Analysis Food Demand of Java Households with Aids Model Estimates

<p>The quantity and quality of food consumed by the community are determined by the price level and household income. Household food expenditure share is still dominated by rice commodities. The aims of this study are 1) to analyze the level of household expenditure on food in Java and (2) to analyze the expenditure elasticity and price elasticity of household food demand in Java. The data used was March 2015, 2016, and 2017 SUSENAS data. Household consumption data was estimated using the AIDS Model. The results showed that household food expenditure share for medium and low-income groups (Q3 and Q4) for urban and rural areas was more than 50 percent. This shows that the household is food insecure. The own-price elasticity for all commodities is negative and inelastic. Changes in food prices do not significantly affect changes in demand for food commodities because their elasticity is inelastic. Household food demand is more influenced by food prices than household income for food commodities except for rice commodities. Rice has elastic expenditure elasticity (means that food demand is very responsive to changes in household expenditure/income. The relationship between each commodity is almost entirely negative (complementary).</p>

The future of animal-source food demand and supply in Africa

Demand for animal-source foods (ASF) has grown substantially in Africa over the last four decades, fueled mainly by population growth, urbanization, and modest gains in per capita incomes. Further growth over the medium and longer terms is expected as these trends in external drivers continue, with implications of this growth reflecting a multitude of economic, environmental, and public health trade-offs. This paper provides a focused, forward-looking perspective on key emerging issues around changes in ASF consumption and supply in Africa.

A new roadmap for the breeding of disease-resistant and high-yield crops

Breeding of disease-resistant and high-yield crops is essential to meet the increasing food demand of the global population. However, the breeding of such crops remains a significant challenge for scientists and breeders. Two recent discoveries may help to overcome this challenge: the discovery of a novel molecular framework to fine-tune disease resistance and yields that includes epigenetic regulation of antagonistic immune receptors, and the discovery of a Ca2+ sensor-mediated immune repression network that enables the transfer of subspecies-specific and broad-spectrum disease resistance. These breakthroughs provide a promising roadmap for the future breeding of disease resistant crops.

Epigenome and Epitranscriptome: Potential Resources for Crop Improvement

Crop breeding faces the challenge of increasing food demand, especially under climatic changes. Conventional breeding has relied on genetic diversity by combining alleles to obtain desired traits. In recent years, research on epigenetics and epitranscriptomics has shown that epigenetic and epitranscriptomic diversity provides additional sources for crop breeding and harnessing epigenetic and epitranscriptomic regulation through biotechnologies has great potential for crop improvement. Here, we review epigenome and epitranscriptome variations during plant development and in response to environmental stress as well as the available sources for epiallele formation. We also discuss the possible strategies for applying epialleles and epitranscriptome engineering in crop breeding.

Potentials and perspectives of food self-sufficiency in urban areas—a case study from Leipzig

Regionalization of food systems is a potential strategy to support environmental, economic and social sustainability. However, local preconditions need to be considered to assess the feasibility of such a transformation process. To better understand the potentials and perspectives of food self-sufficiency in urban and peri-urban areas, we determined the food self-sufficiency level (SSL) of a German metropolitan region, i.e., the percentage of the food demand that could be potentially provided on existing agricultural land. Main input parameters were actual food demand, agricultural productivity and its temporal variability and land availability. Furthermore, we considered changes in diet, food losses and land management. Based on current diets and agricultural productivity, the administrative region of Leipzig achieved a mean SSL of 94%, ranging from 77 to 116%. Additionally, an area of 26,932 ha, representing 12% of the regionally available agricultural land, was needed for commodities that are not cultivated regionally. Changes in food demand due to a diet shift to a more plant-based diet and reduced food losses would increase the SSL by 29 and 17%, respectively. A shift to organic agriculture would decrease the SSL by 34% due to lower crop yields compared with conventional production. However, a combination of organic agriculture with less food loss and a more plant-based diet would lead to a mean SSL of 95% (75–115%). Our results indicate the feasibility of food system regionalization in the study area under current and potential near future conditions. Addressing a combination of multiple dimensions, for example plant-based and healthier diets combined with reduced food loss and organic farming, is the most favorable approach to increase food self-sufficiency in urban and peri-urban areas and simultaneously provide synergies with social and environmental objectives.

Functional Genomics for Plant Breeding

To face the rapidly growing world human population, an increase in agricultural productivity and production is necessary to overcome the enhanced food demand [...]