Search Results (1,717)

Insufficient farmer participation constrains sustainable agricultural water governance and collective action. Village-level agricultural water governance organizations connect institutional provision with farmers’ behavioral responses, but evidence on the association between their perceived institutional capacity (IC) and farmers’ willingness to participate in agricultural water governance (PW) remains limited. Using survey data from 1342 farmers across seven provincial-level regions in China, this study employed ordinary least squares with village-clustered standard errors, supplemented by multinomial logit analyses. The results show IC is positively and significantly associated with PW, with significant associations for relational resources and mobilization capacity but not knowledge resources. A significant indirect association through institutional trust suggests a potential pathway linking IC to PW. Cooperation level shows outcome-specific moderation: the IC association with the probability of reporting the highest willingness category is stronger at higher cooperation levels, whereas moderation on the PW score scale is not significant. Subgroup analysis indicates this association remains positive across groups defined by pollution-related harm experience, seasonal flow variability and village size. Further analysis shows that the association extends to information acquisition, decision-making involvement, governance monitoring, and pollution accountability willingness. These findings suggest the potential value of strengthening organizational capacities, institutional trust, cooperation, and diverse participation opportunities. Full article

Soil health is fundamental to sustainable agriculture, crop productivity, and vital ecosystem services. However, climate change increasingly threatens the functional integrity of soil due to rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, and extreme weather events. These factors accelerate soil degradation and disrupt the physical, chemical, and biological processes essential for maintaining soil health. This review synthesizes recent evidence regarding the impacts of climate change on soil health and crop production, while also evaluating sustainable management strategies designed to enhance agricultural resilience. Techniques such as conservation agriculture, organic matter management, diversified cropping systems, and integrated nutrient management can improve soil structure, nutrient cycling, water retention, carbon sequestration, and overall crop productivity. Furthermore, emerging technologies offer new opportunities for real-time, site-specific, and data-driven soil management. These technologies include remote sensing, geographic information systems, artificial intelligence, digital agriculture, and advanced soil monitoring tools. Additionally, policy and socioeconomic factors—particularly financial incentives, extension services, and institutional support—are critical in encouraging farmers to adopt these practices. Despite recent advancements, challenges such as economic barriers, technological limitations, regional variability, and a lack of long-term evidence hinder the widespread implementation of sustainable soil health practices. This review provides an integrated perspective that links climate-driven changes in soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties with sustainable management practices, emerging technologies, and policy support. It highlights the interactions and trade-offs among these components to promote climate-resilient and sustainable agricultural systems. Full article

Environmental microbiology provides essential tools for understanding and managing biological risks in sustainable agricultural systems. Organic farming, which prioritises closed nutrient cycles, soil biological activity and reduced reliance on synthetic inputs, exemplifies the principles of sustainable agriculture. Yet the same practices that support agroecosystem functioning—application of animal manure, outdoor livestock access and limited use of chemical disinfectants—can increase the environmental occurrence of pathogenic microorganisms, antimicrobial-resistance determinants and other biological contaminants. This review examines how concepts and methods of environmental microbiology can be adapted to strengthen pollution control, food safety and agroecosystem resilience in organic production. Major biological hazards are evaluated, including enteric bacteria (Campylobacter spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes), antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and resistance genes, foodborne viruses, intestinal parasites and mycotoxins (as secondary metabolites of filamentous fungi). Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is presented as a framework that links environmental occurrence data to public-health outcomes and identifies critical control points along the farm-to-fork continuum. Transmission pathways through organic fertilisers, soil, irrigation water and agricultural bioaerosols are analysed together with microbial survival strategies (biofilm formation, the viable-but-non-culturable state and internalisation into plant tissues). Available evidence indicates that microbiological risks appear to be driven more by management practices than by the organic or conventional production label itself; however, this conclusion must be interpreted with caution because comparative studies are frequently confounded by geographical area, livestock and housing type, farm size, climatic conditions, antimicrobial-use patterns, manure-treatment regimes and methodological differences. Validated composting, appropriate pre-harvest intervals, protection of water sources, biosecurity measures and continuous environmental monitoring effectively reduce pathogen dissemination while preserving the ecological benefits of organic farming. Lower antimicrobial resistance in organic livestock further contributes to pollution control within a One Health perspective. Occupational exposure to bioaerosols remains a relevant concern for farmers’ health, yet differences between organic and conventional systems are driven more by activity type and housing conditions than by certification status. By integrating environmental microbiology, quantitative risk assessment and practical management strategies, this review provides a distinctive One Health framework for adapting microbial knowledge to organic systems in a way that simultaneously advances pollution control, food safety and agroecosystem functioning. Importantly, elevated occurrence of a hazard does not automatically equate to elevated health risk; the latter requires quantitative exposure assessment within a QMRA framework. Full article

