Search Results (393)

This study investigates the empirical links between climatic/socio-economic factors and Consumer Price Food Indices (CPFIs) across 47 advanced and emerging economies from 2001 to 2022. Utilizing a balanced panel dataset compiled from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, FAO databases, and UNDP Human Development Reports, the analysis applies fixed-effects and random-effects panel data models to evaluate the drivers of food price dynamics. The empirical results reveal that socio-economic variables, specifically the Human Development Index (HDI), food price inflation, and agricultural productivity, are consistently associated with food indices, underscoring the critical role of structural development and nominal inflationary pressures. Climatic factors, particularly temperature anomalies, also exert a significant impact: a one-degree Celsius increase in temperature anomalies is associated with a 0.82-unit rise in the food price index level, whereas expansions in forest area and agricultural land are linked to price reductions. These findings indicate that food price dynamics are shaped by the intricate interplay of climate variability and socio-economic conditions. Consequently, policy recommendations emphasize targeted investments in socio-economic development, climate adaptation measures (including support for climate-resilient agriculture), and sustainable land management (forest conservation and optimized land use) to enhance food system resilience and support long-term food security. Full article

Sorghum is a strategic food-security and livestock-feed crop in Africa, and molecular characterization of its germplasm underpins genetic diversity assessment and hybrid parent selection. This study evaluated 106 sorghum accessions (23 A-lines, 28 B-lines, 32 R-lines, and 23 hybrids) from ICRISAT and Seed Co gene banks using 79 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers. Genetic diversity, population structure, cluster analysis, and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) were assessed to support heterotic grouping. Gene diversity ranged from 0.23 in R-lines to 0.32 in hybrids, and polymorphic information content from 0.19 to 0.26, indicating moderate marker discriminatory power. Population structure analysis identified an optimum of K = 3: Cluster 1 comprised paired A- and B-lines forming a putative maintainer pool, Cluster 2 was dominated by R-lines forming a divergent restorer pool, and Cluster 3 formed a second seed-parent subgroup. AMOVA confirmed highly significant differentiation (ΦST = 0.55; p < 0.001), with molecular variance partitioned among the three clusters (44.0%), among individuals within clusters (45.2%), and among breeding-line types (10.8%). These findings provide a genomic framework for assigning sorghum accessions to putative heterotic groups and accelerating hybrid parent selection for climate-resilient sorghum production. Full article

This study investigates the long-term impacts of climate change on crop yields by analyzing global historical data from 1961 to 2024 across 25 selected countries, to to reveal how historical weather patterns affected crop yields in the most vulnerable regions of the world. Utilizing crop yield data from FAOSTAT and weather time series from the World Bank Climate Knowledge Portal, three distinct climate risk groups of countries were defined: Group 1 (strong warming, stable precipitation), Group 2 (no significant warming, strong precipitation decrease), and Group 3 (mild warming, strong precipitation decrease). A Linear Mixed-Effects Model (LMM) was employed to quantify the non-linear impacts and interactions of climate variables, including annual temperature maximums, minimums, precipitation, warm and cold spell durations, and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, on primary staple and cash crops. Results reveal a stark regional asymmetry. In temperate regions (Group 1), agrotechnological advancements have successfully cushioned climate shocks over the past decades, although this buffering effect faces biophysical limits due to non-linear temperature thresholds, particularly for root crops like potatoes and sugarbeet. In tropical–subtropical areas (Group 2) and the Mediterranean (Group 3), climate extremes exert severe pressure on vital crops. Prolonged warm spells significantly reduce yields for perennials like bananas, coffee, and dates, while other Mediterranean crops like olives thrive under longer warm spells. While country-specific institutional capacities often generate substantial yield heterogeneity, major exceptions emerge for staple crops like wheat in Group 2 and barley in Group 3, where low Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) demonstrate that regional climatic drivers override national boundaries. The findings underscore that universal climate strategies are inefficient, and policymakers must prioritize crop-specific and localized adaptation frameworks for future food security. Full article

