scholarly journals Legumes as a Cornerstone of the Transition Toward More Sustainable Agri-Food Systems and Diets in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Ferreira ◽  
Elisabete Pinto ◽  
Marta W. Vasconcelos
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Major Protein ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Gastrointestinal Side Effects ◽  
Legume Production

Legume grains are important sources of nutrients in human and animal diets and have been so for millennia. Their history as part of traditional diets dates to the origins of agriculture when their benefits for soil health and agricultural productivity started to be realized, mostly empirically, by farmers. In time, legumes have lost their popularity as human food, either because of a negative connotation as “poor man's meat,” occasional gastrointestinal side effects, or habitually longer preparation times when compared to other types of plant foods. Also, the steep rise in the consumption of meat derived foods in the last half of a century has taken a toll on replacing legumes as a major protein source. Alongside this negative trend in consumption, a negative drift in production was also observed, especially in Europe, where legumes currently occupy a minimal fraction of agricultural land. One of the main factors is a loss in competitive edge amongst farmers due to sustained lower public and private investments in breeding programs and legume adapted technology for planting, managing, harvesting, processing, and storing, when compared to cereals. Recently, increased awareness of the need to move to sustainable food systems is revitalizing legume production and consumption in Europe, leading to a compilation of policies and initiatives that aim to put legumes again as foundations for this transition. Legumes have been reinvented in a multitude of products (drinks, cereal bars, bread, meat replacers, snacks, flours, and several others) and included in farming systems of conservation agriculture, organic production, intercropping, and crop rotation, combining ancient traditions of legume production “with a spin,” incorporating new legume technological knowledge in farming systems. However, the transition has been slow and hampered by many cultural, societal, political, and economic impediments. This paper summarizes initiatives that aim to enable the comeback of legumes and their placement in a more prominent position in human diets and agricultural fields and highlights strategies that aim at overcoming the obstacles that impede achieving the development of more sustainable agri-food systems and sustainable diets in Europe.

scholarly journals A global database of diversified farming effects on biodiversity and yield

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K. Jones ◽  
Andrea C. Sánchez ◽  
Stella D. Juventia ◽  
Natalia Estrada-Carmona
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Global Database ◽  
Diversified Farming Systems

AbstractWith the Convention on Biological Diversity conference (COP15), United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and United Nations Food Systems Summit, 2021 is a pivotal year for transitioning towards sustainable food systems. Diversified farming systems are key to more sustainable food production. Here we present a global dataset documenting outcomes of diversified farming practices for biodiversity and yields compiled following best standards for systematic review of primary studies and specifically designed for use in meta-analysis. The dataset includes 4076 comparisons of biodiversity outcomes and 1214 of yield in diversified farming systems compared to one of two reference systems. It contains evidence from 48 countries of effects on species from 33 taxonomic orders (spanning insects, plants, birds, mammals, eukaryotes, annelids, fungi, and bacteria) of diversified farming systems producing annual or perennial crops across 12 commodity groups. The dataset presented provides a resource for researchers and practitioners to easily access information on where diversified farming systems effectively contribute to biodiversity and food production outcomes.

Evaluating the capacity of small farmers to adopt aquaponics systems: empirical evidence from Brazil

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Alexandria Brewer ◽  
Jose F. Alfaro ◽  
Tadeu Fabricio Malheiros
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Product Placement ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Farmers ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Abstract Aquaponics technology has recently been offered as a good option for sustainable food systems among small-scale farmers, particularly those seeking an organic production or dealing with land quality constraints, such as urban farmers. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence for the capacity of small farmers to adopt the technology. The unique requirements of aquaponics may create technical, economic and even cultural constraints and opportunities. This paper uses empirical evidence gathered with small-scale farmers in São Carlos, State of São Paulo, Brazil, to present the capacity of adoption for the technology, including possible limiting factors and incentives for farmers. The study conducted interviews with owners of ‘agriculturas familiares’ (Portuguese for small family owned farms) within 30 km of São Carlos. The interviews revealed that there is widespread interest in the potential profitability of aquaponics systems, significant interest in environmentally friendly practices, familiarity with organic production and hydroponics and a large base of agricultural knowledge in the community that can drive adoption. However, lack of initial financing, limited human power and concerns about product placement were significant barriers to adoption. For settlement farmers (those working on land formerly abandoned) poor soil quality and water scarcity are key issues that could be alleviated by the technology. The city of Sao Carlos present program for purchasing specific types of products from these farms could be used as a model for increasing aquaponics adoption and relieving success concerns.

