China removed fertilizer manufacturing subsidies from 2015 to 2018 to bolster market-oriented reforms and foster environmentally sustainable practices.However,the impact of this policy reform on food security and the ...China removed fertilizer manufacturing subsidies from 2015 to 2018 to bolster market-oriented reforms and foster environmentally sustainable practices.However,the impact of this policy reform on food security and the environment remains inadequately evaluated.Moreover,although green and low-carbon technologies offer environmental advantages,their widespread adoption is hindered by prohibitively high costs.This study analyzes the impact of removing fertilizer manufacturing subsidies and explores the potential feasibility of redirecting fertilizer manufacturing subsidies to invest in the diffusion of these technologies.Utilizing the China Agricultural University Agri-food Systems model,we analyzed the potential for achieving mutually beneficial outcomes regarding food security and environmental sustainability.The findings indicate that removing fertilizer manufacturing subsidies has reduced greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions from agricultural activities by 3.88 million metric tons,with minimal impact on food production.Redirecting fertilizer manufacturing subsidies to invest in green and low-carbon technologies,including slow and controlled-release fertilizer,organic-inorganic compound fertilizers,and machine deep placement of fertilizer,emerges as a strategy to concurrently curtail GHG emissions,ensure food security,and secure robust economic returns.Finally,we propose a comprehensive set of government interventions,including subsidies,field guidance,and improved extension systems,to promote the widespread adoption of these technologies.展开更多
This paper analyzes and compares the key factors influencing food security in two populous countries(China and India),and cate-gorizes them into three types:agricultural production,economic development and income leve...This paper analyzes and compares the key factors influencing food security in two populous countries(China and India),and cate-gorizes them into three types:agricultural production,economic development and income level,and income distribution.Using the prevalence of undernourishment as an indicator of food security,the paper empirically tests the degree of impact of various factors on food security in both countries using Tobit regression and Newey regression methods.The study finds that improving the level of economic development can significantly enhance food security in both countriesꎻreducing the Gini coefficient has a significant impact on India,but not on Chinaꎻincreasing the agricultural production per capita has a much greater effect on China than on India.Therefore,both countries should take measures that are both similar and different according to their national conditions to improve their food security level.展开更多
China attaches great importance to food security.With the strong promotion of the government,Chinas grain output has achieved a great feat from"shortage"to"surplus in bumper years"and then to"...China attaches great importance to food security.With the strong promotion of the government,Chinas grain output has achieved a great feat from"shortage"to"surplus in bumper years"and then to"rising steadily",achieving a record"increase for the tenth consecutive year".From the current balance of food supply and demand in China,the food security situation can be guaranteed on the whole.However,if we analyze the food security in China from the perspective of agricultural sustainable development strategy,there are some difficulties,such as the reduction of cultivated land area,the decline of cultivated land quality,the fragility of agricultural ecological environment,and the transformation of residentsconsumption structure.This paper analyzes the difficulties faced by the development of food security in China under the strategy of sustainable agricultural development,and puts forward that to implement the strategy of sustainable agricultural development,it is necessary to realize the coordinated development of food security,science and technology,ecological environment,resources and society.展开更多
Plant diseases and pests present significant challenges to global food security, leading to substantial losses in agricultural productivity and threatening environmental sustainability. As the world’s population grow...Plant diseases and pests present significant challenges to global food security, leading to substantial losses in agricultural productivity and threatening environmental sustainability. As the world’s population grows, ensuring food availability becomes increasingly urgent. This review explores the significance of advanced plant disease detection techniques in disease and pest management for enhancing food security. Traditional plant disease detection methods often rely on visual inspection and are time-consuming and subjective. This leads to delayed interventions and ineffective control measures. However, recent advancements in remote sensing, imaging technologies, and molecular diagnostics offer powerful tools for early and precise disease detection. Big data analytics and machine learning play pivotal roles in analyzing vast and complex datasets, thus accurately identifying plant diseases and predicting disease occurrence and severity. We explore how prompt interventions employing advanced techniques enable more efficient disease control and concurrently minimize the environmental impact of conventional disease and pest management practices. Furthermore, we analyze and make future recommendations to improve the precision and sensitivity of current advanced detection techniques. We propose incorporating eco-evolutionary theories into research to enhance the understanding of pathogen spread in future climates and mitigate the risk of disease outbreaks. We highlight the need for a science-policy interface that works closely with scientists, policymakers, and relevant intergovernmental organizations to ensure coordination and collaboration among them, ultimately developing effective disease monitoring and management strategies needed for securing sustainable food production and environmental well-being.展开更多
