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Sustainability: Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity, and the Environment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 33016

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Laura L. McKinney

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Guest Editor

Department of Sociology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
Interests: environmental sociology; international development; gender; global and local sustainability

Prof. Dr. Kelly Zering

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Interests: economics; biological and man-made systems; production markets; sustainable bio-based production systems

Mr. Ahad Pezeshkpoor

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Guest Editor

Economics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC 27607, USA
Interests: global agricultural production; the US Farm Bill; wages and inequality

Prof. Dr. Edward L. Kick

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Chief Guest Editor

Agricultural and Resource Economics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Interests: macro-socioeconomics and sustainability; World-System Theory; national capitals (natural capital, economic capital, infrastructural capital, social capital); environment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite manuscripts examining the issues treated below for the current world system. The author(s) should view his or her article as a cumulative advance to the sustainability literature.

With the advent of agriculture the food provider role emerged in small but equally sustained groups or emerging communities. Over time, farmers were even able to feed outsiders, who exchanged what they held of value for the food that sustained them. Some farmers and traders exchanged deeply and this synergy substantially improved yield for capital-expanding farmers, as it did farm waste, and farming’s impacts on the environment. Consequently, certain farmers enjoyed the greater, ongoing accumulation of different forms of capital—more land, animals, pottery and vessels, gemstones, tools, outside inventions, and ultimately available coinage. With the deepened commercialization of farming, mechanization, and other productions in the division of human labor, substantial growth in different wealth arenas ensued—industrial agriculture, oil, mines, railroads, banking. Today, the world houses about 2200 billionaires, while roughly 10% (over 800 million) of the world’s population is food insecure and near starvation. No matter whether it is the economic, social or environmental realms of life, the heretofore unimaginable “sustainability” of the few is now accompanied by the absence of sustainability for the many.

Prof. Dr. Edward L. Kick
Prof. Dr. Laura L. McKinney
Prof. Dr. Kelly Zering
Mr. Ahad Pezeshkpoor
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

IPAT/POET models
industrial agriculture
food security
genetic modification
green revolution
sustainability
agroecology
treadmill of production
eutrophication
human/animal health
world system/unequal exchange

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 4360 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics and Driving Forces of Non-Grain Production of Cultivated Land from the Perspective of Food Security

by Yongfu Li, Bochuan Zhao, An Huang, Binyu Xiong and Canfeng Song

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 14047; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132414047 - 20 Dec 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2612

Abstract

A large proportion of the cultivated land in China has been used for non-grain production purposes. As food insecurity is worsening worldwide, this issue has attracted attention from the Chinese government. In order to curb this trend and to ensure food security, this paper explores the quantitative characteristics and spatial distribution of cultivated land used for non-grain purposes in Liyang City, Jiangsu Province, and discusses the clustering characteristics and mechanisms behind this based on spatial autocorrelation analysis and geographically weighted regression (GWR). The results show that most of the cultivated land in Liyang City has not been used for non-grain purposes, and the cultivated land reserve is abundant. Among all land types, irrigable land has the largest non-grain production rate of cultivated land. There is no significant spatial correlation of cultivated land for non-grain purposes in most towns in Liyang, among which Kunlun Street is in the High-High (HH) zone and Daibu Town in the Low-High (LH) zone. It is also found that the same factor has various impacts on the non-grain production of cultivated land in different towns, and the number of enterprises is the core factor that leads to the non-grain use of cultivated land in Liyang city. Low food prices lead some farmers to plant other crops with higher economic benefits, and also lead to the outflow of the rural labor force. This will not only accelerate the non-grain production of cultivated land, but also cause a large amount of cultivated land to be in a state of unmanned cultivation, further aggravating the proportion of non-grain production in cultivated land. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability: Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity, and the Environment)

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28 pages, 884 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Livestock Feed Resources and Coping Strategies with Dry Season Feed Scarcity in Mixed Crop–Livestock Farming Systems around the Gilgel Gibe Catchment, Southwest Ethiopia

by Belay Duguma and Geert P. J. Janssens

Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10713; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131910713 - 27 Sep 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6184

Abstract

In the current study area, livestock are an integral part of the mixed farming system, and play very important roles as sources of draught power, nutrition, cash income, employment and poverty alleviation. However, feed shortage, especially during the dry season, is the most important constraint to optimal productivity. This study aimed to investigate livestock feed resources and feeding practices, coping strategies with seasonal scarcity, and to identify major constraints to livestock production in a mixed farming system around the Gilgel Gibe catchment, southwest Ethiopia. Data were collected from 342 households using a structured questionnaire. The results showed natural pasture, crop residues, stubble grazing, and roadside grasses were the main feed resources, in that order. None of the respondents practiced improved forage cultivation due to insufficient land and lack of knowledge on forage production and utilization. Free grazing was the most predominant feeding system. Almost all respondents experienced dry season feed scarcity. Conserving crop residues and hay, purchasing roughages, reducing herd size and renting grazing land were the major coping strategies to feed scarcity. The farmers’ perceived major constraints to livestock production were feed shortage, animal diseases, and low productivity of local breeds. Institutional, technical and technological interventions are suggested to alleviate the constraints to livestock production in mixed crop-livestock systems in the study area and outside with similar settings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability: Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity, and the Environment)

