New frontiers in agricultural geography: transformations, food security, land grabs and climate change

Agriculture as a central focus of study featured prominently at several different times in the historical development of human geography, but it has also been an important contributor to the disciplinary transformation that has occurred since 1970. This essay outlines this more recent history, arguing that agricultural geography developed its own concepts and concerns, paralleling some of those within the wider discipline. It illustrates how in the past two decades attempts to examine changes occurring across the breadth of the agri-food system (from supply, to production, to consumption) have brought about a more issues-focused agricultural geography. There is discussion of the use of broad overarching concepts, which have conceived of changes to agriculture and the agri-food system in terms of episodic developments. This has seen recognition of different food regimes, acknowledging possible transitions from productivism to post-productivism to multifunctionality and perhaps neo-productivism. Having discussed these concepts, drawing extensively upon literature written in English, the essay then focuses on selected major problems or key issues to which agriciultural geographers are currently contributing new insights, namely the closely related topics of food security, land grabs and adaptations to climate change.

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In This Issue: Open call papers, and more papers and commentaries on the impact of COVID-19 on the food system

Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development ◽

10.5304/jafscd.2021.103.021 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-3

Author(s):

Duncan Hilchey

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Family Farm ◽

Racial Equity ◽

The World ◽

Security Infrastructure ◽

Key Issues ◽

The Impact

Have we finally turned the corner on COVID-19? Just maybe. The world is still reeling from the pandemic, and the delta variant is taking its toll presently, but the winds of change do seem to be shifting in our favor. After publishing more than a year and a half’s worth of research-based papers and commentaries on COVID-19 and its impact on the food system, we are taking a kind of odd pleasure in finally publishing content on a broader range of issues. Food systems work is (or should be) a veritable beehive of activity on all fronts, at all levels, at all times: racial equity, family farm resilience, climate change, building out our food security infrastructure, and so on require constant simultaneous attention, each of these key issues being a piece of an interlocking resilience puzzle. . . .

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New and modern history of the Arab world

10.46991/ysuph/9785808424159 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Rouben Karapetyan

Keyword(s):

International Relations ◽

Historical Development ◽

Arab World ◽

Arab Countries ◽

Modern History ◽

The Past ◽

Wide Range ◽

History Of ◽

Key Issues ◽

Oriental Studies

The textbook covers the main events and developments in the recent history of the Arab world. The key issues of the past and present of the major Arab countries are examined. The general patterns, main stages and peculiarities of the historical development of these countries are presented. The work is designed for students of the faculties of “Oriental Studies”, “History” and “International Relations”, as well as wide range of readers interested in the history of the Arab world.

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Protecting Food Security, and Increasing Nutrition as Well as Food System Resilience Through Climate Change Adaptation in Greater Miami

10.1007/978-3-030-42462-6_93 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 659-694

Author(s):

Franziska Alesso-Bendisch

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Climate Change Adaptation ◽

Food System ◽

System Resilience

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Climate Smart Crops for Food Security

10.5772/intechopen.99164 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Saima Rashid ◽

Muhammad Bin Mushtaq ◽

Iqra Farooq ◽

Zulqurnain Khan

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Complex Traits ◽

Gene Editing ◽

New Technologies ◽

Green Revolution ◽

Crop Growth ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

The Past

After ensuring the food security for over 50 years, the green revolution is eventually reaching its biological limits which are very much reflected by the ongoing stagnancy in yield increased over the past few decades. Meeting the increasing food demands due to increasing population is the greatest challenge for today’s plant scientists. Changing climatic conditions are posing additional threats to crop growth, productivity and yield. After successfully deploying gene editing to modify simple traits, scientists are now embarked on more ambitious adventures in genomics to combat challenges of food security in the wake of increasing population and climate change adversaries. The chapter outlines use of new technologies in tailoring crops beyond simple traits aiming to harvest the desired diversity lost during domestication and manipulating complex traits, which evolved over evolutionary timescale with special emphasis on the development of climate smart crops.

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Framing agricultural policy through the EC’s strategies on CAP reforms (1992–2017)

Agricultural and Food Economics ◽

10.1186/s40100-021-00178-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Karmen Erjavec ◽

Emil Erjavec

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Agricultural Policy ◽

Common Agricultural Policy ◽

Framing Analysis ◽

Implementation Model ◽

Societal Issues ◽

The Past ◽

Quality Health ◽

The Common

AbstractThe periodic reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are announced each time by a strategic document in the form of a Communication by the European Commission (EC). The content of the last Communication differs from previous ones, which raises the questions of what frames the EC has employed with respect to its CAP reforms and how these frames have been modified over the past 26 years (from 1991 to 2017) in order to legitimise the preservation of the CAP. This paper tries to fill the gap in the research of frames in the main strategic documents on the CAP by employing comparative historical framing analysis. The results show consistent use of five frames: the policy mechanism frame, farmers’ economic frame, foreign trade frame, budgetary frame, and the societal concerns frame. While they have all remained in use, most have been changed significantly over the years. Throughout the analysed period, the farmers’ economic frame has retained its primacy and continuity, demonstrating the power of the farmers’ lobbies and conservative member states. If in the initial Communications the environment was barely present within the societal concerns frame, it has gained importance in the recent Communications, in addition to other general societal issues, such as climate change, food security and quality, health, digitalisation, innovation, and even migration. By marginalising the policy mechanism frame and replacing it with the implementation model and increasingly emphasising the societal concerns frame with social justifications of the CAP, the EC is trying to legitimise the CAP after 2021.