Iraq depends on its water resources from the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries. Now, the flow of these rivers is decreasing, and Iraq is experiencing a water short...Iraq depends on its water resources from the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries. Now, the flow of these rivers is decreasing, and Iraq is experiencing a water shortage problem. The situation is expected to be graver in the future if no action is considered. It is expected that the population will be about 70 million in 2050 and about 90 million in 2070. In such a case, thus, the quantities of water available in the future will not be sufficient to produce most of the requirements of food security, whether that be from agricultural or animal products. To overcome this problem, water management planning should be based on scientific background to overcome the present and expected problems. One of the main factors to be considered should be based on scientific studies of the virtual water footprint of different food crops to provide the largest possible amount of virtual water and avoid the acute shortage of its national water from surface and ground irrigation water (blue water) and rainwater (green water), in addition to working hard to provide the largest possible amount of desalinated water and refined sewage (gray water). In addition, any strategic plan for sustainable development in the country must be comprehensive so that it is not satisfied with improving the situation in the field of food security related to water security, but rather among its other elements is community development that directly affects food security, including setting policies to reduce consumption by reducing the steady increase in population where the population rate is 2.97% now. Collective awareness and guidance programs in all the fields of water and food security are very important to be adopted, so that everyone knows that the issue of food security and what derives from it are an existential issue related to the survival of Iraq as a state and people. In this research, facts are stated so that action is to be considered to minimize the water shortage problem. The new strategic water resources management plan is to be adopted that considers existing and future expected problems.展开更多
Iraq is part of the Fertile Crescent with the two large rivers:Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries that secure the required quantity and quality of water to the Iraqi population for their different uses;includi...Iraq is part of the Fertile Crescent with the two large rivers:Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries that secure the required quantity and quality of water to the Iraqi population for their different uses;including agriculture,industry,and other domestic requirements.During the last decades,however,the quantity and quality of water in these rivers decreased causing water scarcity in the country.This scarcity is having severe impacts on food security in Iraq since large cultivated areas in different parts of the country that grow different agricultural products have been abandoned due to lack of water.The worsening situation is attributed mainly to global climate changes including decreasing rainfall amounts,increase in air temperature,and insufficient water inflows in the two main rivers and their tributaries.This last issue is exasperated by the unfair water sharing policies of the riparian countries namely Turkey and Iran.In writing this article relevant data from different sources were used.Numerous published reports and papers dealing with this important issue were consulted,while at the same time,the long experience of the authors in these very important issues was also drawn upon to elucidate the difficulties that are current today and those expected in the future in this field.展开更多
Food security issues become one of the critical concerns and top priority areas for Ethiopia.This study analyzed rural households’food security status and its determinants in Minjar Shenkora woreda of Amhara Regional...Food security issues become one of the critical concerns and top priority areas for Ethiopia.This study analyzed rural households’food security status and its determinants in Minjar Shenkora woreda of Amhara Regional State and Ada’a woreda of Oromia Regional State.Data were collected from 240 randomly selected rural farm households.The study employed both descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model to estimate the status and determinants of households’food security,respectively.The findings indicated that the average dietary energy available for food secured households was 2,860.6 kilo calorie per day while 1,891.7 kilo calorie per day for the insecure group.According to the findings of the binary logit model,factors such as education level,farm size,livestock ownership,cooperatives membership,off-farm income and credit access have positive and significant effects on household food security.While household size has a negative and significant effect on household food security.The results recommend that interventions should target at improving rural financial services and off-farm activities that increase households’income and focusing on those most significant variables when attempting to enhance household food security.展开更多