Access to safe, nutritious, and sustainable food remains a major challenge in many Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where food insecurity, malnutrition, and foodborne diseases frequently coexist. Despite growing recognition of the interconnections between food safety, nutrition security, and sustainability, monitoring systems often assess these dimensions separately, limiting the effectiveness of policy interventions. This study conducted a structured methodological review and framework development study of indicators used to monitor food safety, nutrition security, and sustainability within food systems, with particular emphasis on LMIC contexts. Peer-reviewed literature and internationally recognized monitoring frameworks, drawn from Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and institutional repositories including FAO, WHO, World Bank, and GAIN, were systematically reviewed, yielding 75 sources encompassing 54 peer-reviewed articles and 21 institutional reports, from which 47 indicators were identified and assessed. Indicators were evaluated according to relevance, data availability, methodological robustness, and policy actionability. The review identified a core set of ten operationally relevant indicators, including the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS), Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W), Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), foodborne disease burden indicators, cost of a healthy diet, and post-harvest loss rates. Building on these findings, an integrated indicator selection framework is proposed to support context-specific monitoring and decision-making in LMICs. The results suggest the value of a One Health approach that links human, animal, and environmental health, and three One Health interface indicators, antimicrobial resistance prevalence in food chain isolates, zoonotic disease incidence attributable to food, and pesticide residue exceedance rate in fresh produce, are explicitly integrated into the proposed framework with LMIC-specific implementation pathways. A key limitation of this review is that it did not employ formal systematic methods and may not have exhaustively identified all relevant indicators across the full breadth of the published literature. Full article

Limited access to quality seed constrains vegetable productivity and food security in Uganda, where informal seed systems remain central to farmers’ access to seed but are inadequately documented and largely unregulated. This study documented vegetable seed production and management practices, identified opportunities and constraints within informal seed systems, and examined the role of community seed banks in strengthening seed security. Using a mixed-method approach, quantitative surveys and key informant interviews were conducted with seed producers, seed traders, and community seed bank leaders across Uganda. Study respondents were predominantly men, with most respondents aged ≥35 years, despite women’s and youth’s primary role in vegetable production. Respondents reported key seed management constraints of seed storage pests, low-quality seeds, inconsistent market supply and price fluctuations, limited capital, and weak regulatory oversight. Seed treatment practices primarily consisted of sun-drying and plant-based pesticides, while seed quality assessment relied largely on experience and visual inspection, using cues such as seed color, size, and cleanliness, with limited use of standardized testing. Given that most vegetable growers obtain seeds through community-based seed channels, strengthening actors’ capacity to produce and supply high-quality seed is essential for sustaining vegetable production, improving farmer incomes, and enhancing food and nutrition security. Full article

The conservation of local poultry genetic resources requires complementary ex situ strategies, particularly when live populations are maintained at a single location. Previous gene bank insemination trials with frozen–thawed semen from Norwegian conserved lines showed acceptable subjective post-thaw motility but unexpectedly low fertilization success, highlighting the need for objective quality-control assessment. The aim of this study was to establish an objective cryobank quality-control baseline for frozen–thawed semen from two Norwegian conserved rooster lines. Specifically, the study evaluated whether routinely applied objective semen-quality assessment methods, including computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) and flow-cytometric viability assessment, could detect differences between rooster lines and post-thaw handling conditions. Cryopreserved semen doses collected in 2018 and stored in the Norwegian poultry gene bank were thawed and evaluated from 24 roosters representing the Jærhøns and NorBrid8 lines. The samples were originally collected as part of the routine cryopreservation activities of the Norwegian poultry gene bank and therefore did not require specific approval from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet). Post-thaw semen quality was assessed using CASA and flow-cytometric viability analysis. The effects of line and short-term refrigerated holding were evaluated using mixed-effects models, supported by minimum detectable effect calculations, correlation analysis, and principal component analysis. Short-term post-thaw refrigerated holding reduced several CASA-derived motility and velocity traits, while viability assessment provided complementary information on membrane integrity. Line-associated differences in selected motility traits and substantial rooster-to-rooster variability in all traits were observed. Multivariate analyses identified major dimensions of covariance among sperm-quality traits without implying direct biological mechanisms of fertility failure. CASA and flow-cytometric viability assessment can provide an objective baseline for cryobank quality control of frozen–thawed rooster semen. However, fertility trials and molecular sperm-integrity markers are required to determine the biological causes of the previously observed discrepancy between motility and fertility. Full article