The green transformation of farmland is essential for reconciling agricultural production with ecological protection. Although previous studies have examined farmers’ individual characteristics and policy constraints, they have paid less attention to support from agricultural industry organizations. This study develops a framework linking perceived organizational support, technology perception, and willingness to invest in environmentally friendly agricultural production technologies. Using survey data collected in 2024 through one-on-one interviews with structured questionnaires from 725 muskmelon-growing households in Yuncheng (Shanxi Province) and Xi’an (Shaanxi Province), China, we estimated logit and ordinary least-squares models, tested mediation, corrected for non-random observation of positive willingness-to-pay amounts using a Heckman selection model, and examined heterogeneity by farmland fragmentation. Perceived organizational support was positively associated with both farmers’ willingness to invest and their stated maximum investment amount. Technology perception partially mediated these relationships, accounting for 3.42% of the total association with investment willingness and 25.80% of the total association with the stated investment amount. Subgroup estimates were consistently more positive among households operating fragmented farmland than among those operating concentrated farmland, although this difference requires a formal interaction test. These findings indicate that institutional, instrumental, and emotional support from agricultural industry organizations may facilitate smallholders’ transition toward environmentally friendly production. Full article

Intensive pesticide use raises concerns for environmental, human, and animal health, yet Europe-wide data on exposure remain fragmented. In this study, 224 pesticide residues were analysed in environmental and biological samples collected during the 2021 growing season across 10 European sites, covering conventional and organic farms. Samples included human (farmers, neighbours, consumers) and animal (cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, cats) matrices—urine, plasma, faeces, and silicone wristbands—as well as farm feed and environmental matrices including soil, earthworms, crops, water, sediment, outdoor air/dust, and indoor dust. Across all matrices, the top ten rankings based on detection frequency identified 63 priority compounds; 62 were detected in at least two matrices. Notably, non-approved pesticides accounted for 10–70% of the residues in the top ten across human, animal, and environmental samples. Detection frequencies and concentrations were generally higher in conventional than in organic systems, although differences were smaller than expected. The most frequently detected residues were glyphosate (in 9 of 16 matrices) and the banned persistent DDT metabolite p,p′ DDE (in 11 of 16 matrices). Overall, pesticide residues were widespread, mostly at low levels, across humans, animals, and environments in Europe. A One-Health-based harmonised monitoring and risk assessment approach is needed, including both approved and non-approved compounds. Full article

Digitalization is transforming the wine industry significantly. The application of different digital tools allows for more sustainable wine production practices, which is especially important in the age of climate change and the shift towards organic wine production. This study proposes an integrated methodological framework for assessing the sustainability value generated through digital vineyard management. The study integrates a systematic literature review of sustainability assessment in the wine sector and a case study with an estimation of managerial outputs resulting from digitalization and quantifies their sustainability value using the SROI (social return on investment) methodology. The literature review shows that SROI application within the wine industry is still an emerging research area and is more commonly used for assessing social farming initiatives. The case study demonstrates how digital vineyard management can generate measurable environmental and operational benefits and how these benefits can be translated into quantified sustainability value. The proposed framework shows a transparent pathway for quantifying value generated from digital information, decision-making and the resulting sustainability outcomes, contributing to the emerging field of digital sustainability assessment in viticulture. It can be useful for farmers, technology providers, policymakers and other stakeholders in understanding and communicating the sustainability impacts of digital technologies in vineyard management. Full article

The agroecological transition represents a key challenge for Mediterranean agricultural systems affected by demographic decline, agricultural contraction, land abandonment, and production reorganisation. This study analyses rural-landscape transformations in the Lucanian sector of the Murge-Alto Bradano Agroecological District through the lens of socio-ecological systems and landscape agroecology. A convergent mixed-methods case-study design was adopted, integrating agricultural census, land-use and livestock data, institutional information on organic farming, GIS analysis of historical rural infrastructures, and a survey of farms belonging to the district. The results show that agricultural contraction is accompanied by selective land-use reorganisation and changing relationships between crop and livestock systems. The diffusion of organic farming and specific production dynamics may support agroecological pathways, although they cannot be considered direct evidence of transition. Historical rural infrastructures highlight the persistence of agro-pastoral territorial patterns, while farmers’ perceptions reveal the dynamic and multidimensional nature of landscape change. The study provides an integrated framework for analysing Mediterranean rural landscapes by distinguishing observed transformations, signals compatible with agroecological pathways, enabling conditions, and evidence that remains insufficient to demonstrate transition outcomes. Full article