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Sustainable Agricultural Development under Climate Change in Bangladesh

Journal of Science Foundation ◽

10.3329/jsf.v11i1.19396 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 17-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

MAA Faroque ◽

M Asaduzamman ◽

M Hossain

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Crop Production ◽

Food System ◽

Global Radiation ◽

Climatic Changes ◽

Radiation Balance ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

High Yielding Varieties ◽

The Impact

Climate change is no more an environmental concern it has emerged as biggest developmental challenge for the most vulnerable Bangladesh. The whole international community is also scared of catastrophic adverse effects of future climatic changes on different spheres of man and nature, e.g. deglaciation and sea level changes, submergence of lands, nations and major coastal lowlands, atmospheric dynamics including evaporation and precipitation, global radiation balance, photosynthesis and ecological productivity, plant and animal community and many more. This paper tries to focus the adverse impacts of climatic changes on the crop production, food security, yield gap and sustainable agriculture by crop intensification and diversification. The impact of climate on agriculture could result in problems with food security and may threaten the livelihood activities upon which much of the population depends and thrives. Hilly committed research efforts showed technological progress as evidenced by release of 684 high yielding varieties of various crops and about 769 management technologies by NARS institutes, and universities. The greatest challenge for the future agriculture under climate change, we need improved and modified warning system, developed climate impact modules, build sufficient resilience of food system, comprehensive climate resilience strategies, develop database on climate. Also need top priority to mitigate the impact of climate change on agriculture through weather services, more research and extension service, agro advisories, insurance, community bank, intensify and diversify crop production system, modern high yielding varieties and management technologies for future sustainable agriculture.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsf.v11i1.19396

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The Climate Change, Food Security and Human Health Nexus in Canada: A Framework to Protect Population Health

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16142531 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (14) ◽

pp. 2531 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Rebekka Schnitter ◽

Peter Berry

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Human Health ◽

Food System ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Analytical Framework ◽

Future Health ◽

Critical Dimensions ◽

Public Health Officials

Climate change impacts on the Canadian food system pose risks to human health. Little attention has been paid to the climate change, food security, and human health nexus, resulting in a number of knowledge gaps regarding food system components that are most vulnerable to climate change. The lack of understanding of key dynamics and possible future impacts challenges the ability of public health officials and partners in other sectors to prepare Canadians for future health risks. A series of literature reviews were conducted to establish the relationship between climate change, food security, and human health, and to identify vulnerabilities within the Canadian food system. Evidence suggests that key activities within the food system are vulnerable to climate change. The pathways in which climate change impacts travel through the food system and affect the critical dimensions of food security to influence human health outcomes are complex. Climate-related disruptions in the food system can indirectly impact human health by diminishing food security, which is a key determinant of health. Human health may also be directly affected by the physical effects of climate change on the food system, primarily related to the impacts on nutrition and foodborne illnesses. In this study, we propose a novel analytical framework to study and respond to the climate change, food security, and human health nexus. This work is intended to help public health officials, researchers, and relevant stakeholders investigate and understand current and future risks, and inform adaptation efforts to protect the health of Canadians.

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Resilience and reactivity of global food security

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1507366112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (22) ◽

pp. 6902-6907 ◽

Cited By ~ 102

Author(s):

Samir Suweis ◽

Joel A. Carr ◽

Amos Maritan ◽

Andrea Rinaldo ◽

Paolo D’Odorico

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food System ◽

Trade Policies ◽

Global Food Security ◽

The Past ◽

The Stability ◽

The Relationship ◽

Global Population ◽

Global Food ◽

Country Specific

The escalating food demand by a growing and increasingly affluent global population is placing unprecedented pressure on the limited land and water resources of the planet, underpinning concerns over global food security and its sensitivity to shocks arising from environmental fluctuations, trade policies, and market volatility. Here, we use country-specific demographic records along with food production and trade data for the past 25 y to evaluate the stability and reactivity of the relationship between population dynamics and food availability. We develop a framework for the assessment of the resilience and the reactivity of the coupled population–food system and suggest that over the past two decades both its sensitivity to external perturbations and susceptibility to instability have increased.

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Food Security and the Dynamics of Wheat and Maize Value Chains in Africa and Asia

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.3389/fsufs.2020.617009 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Author(s):

Ulrike Grote ◽

Anja Fasse ◽

Trung Thanh Nguyen ◽

Olaf Erenstein

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Food Systems ◽

Food System ◽

Green Revolution ◽

Value Chains ◽

World Population ◽

System Transformation ◽

Maize Production ◽

Long Run

There is an ongoing debate about how best to feed the growing world population in the long run and associated implications for research and development. Some call for a new Green Revolution to secure the supply of staple foods, whereas others emphasize the importance of diversifying and improving people's diets. We aim to contribute to this debate by reviewing the case of wheat and maize value chains and their contribution to food security in Africa and Asia. We first identify drivers transforming food systems. We then apply these to the cereal value chains and disentangle their effects on food security. We thereby add to the three strands in the literature around production, consumption, and food system transformation and point to different research needs and recommendations for the future. The review highlights: (1) Wheat and maize production will be increasingly impaired by ecological drivers such as land degradation, water scarcity and climate change. (2) There are promising innovations to increase and maintain productivity, but constraints in adopting these innovations have to be overcome (i.e., access to seeds, finance, and education/training). (3) The drivers affect all four dimensions of food security, but first and foremost they determine the availability and stability of maize and wheat. This indirectly also influences the economic and physical access of people to maize and wheat. (4) Research tends to focus on improving the productivity and sustainability of wheat and maize farming which is largely interlinked with the availability dimension of food security. (5) The stability and utilization dimension of food security merits continued yet increased support. First, to address climate change and implications for biotic and abiotic stresses. Second, to promote healthier diets and enable the equitable transformation of food systems.

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