Irrigated agriculture has tripled since 1950,accounting for 20%of the global arable land and 40%of food production.Irrigated agriculture increases food security yet has controversial implications for global climate ch...Irrigated agriculture has tripled since 1950,accounting for 20%of the global arable land and 40%of food production.Irrigated agriculture increases food security yet has controversial implications for global climate change.Most previous studies have calculated carbon emissions and their composition in irrigated areas using the engineering approach to life-cycle assessment.By combining life cycle assessment(LCA)-based carbon emissions accounting with econometric models such as multiple linear regression and structural equation modeling(SEM),we conducted an interdisciplinary study to identify the influencing factors and internal mechanisms of the carbon footprint(CFP)of smallholder crop cultivation on irrigation reform pilot areas.To this end,we investigated corn and potato production data in the 2019–2020 crop years for 852 plots of 345 rural households in six villages(two irrigation agriculture pilot villages and four surrounding villages as controls)in Southwest China.The crop CFP in the irrigation agriculture pilot areas was significantly lower than in non-reform areas.Irrigation reforms mainly impacted the crop CFP through four intermediary effects:the project(implementation of field irrigation channels),technology(improving adoption of new irrigation technologies),management(proper irrigation operation and maintenance),and yield effects.All effects inhibited the CFP,except for the project effect that promotes carbon emissions.Among them,yield increase has the greatest impact on reducing CFP,followed by management and technology effects.Furthermore,planting practices,individual characteristics,and plot quality significantly impacted the crop CFP.This study has policy implications for understanding the food security–climate nexus in the food production industry.展开更多
China's food supply and demand have significant implications for both China's own national food security and that of the world. This study reviews China's food security prospects and their implications, fo...China's food supply and demand have significant implications for both China's own national food security and that of the world. This study reviews China's food security prospects and their implications, focusing on international trade in the coming decade. The results show that China's policies for ensuring food security will be enhanced and China will move to sustainable agriculture. Most studies anticipate that China will increase its food and feed imports in the coming decade. China's overall food self-sufficiency is likely to fall from 94.5% in 2015 to around 91% by 2025. The greatest increases in imports are likely to be soybean, maize, sugar, and dairy products. However, within the production capacity of the major exporting countries and of many food-importing developing countries, China's additional imports of 3 to 5% of its total food consumption in the coming decade are unlikely to threaten global food security. Indeed, the projected imports of feed and several foods could provide opportunities for many exporting countries to expand their production and save global resources.展开更多
Air pollution negatively impacts food security. This paper reviews the current literature on the relationship between air pollution and food security from the perspective of food system. It highlights that agricultura...Air pollution negatively impacts food security. This paper reviews the current literature on the relationship between air pollution and food security from the perspective of food system. It highlights that agricultural emissions which substantially contribute to air pollution could happen at every stage along the food supply chain. Meanwhile, air pollution can not only affect plant growth and animal health but also shift market equilibrium of both agro-inputs and outputs in the food supply chain and thereby affect food security indirectly. Furthermore, this study evaluates the effects of agricultural policy and energy policy on food security and air pollution, respectively, and provides an overview of potential policy instruments to reduce air pollution while ensuring food security. Finally, we identify the remaining research and policy issues for further studies, mainly focusing on the study of household's bounded rational behaviors and the issue of rural aging population.展开更多
The Government of the Lao PDR’s policy is to eliminate the cultivation of upland rice by means of ‘slash-and-burn’ cultivation and to replace it with more ecologically stable systems based on sustainable land use a...The Government of the Lao PDR’s policy is to eliminate the cultivation of upland rice by means of ‘slash-and-burn’ cultivation and to replace it with more ecologically stable systems based on sustainable land use at the village and household level. The objectives of this policy are to alleviate poverty and to introduce more sustainable management of agricultural resources. In order to achieve these objectives, the government has initiated a program of relocation to upland ‘focal areas’ from which marketing, distribution and other services can be supplied, these being essential preconditions for effective agricultural development in these regions. This diagnostic study has examined communal and household strategies for addressing food security issues, and has highlighted the main problems encountered in the pursuit of food security on the local level. The specific objective was to conduct a broadly focused participatory problem diagnosis of the study areas in two districts Phonsay and Namo, in order to understand farmers’ problems, livelihood goals and how their perspectives on food security have changed, and to investigate food security in shifting cultivation systems in Luang Prabang andOudomxay provinces. Within these two provinces Phonsay and Namo districts were selected as the research areas. The two districts are the poorest districts in the Luang Prabang and Oudomxay provinces and two of ten priority poorest districts in the whole country. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for the study. The results of this study were reviewed against the sustainable land use systems strategy formulated from the Lao PDR policy. The study highlights both the benefits and stresses on household welfare, food insecurity conditions in the study areas, and interrelated problems of insufficient rice for household consumption. Finally based on these results the authors propose recommendations and future research indications.展开更多