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12 pages, 655 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climate Change and Water Dynamics in Rural Uganda

by Laura McKinney and Devin C. Wright

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13158322 - 26 Jul 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2036

Abstract

The purpose of this case study is to examine the effects of climate change on agricultural life in rural Uganda. Based on primary data, the authors examine major themes related to climate change and disasters as conveyed by individuals in a small agricultural region in Eastern Uganda. Specifically, we focus on the effects of living in constant threat of flooding and landslides. Results show that water is a major source of loss for most people, ranging from crop loss to contaminated water. Findings also point to the chronic nature of dealing with water issues, as opposed to acute. Further, our results indicate that disasters are a great equalizer among affected populations, with only neighbors to depend on in the aftermath. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability: Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity, and the Environment)

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21 pages, 458 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Systematic Stakeholder Inclusion in Digital Agriculture: A Framework and Application to Canada

by Hassan P. Ebrahimi, R. Sandra Schillo and Kelly Bronson

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6879; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13126879 - 18 Jun 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6441

Abstract

This study provides a model that supports systematic stakeholder inclusion in agricultural technology. Building on the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) literature and attempting to add precision to the conversation around inclusion in technology design and governance, this study develops a framework for determining which stakeholder groups to engage in RRI processes. We developed the model using a specific industry case study: identifying the relevant stakeholders in the Canadian digital agriculture ecosystem. The study uses literature and news article analysis to map stakeholders in the Canadian digital agricultural sector as a test case for the model. The study proposes a systematic framework which categorises stakeholders into individuals, industrial and societal groups with both direct engagement and supportive roles in digital agriculture. These groups are then plotted against three levels of impact or power in the agri-food system: micro, meso and macro. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability: Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity, and the Environment)

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17 pages, 1908 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Benefits of Circular Agriculture for Cropping Systems and Soil Fertility in Oases

by Mustapha El Janati, Nouraya Akkal-Corfini, Ahmed Bouaziz, Abdallah Oukarroum, Paul Robin, Ahmed Sabri, Mohamed Chikhaoui and Zahra Thomas

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4713; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13094713 - 23 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3625

Abstract

Circular agriculture is an effective approach for the management of soil organic inputs that improves soil fertility and cropping system sustainability. We developed a cropping system typology and assessed effects of crop rotation, organic fertilization, and crop residue management on soil fertility properties. Farmers in Drâa-Tafilalet oases in Morocco were surveyed, and soil was sampled and analyzed. In the most common cropping systems (Type I), date palms were associated with cereals, forages, and perennial crops. Type II cropping systems referred to a monocropped date palm of only one cultivar. In Type III, date palm was associated with other crops on part of the utilized agricultural area and monocropped on the other part. In all cropping systems, mean soil organic matter (SOM) content was less than 1.5% and the SOM:clay ratio was less than 12%, which increased the soil degradation risk. Livestock was combined with crops in Type I and III cropping systems and produced 19.4 and 24.2 t of manure per farm per year, respectively. Type I and II cropping systems produced annually 0.98 and 2.1 t.ha⁻¹ of dry palms, respectively. Recycling these organic waste products remains a promising option that could produce organic inputs and offset the current lack of manure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability: Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity, and the Environment)

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19 pages, 633 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Swine Manure Management: A Tale of Two Agreements

by Alison Deviney, John Classen, Jackie Bruce and Mahmoud Sharara

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 15; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13010015 - 22 Dec 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3499

Abstract

Intensification and concentration of swine farming has provided economic benefit to rural communities but also negative environmental and human health impacts, particularly from the use of the lagoon-sprayfield system for manure management. Although cost effective, this system is susceptible to poor management, unpleasant odor and other emissions, and inundation during extreme weather events. Competition for manure-spreading acres with other livestock or encroaching development can also pose a problem. This study examines two agreements between industry and government designed to develop and implement improved manure management technologies for swine farms: a voluntary agreement between the attorney general of North Carolina and Smithfield Foods and a consent judgment between the State of Missouri and Premium Standard Farms. Individuals involved in executing these agreements were interviewed to gain insight from their perspective on those processes and lessons they learned from their experience. Common themes among participant responses to support transition processes included the need to involve multiple stakeholder groups, clearly define goals, understand the system, allow time for incremental change, and provide adequate “protected space” for technology development and implementation. Viewing these themes through the lens of multi-level perspective theory identifies leverage points throughout the system to support transitioning farms to a more sustainable path of manure management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability: Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity, and the Environment)

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Review

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19 pages, 1655 KiB

Open AccessReview

Cocoyam [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott]: Exploring the Production, Health and Trade Potentials in Sub-Saharan Africa

by Olutosin A. Otekunrin, Barbara Sawicka, Abigail G. Adeyonu, Oluwaseun A. Otekunrin and Leszek Rachoń

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4483; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13084483 - 16 Apr 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7199

Abstract

Cocoyam [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] also known as taro is regarded as an important staple crop in the Pacific Islands, Asia and Africa. But, Africa has been unpopular in the taro international market though it accounted for the highest share of the global taro production level in the last two decades. Therefore, this study explores the global taro production outlook in two decades (2000–2019) with a special focus on African countries noting their challenges and limitations. Also, industrial, nutritional and health benefits of taro were discussed to showcase other viable potentials of the crop beyond its usefulness as a food security crop on the African continent. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability: Agricultural Production, Food Insecurity, and the Environment)

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