In this article, we analyze the relationship between agricultural support measures and food import dependency for a 52-country sample from 1985 to 2017 using databases from the World Bank, the Center for Systemic Peace, and the Groningen Center for Growth and Development. Using an instrumental variable framework, we apply a continuous treatment effect and control for endogeneity to describe the extent of food import dependency in response to domestic support for agriculture. Our results suggest heterogeneous associations for aggregate food import dependency at different levels of political aid intensity, while our analysis further reveals nonlinear dose–response patterns, suggesting that moderate levels of agricultural support are associated with lower food import dependency, whereas very high support intensities are not systematically associated with additional reductions. Although estimates of dose–response functions confirm that countries providing moderate support to agriculture tend to exhibit lower levels of agri-food import dependency, these findings should nevertheless be interpreted cautiously given the potential limitations regarding instrument validity and data availability. The primary contribution of our study is the explicit modeling of heterogeneous treatment intensity effects and potential endogeneity. These findings should therefore be interpreted as conditional empirical associations rather than definitive causal effects. Full article

Lupinus is recognized as a nutrient-dense legume rich in protein, raw fiber, antioxidants, and unsaturated fatty acids, contributing significantly to human nutrition and health. In Ecuador, the Andean Crops and Plant Genetic Resources program of INIAP maintains a germplasm bank comprising 257 uncharacterized accessions. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional and phytochemical composition of ten promising sweet Lupin genotypes (L. mutabilis) exhibiting good agronomic characteristics, resistance and/or tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, superior grain quality and significantly reduced seed alkaloid content in experimental trails. These genotypes were compared with two accessions of L. albus and L. angustifolius used as control genotypes. Except for carbohydrate content, L. mutabilis genotypes exhibited similar or superior nutritional profiles compared to genotype controls with high protein (44.7%), fat (19.91%), and ash (4.16%) contents and reduced alkaloid concentrations, notably, two genotypes LmAnds16 and LmFRs43 with 0.04%. However, it exhibited the highest polyphenol (8.84 mg·g⁻¹) and flavonoid (0.67 mg·g⁻¹) concentrations and antioxidant activity for ABTS (19.94 µmol TE·g⁻¹) and FRAP (300.30 µmol TE·g⁻¹) on a dry weight basis (DW). These results are important for the generation of new varieties of Lupinus focused on its nutritional quality and to produce nutraceutical and functional foods. Full article

Improving cultivated land use efficiency (CLUE) is a crucial pathway to solve China’s food security challenges. In recent years, the development of digital inclusive finance (DIF) has transformed the economic effects of input and output in the cultivated land utilization process. Employing Yangtze River Delta as the experimental area, which represents one of China’s most densely populated regions with the most acute arable land scarcity per capita, this study utilized a super-efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM) model that incorporated undesirable outputs to measure CLUE using a balanced panel data of 25 prefecture-level cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 2011 to 2023. Additionally, this study employed panel regression analysis combined with a mediation effect model to examine the impact of DIF on CLUE. The findings are as follows. (1) CLUE exhibits an upward trend throughout the study period, with significant improvements noted in the northwest regions, and evolves into a spatial distribution of “high in the northwest and low in the south.” (2) DIF effectively enhances CLUE, supported by extensive robustness tests. (3) Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of DIF on CLUE varies systematically across contexts: it peaks in regions undergoing medium-level urbanization, remains most potent under extremely low credit availability, and is optimized by moderate bank outlet coverage. (4) Mechanism analysis demonstrates that the DIF positively influences CLUE by increasing fixed-asset investment in the primary industry. Based on these results, this study provides targeted policy recommendations for digital inclusive finance to serve the high-quality development of cultivated land utilization. Full article