Cropland area has long been used as a key indicator of food security.However,grain yield is not solely controlled by the area of the cropland.Therefore,we proposed a new indicator to assess food security.Results show ...Cropland area has long been used as a key indicator of food security.However,grain yield is not solely controlled by the area of the cropland.Therefore,we proposed a new indicator to assess food security.Results show that from 1992 to 2004,the global cropland area increased by 840200 km^(2)(99.4%),but the grain yield increased only by 310 million t(29.1%);and from 2004 to 2015,the cropland area decreased by 39000 km^(2)(4.64%),but the grain yield increased by 370 million t(70.84%).This result showed that grain yield was not linearly correlated with cropland area,and delimiting the threshold of cropland protection may not guarantee food security.Combined with further correlation analysis,we found that the increase in the global grain yield was more closely related to the harvested area(R^(2)=0.94),which indicated that the harvested area is a more scientific and accurate indicator than cropland area in terms of guaranteeing food security.Therefore,if governments want to ensure the food security,they should choose a new and more accurate indicator:harvested area rather than cropland area.展开更多
China is the world’s largest consumer of pork and grains.However,African swine fever(ASF)and the COVID-19 outbreak have greatly impacted the pork supply and food security in China.How can food security and the pork s...China is the world’s largest consumer of pork and grains.However,African swine fever(ASF)and the COVID-19 outbreak have greatly impacted the pork supply and food security in China.How can food security and the pork supply be ensured under the dual impacts of COVID-19 and ASF?This is a major problem to be urgently solved by the Chinese government.This study indicated that the main pork production and sales areas in China were separated,which reflected the spatial imbalance between the supply and demand.The total area of suitable selected sites for pig farms in China is 21.5 million ha.If only the areas with levels of high and moderate suitability are considered as potential sites for pig farms,the potential pork production can reach 56.1 million tons in China,which is slightly lower than demand.Due to the impact of the ASF epidemic,the food consumed by pigs has been reduced by 34.7 million tons.However,with increasing pork productivity in the future,the self-sufficiency rate of grains may further decline.On the premise that the quality of people’s life is not affected,the diversification of meat supply channels should be realized in an orderly and sustainable way,which might alleviate the pressure on food supply.This study provides a theoretical reference for the spatiotemporal layout of the swine industry and addresses the issue of food security in China under the influence of ASF and the COVID-19 outbreak.展开更多
In December 2015,the Central Rural Work Conference put forward the structural reform of agricultural supply side,to ensure the national food security. At present,China's grain production is increasing,the supply a...In December 2015,the Central Rural Work Conference put forward the structural reform of agricultural supply side,to ensure the national food security. At present,China's grain production is increasing,the supply and demand structure of grain market is not balanced,and the ineffective supply due to the lack of market supply and demand has caused the problem of structural surplus and structural shortage.And price and quality difference of domestic and international grain is obvious,and the agricultural products in China are overstock,so the reform of agricultural supply side based on food security must be implemented. To adjust structure,reduce stock,reduce cost,increase quality,promote the primary,secondary and tertiary industries convergence will become the focus of China's agricultural supply side structural reform,and we can develop the ecological agriculture,improve the competitiveness of the grain market in price and quality,to ensure food security for the nation.展开更多
The quantity and quality of farmland is the key factor determining grain production capacity, so protecting farmland has become the key to guaranteeing food security. I take Anshan City in Liaoning Province as the stu...The quantity and quality of farmland is the key factor determining grain production capacity, so protecting farmland has become the key to guaranteeing food security. I take Anshan City in Liaoning Province as the study area which has its own particularity in terms of protecting farmland. Based on the prediction of population, coupled with the relevant data concerning farmland area, the per unit area yield of grain, the prediction and analysis of the balance of supply and demand of farmland in Anshan City are conducted. The results show that in the year 2010, the maximum supply amount of farmland that the city can offer is 239 000 hm2, and in the year 2020 the maximum supply amount of farmland that the city can offer will be 238 000 hm2; in the year 2010, the maximum demand amount of farmland is 204 186.02 hm2, and in the year 2020 the maximum supply amount of farmland will be 226 409.61 hm2. So the supply amount of farmland that the city can offer can meet the need of grain production objective. Some problems concerning farmland protection are pointed out in order to provide beneficial exploration of the farmland protection based on the model of food security.展开更多
