Agriculture (Switzerland)

The multi-level perspective (MLP) is a prominent transition framework. The MLP posits that transitions come about through interaction processes within and among three analytical levels: niches, socio-technical regimes and a socio-technical landscape. This systematic review provides an overview on the use of the MLP in research on agro-food sustainability transitions. In particular, it analyses the understanding, conceptualisation and operationalisation of niches, regimes and landscapes. Niches considered in the selected papers include agro-ecology, organic agriculture, permaculture, conservation agriculture, integrated farming, and alternative food networks. Regime refers to industrial, conventional agriculture. The researched regime is often not clearly described and its operationalisation is a matter of deliberation. Landscape level is generally overlooked; when it is considered it refers to international trends and developments. Many scholars highlight the inadequacy of transition pathways in the MLP for the agro-food sector. Moreover, transition impacts are rarely addressed and the research field generally overlooks the analysis of the sustainability of niches and, consequently, of transitions. Research on transitions in the agro-food sector borrows from the MLP its generalizability and poor empirical operationalisation of niche, regime and landscape concepts. Therefore, integrative conceptualisation and operationalisation of the MLP elements is required to accommodate the complexity of sustainability transition processes and the peculiarities of the agro-food system.

Infections with parasitic helminths (nematodes and trematodes) represent a significant economic and welfare burden to the global ruminant livestock industry. The increasing prevalence of anthelmintic resistance means that current control programmes are costly and unsustainable in the long term. Recent changes in the epidemiology, seasonality and geographic distribution of helminth infections have been attributed to climate change. However, other changes in environment (e.g., land use) and in livestock farming, such as intensification and altered management practices, will also have an impact on helminth infections. Sustainable control of helminth infections in a changing world requires detailed knowledge of these interactions. In particular, there is a need to devise new, sustainable strategies for the effective control of ruminant helminthoses in the face of global change. In this paper, we consider the impact of helminth infections in grazing ruminants, taking a European perspective, and identify scientific and applied priorities to mitigate these impacts. These include the development and deployment of efficient, high-throughput diagnostic tests to support targeted intervention, modelling of geographic and seasonal trends in infection, more thorough economic data and analysis of the impact of helminth infections and greater translation and involvement of end-users in devising and disseminating best practices. Complex changes in helminth epidemiology will require innovative solutions. By developing and using new technologies and models, the use of anthelmintics can be optimised to limit the development and spread of drug resistance and to reduce the overall economic impact of helminth infections. This will be essential to the continued productivity and profitability of livestock farming in Europe and its contribution to regional and global food security.

Ethiopia has been highly affected by drought and climate-related hazards, and millions of people have been left without sustenance every year. To increase productivity and diversify the livelihood scenarios as an option, small-scale irrigation (SSI) schemes have been introduced.This study assessed the impact of SSI in achieving household livelihood improvement and the major challenges of SSI practices in the Gubalafto district. Questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation data collection tools were used. Proportionally, a total of 374 respondents were included.The collected data was analyzed by descriptive statistics. The application of SSI improved the annual income of irrigator households from 1978.12 to 10,099 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (1 USD ≈ 20 ETB) before and after using irrigation with a standard deviation of 1534.32 compared to non-irrigators who have an annual average income of 3146.75 ETB with a standard deviation of 1838, respectively. It proved that 32.1% of irrigators increased their frequency of production due to irrigation. Shortage of water, access to improved seeds, marketing, and increment of farm input costs have been hindering SSI practices. Awareness campaigns for non-irrigators and adequate supervision for the irrigators by development agents (DAs) and district officials are important to improve the livelihood of farmers.

The knowledge of important parameters for honey characterization is an increasing requirement of consumers and the honey industry. In this respect, differentiation between blossom honeys and some honeydew honeys is still an unresolved task. This study includes the results of physicochemical and melissopalynological analysis of 86 honey samples from north-western Spain. The relationship between the microscopic elements in honey, such as Metschnikowia cells and fungal spores from plant pathogens, together with their physicochemical parameters were analysed. A cluster analysis was performed to differentiate blossom honey samples from honeydew samples. Metschnikowia cells and certain fungal spores were found to be good variables to enable differentiation between blossom honeys and honeydew honeys.

COVID-19 has affected the functioning of food systems all over the world. This paper seeks to identify and analyse the economic, legal and institutional, as well as social effects of the pandemic’s outbreak on food systems, and the implications for the EU Farm to Fork Strategy whose main purpose is to put food systems on a sustainable path. Qualitative economic and social impact analysis was used to identify the above types of effect on the food system on a macroscale, using Poland as an example. Information was sourced from existing data and qualitative studies. Studies show that the consequences of the pandemic for individual elements of the food system in Poland in 2020 were related to numerous disruptions in functioning, leading to uncertainty, financial losses, and interrupted transactions. The crisis under analysis also revealed modifications in these actors’ behaviours in food markets, noticeable in changes in consumption patterns and in the ways demand for food was met. Nevertheless, an analysis of the gathered information and data testifies to the food system’s relative resistance to the effects of the pandemic, and also to the adaptive skills of the system’s entities, especially food producers and consumers. The paper’s discussion contains recommendations for public policies shaping the food system, pointing to actions that might reduce the negative effects of other potential exogenic crises in the future and aid the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy’s principles.