Conservation agriculture (CA) is widely promoted in sub-Saharan Africa as a means of improving soil health, yet evidence from farmer-managed systems remains limited, particularly for coarse-textured soils. We evaluated soil physical properties after at least five years of farmer-managed CA in Kavango East and Zambezi, Namibia, using adjacent conventionally tilled (CON) and natural-vegetation (NAT) reference fields. Measurements during the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 cropping seasons included penetration resistance (PR), bulk density (BD), soil texture, and mean weight diameter (MWD) as an index of aggregate stability. The soils were predominantly sandy (>85% sand and <11% clay). PR increased with depth and differed significantly by region and land-use system, with the highest values under NAT. BD differed between regions (p = 0.0171) but not among land-use systems and remained below 1.65 g cm⁻³. Aggregate stability showed the clearest land-use effect: mean MWD was 0.384 mm under both CA and CON, compared with 0.722 mm under NAT. Thus, after at least five years, farmer-managed CA did not produce detectable improvements in the measured soil physical properties relative to conventional tillage. The limited response may reflect the strongly sandy texture and partial implementation of CA principles, particularly limited residue retention and crop diversification. These findings highlight the importance of evaluating CA under real-world smallholder conditions and suggest that longer-term management with greater organic inputs may be required before physical improvements become detectable in these soils. Full article

Agroecology is increasingly considered a potential pathway for addressing the interconnected challenges of climate adaptation, food security, biodiversity conservation, and rural sustainability. However, how agroecological practices coexist with technological and external-input-based management remains insufficiently documented in semi-arid smallholder farming systems. This study assessed agroecological practice integration and management heterogeneity in Skoura M’Daz (SMDZ), a semi-arid mountain region of the Middle Atlas, Morocco. Structured surveys were conducted with 70 farmers across 22 villages and complemented by field observations. A six-component Agroecological Practice Intensity Index (AEPI; range 0–6) was developed to quantify the integration of selected agroecological practices, together with an Input Intensity Score (IIS) describing reliance on selected external-input and technology-mediated practices. The mean AEPI was 3.94/6 (65.7% of the maximum possible score), and 87% of farms implemented at least three of the six AEPI components. Agroforestry (71.4%), crop rotation (74.3%), and organic or mixed fertilization (91.4%) were widely represented among surveyed farms. Rural farms had a higher mean AEPI than urban/peri-urban farms (4.23 vs. 3.66); the difference reached the conventional significance threshold with Welch’s t-test (p = 0.0417) but not with the complementary Mann–Whitney test (p = 0.0664), indicating suggestive rather than unequivocal evidence of a territorial contrast. Rural location remained positively associated with the AEPI in multivariable analysis, including after adjustment for formal education in a sensitivity model. The full AEPI was negatively correlated with IIS (Spearman ρ = −0.252, p = 0.0354); however, leave-one-component-out analysis showed that this relationship was sensitive to index construction and partly reflected structural overlap between the two indices. An a priori AEPI–IIS classification identified four management configurations, with Agroecological Custodians representing the largest group. Farmers reported multiple perceived benefits associated with agroecological practices, particularly for soil fertility, crop yield stability, water availability, production costs, and drought response, while also identifying constraints related to water access, technical assistance, financial support, and extension services. Because this study is cross-sectional and observational, the reported relationships represent statistical associations rather than causal effects, and neither the AEPI nor farmers’ perceptions provide direct measurements of ecological performance or resilience. Overall, the findings document substantial agroecological practice integration and heterogeneous combinations of ecological and technology-mediated management within SMDZ, providing a context-specific basis for future longitudinal and biophysical research on the sustainability and resilience of semi-arid mountain farming systems. Full article

