediate demand. These results have several implications. For the fourth industrial revolution technology to lead sustainable economic growth in agriculture, continuous creation of new value by developing various types of business models linked to other industries in consideration of the industrial characteristics of smart farms and agri-machines is necessary. In addition, to fully demonstrate the economic effects of smart farms, continuous management and support are required so that smart technologies can be strategically utilized in the agricultural sector.

Sustainable growth, input factors, and technological progress in agriculture: Evidence from 1990 to 2020 in China

This paper decomposes agricultural input factors into labor, land, fertilizer, and farm machinery in 31 provinces of China from 1990 to 2020. This paper analyzes the input factor’s contribution rates to China’s agricultural growth using the stochastic frontier model. The empirical results indicate that the contribution rate of input factors in China’s agricultural growth has weakened, with decreasing contribution rate of labor, an increasing contribution rate of fertilizer and machinery, and decreasing contribution rate of the land year by year. The contribution rate of technological progress is increasing, and there is room for improvement. In addition, technological progress and input factors alternately lead to the time of policy change in China. The research also shows that the prerequisite for promoting rural supply-side reform and achieving sustained agricultural growth is ensuring a stable supply of input factors, focusing on promoting agricultural technological progress.

Decomposition of Green Agriculture Productivity for Policy in Africa: An Application of Global Malmquist–Luenberger Index

Previous research on agricultural productivity in Africa has focused on conventional Total Factor productivity (TFP) growth rather than Green Total factor productivity (GATFP) growth, thus ignoring the effect of undesirable outputs such as emissions. This has raised concerns about the sustainability of agricultural productivity growth in the continent. The study was designed to examine GATFP growth in agricultural productivity for 49 African nations from 2000 to 2019. We apply the Global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) Productivity Index, which complies with the sustainable development agenda that promotes greater production of desirable outputs and minimising unwanted outputs. This approach is also compared to Global Malmquist (GM) Productivity Index which ignores unwanted outputs, yielding to conventional TFP growth. We found an average GATFP growth of 0.6% and TFP growth at 0.9% suggesting that the actual agricultural productivity growth is overstated if agricultural emissions are disregarded. Both estimates fell short of the desired annual target of 7% from the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Regional growth is mostly characterised by high (low) GATFP and TFP except in Southern Africa and East Africa. The two regions represent an ideal situation where GATFP exceeds TFP. At country level growth can be divided into three scenarios: desired growth, where GATFP exceeds TFP; balanced growth with both estimates equivalent; and undesired growth, where TFP exceeds GATFP. Unfortunately, most African nations fall in the last scenario. We conclude that policies must be developed to encourage sustainable agricultural productivity growth in Africa.

Phytohormones regulate the abiotic stress: An overview of physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses in horticultural crops.

Recent changing patterns of global climate have turned out to be a severe hazard to the horticulture crops production. A wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses often affect plants due to their sessile nature. Horticultural crop losses are mainly caused by abiotic factors such as drought, salt, heat, cold, floods, and ultraviolet radiation. For coping up with these adversities, well-developed mechanisms have been evolved in plants, which play a role in perceiving stress signals and enabling optimal growth responses. Interestingly, the use of phytohormones for suppressing the impact of abiotic stress has gained much attention in recent decades. For circumvention of stress at various levels, including physiological, molecular, as well as biochemical, a sophisticated mechanism is reported to be provided by the phytohormones, thus labeling these phytohormones a significant role in plant growth and development. Phytohormones can improves tolerance against abiotic stresses by increasing seed germination, seedling growth, leaf photosynthesis, root growth, and antioxidant enzymes and reducing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, malonaldehyde, and electrolyte leakage. Recent discoveries highlight the significant role of a variety of phytohormones including melatonin (MEL), Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), brassinosteroids (BRs), and strigolactones (SLs) in abiotic stress tolerance enhancement of horticultural plants. Thus, current review is aimed to summarize the developmental concepts regarding role of phytohormones in abiotic-stress mitigation, mainly in horticultural crops, along with the description of recent studies which identified the role of different phytohormones in stressed environments. Hence, such a review will help in paving the path for sustainable agriculture growth via involvement of phytohormones in enhancement of abiotic stress tolerance of horticultural crops.

Bridging Income Gaps: Empowering Small Ruminant Farmers

Income distribution is a crucial factor in economic analysis, providing insights into financial well-being and inequality within populations. This study explores monthly income distribution among low-income small ruminant farmers and presents an analysis of income brackets. Entrepreneurship is key to success in small ruminant farming, aiding farmers in identifying opportunities and creating value. Despite its benefits, barriers to entrepreneurial practices exist, necessitating interventions like training. This research employs a cross-sectional validation study in Terengganu, Malaysia, involving 613 small ruminant farmers. The majority (73.1%) earn less than RM 2,000.00 per month, showcasing income disparities. Addressing these disparities requires a multi-dimensional approach, involving microfinance, cooperative models, capacity building, and value chain development. Collaborative efforts among stakeholders can empower low-income small ruminant farmers, enhance financial inclusion, and promote sustainable agricultural growth. Governments must tailor regulations to the requirements of farmers in order to promote sustainable and inclusive growth. By following these techniques, low-income small ruminant farmers’ financial prospects and lives can be enhanced, contributing to equitable economic growth.