The COVID-19 outbreak that became a global pandemic in early 2020 is starting to affect agricultural supply chains and leading to a rapid rise in global food prices.As many grain exporting countries announced a ban on...The COVID-19 outbreak that became a global pandemic in early 2020 is starting to affect agricultural supply chains and leading to a rapid rise in global food prices.As many grain exporting countries announced a ban on grain exports,food security issues in China have attracted a significant international attention.Based on the Suitability Distribution Model and Soybean-Cereal Constraint Model,we explored the relationship between soybean production potential and food security.We calculated that the soybean potential planting area in China is 164.3 million ha.If the outbreak prevents China from importing soybeans,soybean planting area will need to be increased by 6.9 times to satisfy the demands.In the meantime,cereal self-sufficiency rate will drop to 63.4%,which will greatly affect food security.Each additional unit of soybean production will reduce 3.9 units of cereal production,and 1%increase in the self-sufficiency rate of soybean will result in a 0.63%drop in the self-sufficiency rate of cereal.Without sacrificing the self-sufficiency rate of cereal,the self-sufficiency rate of soybean is limited to 42%.Consequently,China will still need to import more than 68%of the current import volume of soybean.Although in the short term,the outbreak will not affect food security in China,as soybean imports decrease,insufficient supply of soybeans will affect people’s quality of life.To prevent the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak,China should increase soybean stocks and strengthen international cooperation.In the long term,increasing the self-sufficiency rate is a fundamental solution to solving soybean import dependency.The key to increasing soybean cultivation is by making soybean cultivation profitable and by building a sustainable soybean planting chain.展开更多
The challenge Africa faces the most is how to feed the 2.4 billion people in 2050. This will require a transformational agriculture. Africa doesn’t need subsistence agriculture, but rather agriculture linked to the m...The challenge Africa faces the most is how to feed the 2.4 billion people in 2050. This will require a transformational agriculture. Africa doesn’t need subsistence agriculture, but rather agriculture linked to the market where market demand and the consuming habits are taken in consideration. Agriculture evolves in an environment where small holders are linked to markets (national and regional), where economies of complementarity and economies of scale are taken advantage of by producers and private sector. In short, Africa will need a paradigm shift to industrialise and commercialise its agriculture sector in order to increase food production, and income and to create jobs in and outside the sector. Africa needs agribusiness and agro-industries to domesticate the benefits of the sector, to create wealth in the sector and retain that wealth in the continent. Agricultural commodities regional value chains for increased food should be the target for Africa. The continent remains the region with the highest prevalence of under-nourishment. Since agriculture remains the mainstay of most African economies except the mineral producers, the sector deserves a close attention from leaders. It accounts for 65% of employment and 40% of Africa’s export earnings and accounts for 17% of the GDP. This shows how important the sector is. Agriculture needs to be seen as a conduit for farmers to get connected to markets, a conduit for revenue, for jobs and for transformation. Africa needs to come back on the international scene as food sufficient continent and even food exporter. This can be achieved only with a stable, productive agricultural resource base. Thus, achieving and sustaining food security and economic prosperity in Africa will require significant efforts to modernize the continent’s agriculture sector through injection of agribusiness and agro-industries and through the application of science and technology in agriculture. In essence, agriculture needs to be viewed as knowledge based entrepreneurial activity. Smart investments in agriculture will have multiplier effects for the whole economy and hence induce prosperity to other sectors. In recent years, a renewed focus on agriculture has been evident in policy and development agendas across the African continent. This paper outlines the status of agriculture, agribusiness and agro-industries in Africa, their role in the agenda of agricultural transformation and economic transformation and the focus on regional value chain to increase food production, transformation and trade. The paper adopts a new thinking in agriculture, which reflects a regional value chain approach. The author covers such issues as: need for agricultural transformation, the role of value chain in agricultural sector, the need for regional value chain for increased income and increased food, the role of markets and the common denominator of all, the regional integration to push forward the African agriculture agenda. Evidence shows that it is agricultural growth, through its leverage effects on the rest of the economy that typically enables poor countries, poor regions and ultimately poor households to take the first steps toward economic transformation. Therefore agricultural productivity, at the small holder’s level, has the potential to lift millions of Africa’s vulnerable out of poverty and provide sustainable jobs. Other factors, namely “the rapid urbanization” and “increased population growth”, are quoted to be of critical importance. Africa population is projected to double, attaining the 2.3 billion people mark over the next 40 years representing half of the globe’s total population. This could trigger competition for resources and can have devastating effects on natural resources if not rightly channelled.展开更多