Implications of Land Grabbing on Sustainable Food Systems

2020 ◽  
pp. 109-125
Author(s):  
Agatha Osivweneta Ogbe ◽  
Sarah Edore Edewor
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Rural Poor ◽  
Income Generation ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food

Land is one of the most valuable assets required for agricultural production. In Africa, smallholder agricultural producers are faced with a lot of challenges that have highly impacted on productivity and sustainable food systems. The global demand for agricultural land for food and bio-fuel production has increasingly led to the emergence of land grabbing after the 2007-08 food price crisis. The rural poor are the victim of land grabbing as they are faced with declining farmlands, low income generation, and loss of livelihood activities. These have affected the food security status of the rural poor as farmlands are taken from them. The proponents of land grabbing revealed that developing countries are expected to benefit from investments inflow on grabbed land, development of infrastructure, increased income generation, and job creation. They argue that investment in agriculture is necessary to stimulate agricultural production; however, this situation has brought negative effects as most investors failed to keep their end of the transaction on land acquisition deals.

Organic Farming

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore J. K. Radovich
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Integrated Agriculture ◽  
Organic Products

Organic farming occupies a unique position among the world’s agricultural systems. While not the only available model for sustainable food production, organic farmers and their supporters have been the most vocal advocates for a fully integrated agriculture that recognizes a link between the health of the land, the food it produces, and those that consume it. Advocacy for the biological basis of agriculture and the deliberate restriction or prohibition of many agricultural inputs arose in response to potential and observed negative environmental impacts of new agricultural technologies introduced in the 20th century. A primary focus of organic farming is to enhance soil ecological function by building soil organic matter that in turn enhances the biota that soil health and the health of the agroecosystem depends on. The rapid growth in demand for organic products in the late 20th and early 21st centuries is based on consumer perception that organically grown food is better for the environment and human health. Although there have been some documented trends in chemical quality differences between organic and non-organic products, the meaningful impact of the magnitude of these differences is unclear. There is stronger evidence to suggest that organic systems pose less risk to the environment, particularly with regard to water quality; however, as intensity of management in organic farming increases, the potential risk to the environment is expected to also increase. In the early 21st century there has been much discussion centered on the apparent bifurcation of organic farming into two approaches: “input substitution” and “system redesign.” The former approach is a more recent phenomenon associated with pragmatic considerations of scaling up the size of operations and long distance shipping to take advantage of distant markets. Critics argue that this approach represents a “conventionalization” of organic agriculture that will erode potential benefits of organic farming to the environment, human health, and social welfare. A current challenge of organic farming systems is to reconcile the different views among organic producers regarding issues arising from the rapid growth of organic farming.

scholarly journals Preface

2021 ◽  
Vol 910 (1) ◽  
pp. 011001
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Technical Conference ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Contamination Levels ◽  
Community Improvement

Welcome to the Proceedings of the2021 Fourth International Conference for Agricultural and Sustainability Sciences (ICASS2021). (ICASS2021), which was held during 4-5 October 2021, Babil, Iraq. There are many practices usually used by people working in sustainable agriculture and sustainable food systems. Farmers may use techniques to improve soil health, reduce water usage, and lower contamination levels on the field. Customers concerned with sustainability can look for foods that are produced by environmentally friendly techniques. researchers in sustainable agriculture usually combine biology, economics, engineering, chemistry, community improvement, Though, sustainable agriculture is more than a bunch of practices. The International Conference on ICASS2021 will be a paramount and valuable event for scientists, researchers. Hosted by College of Agriculture/University of Al-Qasim Green, The aim was intended to provide a technical conference and research studies on food, agriculture, environment, pollution, and how these techniques are effective on community development0 The Conference of AL-Qasim green university aimed to attract researchers, academicians, scientists, students together to share and present the latest research findings, and applications related to multiple regards of agriculture engineering, organic agriculture, agribusiness, animal nutrition, animal production, veterinary sciences, food science and technology, Environment, Soil Pollution food safety, and sovereignty, IT for Agriculture, renewable energy and other researches.

A review on conservation agriculture (CA) and sustainable food production

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27
Author(s):  
Chandrabhan Bharti ◽  
Bulbul Ahmed ◽  
Alok Maurya
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Crop Diversification ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainable Environment ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Policy Frameworks ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Time And Energy

Conservation agriculture (CA) is a set of practices and procedures that ensures higher agricultural productivity and profitability along with the improvement of soil health and the sustainable environment. CA provides opportunities to reduce the cost of production, save water and nutrients, increase yields, increase crop diversification, improve efficient use of resources and benefits the environment. With CA, growers can save from 30% to 40% of time and energy as compared to conventional cropping. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop policy frameworks and strategies to promote CA region wise for the prevention of soil degradation, improvement of soil fertility and moisture.

scholarly journals Financial competitiveness of organic agriculture on a global scale

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (24) ◽  
pp. 7611-7616 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Crowder ◽  
John P. Reganold
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Farming Practices ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Benefit Cost