India’s agriculture: Issues and priorities

Indian agriculture employs the largest share of the workforce – about 42 percent in 2019 – though its share in overall gross domestic product (GDP) is only 16.5 percent. India is still largely a rural economy with 66 percent of the country’s population living in rural areas (World Bank, 2019) and agriculture continues to be the mainstay of a large segment of this section of the population. Agriculture is also important for consumers, as an average Indian household spends about 45 percent of its expenditure on food.1 Moreover, given that India is going to be the most populous country, surpassing China, by 2027 (according to United Nations population projections, 2019), it would be a major challenge for Indian agriculture to feed this large population especially in the wake of the emerging challenges of climate change and the degradation of natural resources such as air, water and land, etc. This challenge becomes more serious with the expected rise in per capita incomes2 as well as increasing urbanization – the urban population is estimated to be 600 million by 2030 – both of which are likely to increase the demand for food, feed and fiber. Moreover, not only will there be more mouths to feed, but, as per capita income grows, there will be much higher demand for high value agriculture products such as meat, fish, dairy, fruits and vegetables (OECD/FAO, 2019). This would be very much in line with Bennett’s Law of food consumption, which states The paper is organized as follows: Section 1 presents the backdrop of Indian agriculture within the context of the Indian economy Section 2 critically examines the Challenges in agriculture sector raising agricultural productivity per unit of land: Reducing rural poverty. Ensuring that agricultural growth responds to food security needs Section 3 mainly focuses on priority areas in agriculture which includes Promoting new technologies and reforming agricultural research and extension: Water Resources and Irrigation/Drainage Management Facilitating agricultural diversification to higher-value commodities. Poverty alleviation Sustaining the environment and future agricultural productivity Finally It also highlights the intervention of World Bank Support to achieve sustainable agricultural growth.

Advances in stimuli-responsive systems for pesticides delivery: Recent efforts and future outlook.

Effective pest management for enhanced crop output is one of the primary goals of establishing sustainable agricultural practices in the world. Pesticides are critical in preventing biological disasters, ensuring crop productivity, and fostering sustainable agricultural production growth. Studies showed that crops are unable to properly utilize pesticides because of several limiting factors, such as leaching and bioconversion, thereby damaging ecosystems and human health. In recent years, stimuli-responsive systems for pesticides delivery (SRSP) by nanotechnology demonstrated excellent promise in enhancing the effectiveness and safety of pesticides. SRSP are being developed with the goal of delivering precise amounts of active substances in response to biological needs and environmental factors. An in-depth analysis of carrier materials, design fundamentals, and classification of SRSP were provided. The adhesion of SRSP to crop tissue, absorption, translocation in and within plants, mobility in the soil, and toxicity were also discussed. The problems and shortcomings that need be resolved to accelerate the actual deployment of SRSP were highlighted in this review.

Sustainable Agricultural Growth in India -Issues and Challenges

Sustainable Agricultural Growth in India -Issues and Challenges

Retrieval of crop biophysical-biochemical variables from airborne AVIRIS-NG data using hybrid inversion of PROSAIL-D

Sustainable agricultural growth and management reduces over-utilization of farm resources and squeezes risk of negative impacts on environment. Monitoring continuous crop growth and health under various conditions at different spatio-temporal resolutions is a key to assess yield stability, crop diversity, adaptability, mitigation for stress and response. The quantification of crop biophysical and biochemical variables spatially from remotely sensed data with help of spectroscopic methods provide a reliable discerning information in the context of crop foliar condition like leaf greenness, senescence, canopy density, crop growth, stress and eco-physiological processes. Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer-Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) airborne hyperspectral data offers high spatial and spectral resolution giving a unique advantage and opportunity to test retrievals of crop biophysical (BP)-biochemical (BC) variables under varying conditions over different types of crops. A hybrid inversion of leaf-canopy Radiative Transfer model – PROSAIL-D complemented with use of data driven nonlinear non-parametric methods which offer simplicity, fastness, reliability and competency is a powerful method to retrieve crop biophysical and biochemical variables. The Hyperspectral band (feature) selection is a computationally cost efficient method to overcome data redundancy in high dimensional correlated input spectral bands. The determination of optimum subset or combination of hyperspectral bands specific to retrieval of vegetation properties (including canopy effects) determined using feature selection algorithm for regression-based retrievals are active research topic unlike classification problems in which it is more common. A band selection algorithm based on Gaussian Processes Regression was used to choose most sensitive bands from in-situ biophysical-biochemical measurements and crop spectral signatures collected for analysis in two different agricultural regions: Raichur (Karnataka) and Anand (Gujarat) districts of India representing diverse landscapes, heterogeneous crop canopies and agro climatic settings. The retrieval algorithm for AVIRIS-NG image employed a decision tree ensemble algorithm Canonical Correlation Forests using the optimum subset of bands for retrieval of targeted crop variable. Validation of retrieved crop variables were done using in-situ ground observations collected over heterogeneous diverse crop landscape. The results showed chlorophyll (RMSE = 6.61 µg cm−2), equivalent water thickness (RMSE = 0.002 cm), leaf area index (RMSE = 0.35 m2/m−2) and dry matter (RMSE = 0.003 g cm−2), carotenoid (RMSE = 14.3 µg cm−2), anthocyanin (RMSE = 12.92 µg cm−2) retrieved with better accuracies. The results obtained in context of feature (band) selection approach for Radiative Transfer model inversion show overlapping of sensitive spectral bands of chlorophyll-ab, carotenoid and anthocyanin especially between narrow spectral range 480 to 560 nm as predominant reason for decreased accuracies of anthocyanin and carotenoid compared to other variable. This poses a limitation as well as opportunity for further research in signal separation in context of feature selection approach especially in context of broader spectral bandwidths. It also sets ground for further development of feature selection algorithms that use hybrid regression methods customized for crop specific traits.