This study investigated the prevalence and genomic characteristics of Bacillus cereus group organisms in animal-origin foods sold in Guangzhou, China. A total of 505 retail samples, including 117 milk samples and 388 commercially available smoked sausage products, were collected from supermarkets and farmers’ markets. The isolation rates of B. cereus group organisms were 8.5% in milk and 44.9% in smoked sausages. Whole-genome sequencing of 169 isolates showed that antimicrobial-resistance genes, including bacII, fosB and vanZF, and diarrheal virulence-associated genes, including nheA, nheB and nheC, were widely distributed among the isolates. Most representative isolates showed biofilm-forming ability, and three antimicrobial-resistant isolates carrying multiple virulence-associated genes showed pathogenic potential in mice under high-dose experimental administration. These findings indicate that retail smoked sausage products can serve as a reservoir of B. cereus group organisms with antimicrobial-resistance, virulence-associated and biofilm-forming traits. However, the detection of resistance- or virulence-associated genes does not necessarily prove gene expression, toxin production, phenotypic resistance or consumer exposure risk. This study did not directly evaluate growth of B. cereus in sausage matrices during storage. Therefore, the present results indicate a potential microbiological hazard rather than a quantified consumer risk. Product-specific challenge studies under defined storage conditions are required to determine whether B. cereus can proliferate in particular sausage products and reach hazardous levels at consumption. Full article

Amid rising authoritarianism, the criminalization of dissent, and the erasure of indigenous expertise from policy discourse, this paper examines community-engaged research as critical public scholarship through the Deccan Development Society’s (DDS) four-decade-plus collaboration with approximately 5000 Dalit and indigenous women farmers in Telangana, India. Against a backdrop of shrinking civic space and technocratic development agendas that delegitimize marginalized knowledge, DDS women’s sanghams have consolidated village-level assemblies into organs of local governance that claim autonomy over land, seed, food, and knowledge—positioning marginalized women as producers of evidence and theory rather than mere data sources. Drawing on complexity theory and participatory action research (PAR), this paper theorizes a community-based inquiry model where marginalized women operate as co-researchers, knowledge producers, and media creators within an emergent system characterized by distributed agency and non-hierarchical information flows. The paper interrogates key methodological, ethical, and political dynamics of critical community-based inquiry for justice and animates the concept of “autonomy as counter-policy” as a contribution to engaged scholarship and epistemic justice. Full article

Italian sweet pepper landraces represent an important reservoir of genetic diversity, although their practical exploitation in breeding programmes remains limited. Historical germplasm collections preserve variation accumulated through centuries of farmer selection, but their organization into resources suitable for pre-breeding and parental selection has rarely been investigated. In this study, 35 historical Piedmont sweet pepper accessions conserved in the DISAFA Genebank and five historical breeding reference lines were characterized through quantitative fruit phenotyping and genome-wide SNP genotyping. A total of 190 individuals were genotyped by ddRADseq, yielding a final dataset of 1925 filtered SNP markers. Phenotypic characterization confirmed the major historical fruit morphotypes, while genome-wide analyses revealed genetic relationships broadly consistent with traditional morphotype classification and the history of conservative selection. Comparison between historical accessions and the corresponding sampled reference lines identified complementary private variation in all comparable genomic groups, although private variation was also detected in the reference materials. On this basis, we propose Historical Breeding Pools as a breeding-oriented interpretive framework integrating genomic relationships, traditional morphotypes and historical breeding reference lines to organize conserved diversity for future pre-breeding and parental selection. These results show how historical genebank collections can be characterized beyond conservation alone and used to prioritize genetic resources for further breeding-oriented evaluation. Full article