The core of agricultural development depends on agricultural production efficiency improvement, and total-factor productivity growth is its significant embodiment. Hence, it is essential to address the question of “how to improve China’s agricultural productivity and efficiency in order to achieve growth and sustainability of agriculture in the future”. This paper estimates indices of China’s agricultural technical efficiency (TE) scores, total-factor productivity (TFP), and its two components, technological change/progress (TC) and technical efficiency change (EC), using provincial-level panel data of 30 provinces from 2002 to 2017 by applying a stochastic frontier approach (SFA). The paper also identifies determinants of TE, TC, and TFP using selected indicators from four hierarchical levels of the economy, i.e., farm level, production environment level, provincial level, and the state level, by applying a system-GMM method. Results reveal that agricultural labor, machinery, agricultural plastic film, and pesticides are the significant drivers of agricultural productivity, with no significant role of land area under cultivation. Constant returns to scale exist in China’s agriculture. The agricultural technical efficiency level fluctuated between 80% and 91% with a stable trend and a slight decline in later years, while TFP improved consistently over time, mainly driven by technological progress. Among the determinants, government investment in agricultural development projects significantly drives TC and TE, while the experienced labor force significantly increases TE. The disaster rate significantly reduces TE but promotes TC and TFP. The literacy rate significantly improves TC and TFP. However, government expenditures in “agriculture, forestry, and water” significantly reduce TE, TC, and TFP. Policy recommendations include (1) increased levels of mechanization and agriculture film use while avoiding an increase in pesticide use, (2) a continued increase in government expenditure in agricultural development projects, R&D to improve technological progress, and diffusion of modern agricultural technologies, and (3) investment in education targeted at the farming population in order to continue the growth in the productivity and sustainability of China’s agriculture.

The climate changes and increased drought frequency still more frequent in recent periods bring challenges to management with wheat straw remaining in the field after harvest and to its decomposition. The field experiment carried out in 2017–2019 in the Czech Republic aimed to evaluate winter wheat straw decomposition under different organic and mineral nitrogen fertilizing (urea, pig slurry and digestate with and without inhibitors of nitrification (IN)). Treatment Straw 1 with fertilizers was incorporated in soil each year the first day of experiment. The Straw 2 was placed on soil surface at the same day as Straw 1 and incorporated together with fertilizers after 3 weeks. The Straw 1 decomposition in N treatments varied between 25.8–40.1% and in controls between 21.5–33.1% in 2017–2019. The Straw 2 decomposition varied between 26.3–51.3% in N treatments and in controls between 22.4–40.6%. Higher straw decomposition in 2019 was related to more rainy weather. The drought observed mainly in 2018 led to the decrease of straw decomposition and to the highest contents of residual mineral nitrogen in soils. The limited efficiency of N fertilisers on straw decomposition under drought showed a necessity of revision of current strategy of N treatments and reduction of N doses adequately according the actual weather conditions.

The aim of the study was to assess the nutritional value of H. tuberosus tubers grown in the organic farming system in Poland and Lithuania. The work was based on field experiments carried out in 2015–2017 in Parczew (Poland) and Akademija (Lithuania). The experiments were carried out using the randomized block method in four replications. Two cultivars of Jerusalem artichoke (JA) ‘Albik’ and ‘Rubik’ were tested. After the harvest of tubers, an assessment of their quality was carried out by standard methods. Due to the relocation of JA cultivation from Central and Eastern Europe to Northeast Europe, there were changes in the chemical composition of H. tuberosus tubers. The tubers from crops in Lithuania were characterized by a lower content of inulin, crude fiber and protein, ascorbic acid, total and endogenous amino acids than in Poland, but a higher content of true protein and macroelements. Edaphic factors determined, to a greater extent than genetic factors, the nutritional value of tubers. Assessment of the influence of varietal characteristics, meteorological conditions, and geographic location on the amount of biologically active compounds in JA will allow growers and consumers to choose the most suitable cultivars.

Even more than 30 years after the introduction of precision farming technologies and studies of their benefits in terms of productivity gains and environmental improvements, adoption rates, especially for variable-rate technologies, are very low. In particular, in smallholder areas, farm managers are reluctant to adopt these technologies. Therefore, this study identifies factors that hinder or facilitate adoption from an economic perspective. Using a model-based sensitivity analysis with three farms of different sizes (11 ha, 57 ha and 303 ha), it is shown that larger farms have higher resilience to external factors due to economies of scale. In addition, it is clarified that the certainty of obtaining additional benefits with GPS guidance systems can explain the higher adoption rates in farming practice, although the additional benefits (per hectare and year) are much lower for this technology than for variable-rate technologies. Small farms (>30 ha) are by no means excluded from the use of digital technologies, as it is shown that the influence of learning costs on profitability is very low, low subsidies can lead to a drastic reduction in the minimum farm size and the presence of low-cost technologies is an efficient solution which allows small farms to participate in the digital transformation of agriculture.