Sustainable Agriculture Growth Strategy to Ensure Food Security in Pakistan in Post-Pandemic Era

The study attempts to develop some coherent policy recommendations for growth sustainability to overcome the challenge of food insecurity for rapidly increasing populations with its changing consumption patterns and to address the 04th agricultural revolution of digital farming in a post-pandemic era in the greater public interest. The findings of part one of the study have been incorporated to assist in re-map the present strategic plan to promote the sustainable agriculture sector growth in the greater public interest to provide inputs i. e good quality seed, fertilizers, quality pesticides, modern tools and equipment, and easy credit services and feasible training to the farmers to re-build the cultivated areas for food security of rapidly increasing population and exports. The feasible policy recommendations are also helpful to make awareness at all regarding the significance of agriculture growth to cope-up the challenges and uncertainties and to make strategic collation between Private landowners and government agriculture sector concerns to reconcile the agriculture sector of the Indus valley for the benefit of the farmers to enhance their disposable income, food security for future generations and global welfare of the human in way of more food products at the lowest cost that will strengthen food supply chains.

Measuring environmentally sustainable growth in agriculture across the EU countries based on Solow residual-based MFP

Scientific publications on environmentally sustainable or green growth in agriculture are increasingly becoming more important but empirical research is scarce. In empirical studies, the most commonly accepted way to assess environmentally sustainable or green growth in agriculture is based on measures of total factor productivity (TFP) or multifactor productivity (MFP) growth. Both measures are important for analytical and monitoring tools that can help to better understand the factors affecting output growth as well as the determinants of changes in production factors (labour and produced capital) in agriculture. Growth of TFP or MFP is achieved through the application of technologies and advanced production practices that result in higher output from the same amount, or lower inputs (labour and produced capital).Conventional TFP and MFP are not suitable for the assessment of environmentally sustainable growth in agriculture because both indicators do not include environmental variables such as environmental pollution and natural capital. There is a lack of comparative empirical studies between EU countries. This study focuses on the problem of measuring environmentally sustainable growth in agriculture. The aim of this study is twofold: firstly, to develop a framework for the assessment of environmentally sustainable growth in agriculture, based on information collected in public databases; and secondly, to empirically analyse environmentally sustainable growth in agriculture in EU countries over the long period. The environmentally adjusted multifactor productivity (EAMFP) growth measure was applied to assess environmentally sustainable growth in agriculture of the EU’s countries. For analysis, the environmental pollution of agricultural production was expressed as net GHG emissions, and natural capital was expressed as the quality-adjusted agricultural land area.The research was conducted using literature overview, decomposition technique and cluster analysis method. The 28 EU countries (including the United Kingdom, which was a member of the EU until January 1, 2020) were included in the empirical analysis. The analysis covered the period between 2005 and 2019 and a five-year average annual change rates (2005-2009 and 2015-2019 respectively) were used to compare the environmentally sustainable growth in agriculture between the beginning and the end of the considered period, as is common in most agricultural growth studies.The findings show that pollution-adjusted GDP growth in agriculture was achieved in less than a five of the EU countries at the beginning of the considered period, and in most of the EU countries at the end of the considered period. In most of the EU countries, the environmentally sustainable growth in agriculture was mainly determined by technological progress, while the slow change in environmental pollution (net GHG emissions) did not have a significant contribution to agricultural growth in all EU countries. Following the hierarchical clustering method, three significantly different clusters of the EU countries were identified in terms of gross added value growth and technological progress in agriculture of EU countries in the context of environmentally sustainable growth.