The phenomenon of climate change has exerted an escalating degree of pressure on coastal livelihoods in Bangladesh. In this region, communities find themselves confronted with a dual challenge, being exposed to both rapid-onset hazards, including cyclones, storm surges, and floods, and slow-onset stresses, such as salinity intrusion and sea-level rise. These hazards have ramifications for agriculture, aquaculture, food security, and livelihood sustainability. However, extant studies frequently examine individual risks, livelihood sectors, or disaster responses in isolation. Consequently, there is a paucity of research that comprehensively examines the influence of multiple climate-related hazards on coastal livelihoods and the adaptation options that are locally feasible in overcoming institutional, community, and financial constraints. This study synthesizes evidence from the published literature and is complemented by qualitative evidence from 30 open-ended questionnaires with farmers in selected coastal areas of Bangladesh. The objective of this synthesis is to validate and contextualize the current livelihood conditions, climate-related challenges, and locally adopted adaptation practices. The analysis examines four interconnected dimensions. The following elements are to be considered: (i) climate-related hazards and their sectoral impacts, (ii) livelihood opportunities and vulnerabilities, (iii) adaptation practices, and (iv) institutional, community, and financial constraints. These elements are to be complemented by a SWOT assessment of livelihood adaptation options. The findings indicate that a combination of factors, including salinity intrusion, cyclones, storm surges, flooding, sea-level rise, drought, and changing temperature and rainfall patterns, collectively impose constraints on agricultural and aquaculture productivity, thereby exacerbating livelihood insecurity. Concurrently, practices such as salt-tolerant crop cultivation, sorjan farming, freshwater conservation, pond-dyke vegetable cultivation, tower cultivation, composite agriculture, and environmentally responsible aquaculture offer promising pathways for livelihood adaptation. However, the limited availability of infrastructure, inadequate institutional coordination and stakeholder participation, and insufficient financial resources act as constraints on their broader adoption. The manuscript makes a similar observation regarding infrastructure, institutional support, and funding, which are identified as significant constraints. Concurrently, it acknowledges technological development, stakeholder participation, and climate-resilient livelihood opportunities as crucial avenues for enhancement. This study thus posits a series of recommendations for enhancing the resilience and sustainability of coastal livelihoods in Bangladesh. These recommendations encompass the implementation of hazard-specific and livelihood-oriented adaptation measures, the facilitation of access to climate-resilient technologies and financial resources, and the establishment of a more robust coordination framework among diverse stakeholders. The proposed framework involves collaboration between agriculture, fisheries, water management, disaster management, local government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic institutions, and community organizations. These recommendations align with the manuscript’s proposed measures for communities dependent on salinity, cyclones, storm surges, floods, agriculture, and aquaculture. Additionally, the manuscript places emphasis on cross-sectoral governance. Full article

The microbiological quality of silage, a fundamental component of cattle feed, is critical to both animal health and human safety. This long-term study evaluated the microbiological status of grass silages collected from Polish cattle farms, aiming to assess the prevalence of zoonotic agents and hygiene indicators in relation to pre-ensiling and ensiling agricultural practices. A total of 160 grass silage samples were randomly collected nationwide by veterinary officers across various municipalities. The researchers measured pH values and conducted analyses to determine the presence and loads of pathogens, including Listeria spp., Clostridium spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus. Only 17.5% of grass silages fell within the optimal target pH range. Conversely, 80.6% exceeded the upper reference threshold, indicating widespread poor fermentation and low silage quality. Listeria species were detected in 5.6% of the forages, occurring exclusively in silages with an incorrect pH. Clostridium spp. were highly prevalent, testing positive in 82.5% of all samples, while C. perfringens (predominantly toxotype A) was identified in 26.2%. Both Salmonella spp. and botulinum neurotoxin-producing Clostridia were detected in separate, single samples, both characterized by high pH levels. Additionally, fungal counts reached high, non-feedable levels exceeding 6 log₁₀ cfu/g in 10.6% of the tested silages. Silage inoculation, practiced by 26.2% of farmers, significantly lowered pH values and reduced the counts of spoilage microorganisms. Additionally, inoculated silages had a more than three-fold greater likelihood of achieving the correct pH. In contrast, organic fertilization was associated with an increase in the mean counts of Clostridium spp. and B. cereus. In conclusion, grass silage is highly vulnerable to poor fermentation and microbial contamination. Full article

Farm animal welfare research increasingly recognizes that farmers’ welfare decisions are shaped by ethical orientations. This study examines associations between livestock farmers’ contextual anthropocentrism, personality traits, farm structural characteristics, and links to animal welfare attitudes. Survey data from 619 German livestock farmers were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlations, and an ordinary least squares regression model. An anthropocentric orientation index (AOI) showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.72; mean = 3.68 on a 1–5 scale). Higher emotionality, agreeableness, and openness were negatively associated with anthropocentric orientation. Organic farming, keeping of suckling cows, dairy cows, and laying hens were also negatively associated with anthropocentric orientations. The model explained a modest share of variance (R² = 0.147; adjusted R² = 0.119). Correlations indicated that higher anthropocentric orientations were more closely aligned with appreciation of biological functioning indicators and less aligned with positive welfare indicators, including species-typical behavior and natural outdoor access. The findings indicate tentatively that contextual anthropocentrism among livestock farmers might be operationalized empirically and might be linked to personality, farm structure, and welfare interpretation. Future research should show if contextual anthropocentrism may inform more differentiated animal welfare communication that accounts for farmers’ distinct ethical and practical animal welfare orientations. Full article