Sustainability

Whether digital connectivity and tertiary education participation are associated with productivity growth is relevant to sustainable development because it concerns conditions for more efficient growth. Using two-way fixed effects, linear interaction, and panel threshold models, this study examines the relationship between a connectivity-based digitalization measure and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in middle-income economies and whether gross tertiary enrollment serves as a linear moderator or threshold variable. The balanced panel covers 312 observations for 26 economies over 2011–2022, identified under the World Bank’s fiscal year 2011 (FY2011) historical income classification. Annual TFP growth is calculated from Penn World Table 11.0; digitalization is measured by a three-indicator principal component index. Because the two-way fixed-effects estimates are identified from limited residual country-year variation in digitalization, they concern short-run within-country associations rather than long-run cross-country differences. The digitalization coefficient is not statistically significant with country-clustered standard errors, and there is insufficient statistical support for linear moderation or a common gross tertiary enrollment threshold. Alternative measures, pandemic-year exclusions, and complementary-panel results do not change these hypothesis decisions. The findings should not be interpreted causally. Gross tertiary enrollment alone may not represent the broader absorptive capacity and complementary conditions associated with translating digital connectivity into productivity growth.

This study examines how Japanese farm management entities perceive multiple agricultural risks and investigates the relationship between these perceptions and their socioeconomic characteristics. Questionnaire surveys were conducted among certified farmers in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, in 2015 and 2026, and the respondents were classified using hierarchical cluster analysis based on Ward’s method. The results revealed that across both survey years, human risks (such as illness and succession failures) were consistently perceived as the most critical threats owing to the predominantly family-operated nature of Japanese farms. Production, financial, and institutional risks were viewed as moderately important, whereas technological risks were relatively low. Notably, market risks related to agricultural production inputs and commodity prices showed differential patterns: While the perceived impact was relatively modest in 2015, the perceived occurrence frequency was notably high. By 2026, both perceived impact and frequency increased substantially, reflecting a surge in the input price index and rice prices during the mid-2020s period. Furthermore, cluster analysis identified suggestive associations between socioeconomic characteristics, such as age, agricultural sales, and farming sector, and risk perception patterns; however, statistical tests showed no statistically significant associations, indicating that these relationships warrant further investigation with larger sample sizes. The findings of this study provide an important foundation for formulating risk management strategies and agricultural policies tailored to the conditions of individual farms in Japan. These results may inform comparative research on other East Asian rice-based systems, warranting further cross-regional investigations.

Disposal of by-products from the food industry, such as spent mushroom substrate (SMS) from Pleurotus ostreatus cultivation, poses environmental concerns and its use in animal production may reduce environmental degradation and costs. The aim of the present study was to evaluate SMS as a bedding material in broiler farming. A total of 104 Cobb500 chickens were randomly assigned to an SMS group and a control group, with SMS or wheat straw as bedding material, respectively, and reared for 42 days. Weekly data on performance, litter physicochemical characteristics, welfare and behavior parameters were recorded. On day 42, eight birds per treatment were slaughtered for meat quality and immune parameters evaluation. Utilization of SMS as bedding material increased final body weight by 176 g (3070 g vs. 2894 g, p < 0.05), without significantly affecting the other performance and meat quality traits evaluated (p > 0.05). Reduced footpad lesion, hock burn, cleaner plumage and improved walking ability scores were observed in the SMS group (p < 0.05). The percentage of birds engaged in substrate pecking increased, from 4.97% in the control group to 6.49% in the SMS group, whereas walking and dustbathing behaviors tended to increase (p < 0.1). Among the immunological parameters tested, a higher monocyte percentage, reduced T lymphocyte percentage and elevated heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio were determined for SMS birds (p < 0.05). In conclusion, SMS is a bedding alternative that may support broiler performance and welfare, contributing to a potential strategy for circular-economy approaches for sustainable poultry and mushroom production systems.