To promote global food and ecosystem security, several innovative farming systems have been identified that better balance multiple sustainability goals. The most rapidly growing and contentious of these systems is organic agriculture. Whether organic agriculture can continue to expand will likely be determined by whether it is economically competitive with conventional agriculture. Here, we examined the financial performance of organic and conventional agriculture by conducting a meta-analysis of a global dataset spanning 55 crops grown on five continents. When organic premiums were not applied, benefit/cost ratios (−8 to −7%) and net present values (−27 to −23%) of organic agriculture were significantly lower than conventional agriculture. However, when actual premiums were applied, organic agriculture was significantly more profitable (22–35%) and had higher benefit/cost ratios (20–24%) than conventional agriculture. Although premiums were 29–32%, breakeven premiums necessary for organic profits to match conventional profits were only 5–7%, even with organic yields being 10–18% lower. Total costs were not significantly different, but labor costs were significantly higher (7–13%) with organic farming practices. Studies in our meta-analysis accounted for neither environmental costs (negative externalities) nor ecosystem services from good farming practices, which likely favor organic agriculture. With only 1% of the global agricultural land in organic production, our findings suggest that organic agriculture can continue to expand even if premiums decline. Furthermore, with their multiple sustainability benefits, organic farming systems can contribute a larger share in feeding the world.

scholarly journals Living Mulches For Organic Farming Systems

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Leary ◽  
Joe DeFrank
Keyword(s):  
Pest Management ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Living Mulch ◽  
Organic System ◽  
Nutrient Runoff ◽  
Organic Farmers

An important aspect of organic farming is to minimize the detrimental impact of human intervention to the surrounding environment by adopting a natural protocol in system management. Traditionally, organic farming has focused on the elimination of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and a reliance on biological cycles that contribute to improving soil health in terms of fertility and pest management. Organic production systems are ecologically and economically sustainable when practices designed to build soil organic matter, fertility, and structure also mitigate soil erosion and nutrient runoff. We found no research conducted under traditional organic farming conditions, comparing bareground monoculture systems to systems incorporating the use of living mulches. We will be focusing on living mulch studies conducted under conventional methodology that can be extrapolated to beneficial uses in an organic system. This article discusses how organic farmers can use living mulches to reduce erosion, runoff, and leaching and also demonstrate the potential of living mulch systems as comprehensive integrated pest management plans that allow for an overall reduction in pesticide applications. The pesticide reducing potential of the living mulch system is examined to gain insight on application within organic agriculture.

scholarly journals Bangladesh Agriculture: A Review of Modern Practices and Proposal of a Sustainable Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Nazifa Tabassum ◽  
Fatema Rezwana
Keyword(s):  
Crop Rotation ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
General View ◽  
Cropping Pattern ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Secondary Information

Agriculture is the largest economic and employment sector in Bangladesh, accounting for 23 percent of its gross domestic product and 65 percent of its labour force. It has a total land area of 14,570 km2, with cultivated land accounting for 60% of the total land area. The population is still growing at a 1.37 percent annual rate, but cultivated land is shrinking at the same time. The agricultural land is being converted as a result of uncontrolled urbanization, industrialization, and an increase in human activity. Modern sustainable agricultural methods approach to agricultural innovations and farming practices that increase farmers’ efficiency and reduce the use of natural resources. This study uses secondary information to provide a general view on modern practices used in Bangladesh for sustainable agriculture (i.e., crop diversification, change in cropping pattern and rotations, integrated farming systems, etc.) and suggests a sustainable method (polyculture and crop rotation) based on SWOT and PESTEL analysis. This paper recommends that Bangladesh should adopt polyculture and crop rotation more to improve soil health and for higher crop resistance to plant pests that will hedge against a loss in agricultural sustainability.

scholarly journals Smallholder Farmer Innovation and Contexts in Maize-Based Conservation Agriculture Systems in Central Malawi

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Limson Kaluzi ◽  
Christian Thierfelder ◽  
David W. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Crop Residues ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Yield Enhancement ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
Linear Interaction ◽  
Ample Evidence

The increased threat of food insecurity and climate change requires more sustainable ways of agriculture intensification in African smallholder farming systems. Ample evidence confirms that maize-based conservation agriculture (CA) systems lead to increased soil health and yield enhancement yet their overall uptake remains low in Africa. An array of studies on challenges and solutions to CA systems conducted in southern Africa principally focussed on the views of scientists, often neglecting the views of CA farmers. Therefore, this study assessed farmer decision making, innovation and contexts during implementation of maize-based CA systems in communities of central Malawi. A survey involving interviews with 226 CA farmers was deployed, triangulated with key informants comprising extension workers and policy makers. The study showed that about 58% of smallholder farmers did not adapt CA practices to their circumstances because they were strictly following change agents’ recommendations. The major challenge noted was competition for crop residues due to mice hunters and grazing livestock. Local by-laws initiated by the communities have started to privatise the crop residues and its grazing. However, other innovations were often not documented by extension workers, consequently neglecting more than half of the potential solutions provided by farmers. The establishments of a National Conservation Agriculture Task Force and CA guidelines are positive developments for coordination of stakeholders and harmonisation of CA messages in Malawi. However, for greater adoption, non-linear interaction and learning must be encouraged in practice by fully embracing innovative farmers and the voices of the pool of stakeholders with varying experiences.

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