Background/Objectives: Many individuals facing food insecurity make tradeoff decisions between spending money on food or other basic needs. In addition, many engage in coping strategies to stretch food budgets or make food last longer. There is limited data on how participation in food assistance programs is associated with use of tradeoffs or coping strategies among households experiencing food insecurity. Methods: A secondary analysis of 2021, 2022 and 2023 cross-sectional state-wide survey on food access, including questions on use of tradeoffs and coping mechanisms, and participation in food assistance programs (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, school meals or food pantries). Prevalences of tradeoffs and coping strategies by food assistance use were determined. Multivariable logistic regression models determined odds of tradeoffs and coping strategies reported by food-insecure households. Results: Overall, 85% of respondents reported making any tradeoffs and 90% reported any coping strategy use in the prior year. Any food assistance program participation was associated with higher prevalences of making any tradeoff compared to not participating in food assistance programs (89% vs. 78%, p < 0.001) and a higher prevalence of engaging in any coping strategy (92% vs. 84%, p < 0.001). Food assistance participation was associated with increased odds of making any tradeoff (OR 1.82 95% CI 1.39, 2.39) or any coping strategy (1.85, 95% CI 1.22, 2.80). Conclusions: Meeting food assistance program income eligibility requirements is likely a marker of poverty that extends beyond food insecurity. Food assistance is necessary but insufficient to meet family needs. Full article

Introduction: Elasmobranchs are an important component of deep-water and slope ecosystems, playing a key role in benthic and demersal food webs. Many species inhabiting offshore banks of the northeastern Atlantic are characterized by low productivity and high sensitivity to fishing pressure, which makes fishery-independent assessments particularly relevant. The Porcupine Bank supports a diverse assemblage of deep-water sharks and skates, yet quantitative information derived from standardized trawl surveys remains essential to characterize community structure and support ecosystem-based management. This study aims to provide an updated overview of the composition, relative abundance, biomass, and occurrence of elasmobranch species on the Porcupine Bank. Methodology: Data were collected during the Porcupine bottom trawl survey carried out in September–October 2023. The survey used a stratified random sampling design by depth and comprised a total of 88 valid demersal trawl hauls. Results: A total of 23 elasmobranch species belonging to four orders (Carcharhiniformes, Squaliformes, Rajiformes, and Hexanchiformes) were recorded. The assemblage was dominated by deep-water sharks, particularly squaliforms and carcharhiniforms. Galeus melastomus was the most dominant species, showing the highest stratified mean biomass and abundance and occurring in the majority of hauls. Other abundant and recurrent species included Etmopterus spinax, Scyliorhinus canicula, and Deania calceus. Skates of the genera Dipturus and Leucoraja were less abundant but showed consistent occurrences across depth strata. Several deep-water species, such as Apristurus spp. and Rajella fyllae, were recorded only sporadically, with very low abundances and limited occurrence. Conclusions: The results highlight the predominance of small- to medium-sized deep-water sharks on the Porcupine Bank and the comparatively lower contribution of rajid skates. This study provides a robust description of elasmobranch assemblage structure based on standardized sampling and constitutes a valuable baseline for future monitoring and comparative assessments in offshore Atlantic ecosystems. Full article

This study characterized 58 Phaseolus spp. accessions conserved in the INIA–Amazonas Germplasm Bank (Peru) using an integrated agromorphological, physicochemical, and microstructural approach. Significant variability was observed among vegetative, reproductive, and seed-related traits, reflecting the broad phenotypic diversity of Andean germplasm. Cluster analysis identified groups with contrasting agronomic characteristics, particularly regarding plant height, number of pods per plant, and seed weight. Physicochemical analyses revealed significant differences in colorimetric parameters, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity among accessions. Darker-seeded accessions generally exhibited higher phenolic contents and greater antioxidant capacity. In addition, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, rheological analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed differences in molecular composition, starch functionality, and granule morphology among accessions. Overall, the evaluated germplasm exhibited substantial phenotypic and biochemical diversity, underscoring its potential value for breeding programs and food-related applications. These findings contribute to the conservation, sustainable utilization, and valorization of native bean genetic resources. Full article

Food waste research often applies the Motivation–Opportunity–Ability (MOA) framework, yet conventional aggregate measures may obscure the distinct roles of physical context and cognition-related capacity. Using a macro-contextual, micro-primary dual-layer design, this study first uses World Bank data from 176 countries to provide structural context; this macro layer is not statistically linked to the student-level model. The main behavioral inference comes from matched plate-weighing and questionnaire data from 170 students across two purposively selected ordinary higher education institutions in northern and southern China. Within this exploratory and context-specific micro-level sample, the baseline three-dimensional MOA model explains only 4.1% of variance in log-transformed plate waste, whereas decomposing Opportunity into social and physical components and representing the Ability extension through behavioral ability and a two-item cognitive-capacity proxy improves model fit. The five-dimensional model explains 44.1% of variance ($F=26.2$, $p<0.001$). Johnson relative weight analysis indicates that Physical Opportunity (51.1%) and the two-item cognitive-capacity proxy (46.3%) account for most explained MOA variance in this sample. Item-level sensitivity checks further suggest that portion estimation and nutrition knowledge should be interpreted as distinct cognition-related indicators rather than as a validated latent scale. Robustness checks across raw, log-transformed, winsorized, logistic, and quantile specifications indicate consistent positive associations for Physical Opportunity and consistent negative associations for cognition-related indicators. Because the design is cross-sectional, these findings identify associations rather than causal effects; physical-environment redesign and cognitive-capacity support should therefore be treated as candidate directions for future intervention testing rather than as confirmed intervention effects. By linking objectively measured plate waste to institutional dining conditions, the study contributes to sustainability research on responsible consumption, resource efficiency, low-carbon campus operations, and practical pathways for reducing avoidable food-related environmental burdens in university settings. Full article

The assessment of humanity’s ecological footprint has become increasingly critical in contemporary discourse due to growing environmental challenges. This study examines the economic evaluation of the ecological footprint with a particular focus on forest ecosystem services and food productivity. Using harmonized secondary data from FAOSTAT, EUROSTAT, the World Bank, and IPBES, the analysis covers selected developed and emerging economies, including the European Union, the United States, China, Brazil, and other representative countries. This study investigates the macroeconomic implications of natural capital degradation by applying a panel data econometric model to European Union countries over the period 2010–2023. Moving beyond descriptive approaches, the research formulates and tests three hypotheses linking biodiversity, environmental pressure, and green transition variables to economic performance. Using harmonized data from Eurostat and Statista, the study employs a fixed-effects regression framework to estimate the impact of biodiversity indicators, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy share, and environmental protection expenditures on GDP per capita. The results demonstrate that biodiversity preservation and resource efficiency are positively associated with economic performance, while environmental degradation—proxied by greenhouse gas emissions—exerts a statistically significant negative effect. Additionally, the findings confirm that investments in renewable energy and environmental protection contribute to long-term economic stability. By providing a transparent data structure, explicit variable operationalization, and reproducible econometric specification, the study offers an original empirical contribution to ecological economics and addresses the limitations of prior literature that relied primarily on descriptive synthesis. Full article

This paper examines whether total factor productivity (TFP) in Israeli agriculture has genuinely slowed or declined in recent years, or whether the reported trend is primarily driven by methodological choices, data limitations, and measurement error. We compare two widely used approaches to TFP measurement—those of the Bank of Israel and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—which differ in their definitions of output, treatment of inputs, and assumptions regarding factor shares. We reconstruct and refine the underlying datasets, addressing important limitations in the existing measures, including the omission of foreign labor, inconsistencies in agricultural land measurement, and the application of non-representative input shares. Despite data improvements and methodological adjustments, both approaches yield similar qualitative conclusions. Following rapid increase in earlier decades, TFP growth in Israeli agriculture appears to have stagnated or declined since the early 2010s. A decomposition of output growth further indicates that recent production patterns have been driven primarily by greater input intensity per unit of land rather than by technological progress or efficiency gains. As a result, agricultural output has shown little or no net growth over the past decade. We discuss potential explanations for this slowdown, including climate change, the growing reliance on reclaimed and other marginal water sources, and the long-term decline in agricultural research and development (R&D) investment relative to sectoral output. Overall, the findings suggest that the productivity slowdown is real rather than an artifact of measurement and underscore the need for renewed investment in agricultural innovation and climate adaptation to sustain domestic production and strengthen food security. Full article