This study summarises the findings from a study investigating rural small-holding farmers’experiences on the shift from food crop to cashew in the forest/savanna transitional agro-ecological zone of Ghana and its imp...This study summarises the findings from a study investigating rural small-holding farmers’experiences on the shift from food crop to cashew in the forest/savanna transitional agro-ecological zone of Ghana and its impact on rural food security.Using a mix method approach,the study sampled the views of 400 farmers from 9 farming communities in the Wenchi Municipality of Ghana via questionnaire and semi-structured interview and collated statistical data on crop production to trace the nexus between climate change,agrarian land-use decisions and food security.The study found evidence of increasing shift from food crop to cashew production.This was evidenced by increasing cashew cultivation and cashew output and decreasing total land acreage for food crops and increasing food insecurity of farmers.The findings revealed that about 71%of farmers had expanded their cashew farms and another 41.0%have turned their food crops’lands to cashew production.Besides cashew production,(57.0%)has overtaken the traditional food crop-maize(25.5%)production in terms of output.Instructively,the study found that the main motivation for the shift from food crop to cashew production is not only to maximise income in bulk,but also climate change adaptability issues.The study found that the cashew crop is resilient in adapting to the changing climate and less prone to pests’invasion compared to maize in the study District.The study found that food security among rural folks had been seriously compromised by the conversion of farmlands from food crop to cashew farming.Although,the study found that female farmers have higher consciousness to food security yet less motivated to shift from food crop to cashew crop production compared to men.Worryingly,females are the hardest hit group because of their low ownership of or access to farmlands and low voices of women in farmland use decision making in a men-dominant rural extended family setting of the study District.The study concludes that climate change adaptability concern has introduced a new set of risks including crop failure due to changing rainfall pattern and increasing incidence of pest invasions forcing the rural folks to compromise innovative indigenous farming focus and practices that have helped them to navigate extreme food poverty.This study,therefore,argues for improved food crop seeds tailored to the specific climatic context and innovative farming practices that beef-up small-holding farmers’capacity to navigate climate change to continually produce food crop to ensure rural food security and sustainability.展开更多
基金The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(72061147002).
文摘China removed fertilizer manufacturing subsidies from 2015 to 2018 to bolster market-oriented reforms and foster environmentally sustainable practices.However,the impact of this policy reform on food security and the environment remains inadequately evaluated.Moreover,although green and low-carbon technologies offer environmental advantages,their widespread adoption is hindered by prohibitively high costs.This study analyzes the impact of removing fertilizer manufacturing subsidies and explores the potential feasibility of redirecting fertilizer manufacturing subsidies to invest in the diffusion of these technologies.Utilizing the China Agricultural University Agri-food Systems model,we analyzed the potential for achieving mutually beneficial outcomes regarding food security and environmental sustainability.The findings indicate that removing fertilizer manufacturing subsidies has reduced greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions from agricultural activities by 3.88 million metric tons,with minimal impact on food production.Redirecting fertilizer manufacturing subsidies to invest in green and low-carbon technologies,including slow and controlled-release fertilizer,organic-inorganic compound fertilizers,and machine deep placement of fertilizer,emerges as a strategy to concurrently curtail GHG emissions,ensure food security,and secure robust economic returns.Finally,we propose a comprehensive set of government interventions,including subsidies,field guidance,and improved extension systems,to promote the widespread adoption of these technologies.
基金Supported by the MOE(Ministry of Education in China)Project of Humanities and Social Sciences(19YJA790105).
文摘This paper analyzes and compares the key factors influencing food security in two populous countries(China and India),and cate-gorizes them into three types:agricultural production,economic development and income level,and income distribution.Using the prevalence of undernourishment as an indicator of food security,the paper empirically tests the degree of impact of various factors on food security in both countries using Tobit regression and Newey regression methods.The study finds that improving the level of economic development can significantly enhance food security in both countriesꎻreducing the Gini coefficient has a significant impact on India,but not on Chinaꎻincreasing the agricultural production per capita has a much greater effect on China than on India.Therefore,both countries should take measures that are both similar and different according to their national conditions to improve their food security level.
文摘China attaches great importance to food security.With the strong promotion of the government,Chinas grain output has achieved a great feat from"shortage"to"surplus in bumper years"and then to"rising steadily",achieving a record"increase for the tenth consecutive year".From the current balance of food supply and demand in China,the food security situation can be guaranteed on the whole.However,if we analyze the food security in China from the perspective of agricultural sustainable development strategy,there are some difficulties,such as the reduction of cultivated land area,the decline of cultivated land quality,the fragility of agricultural ecological environment,and the transformation of residentsconsumption structure.This paper analyzes the difficulties faced by the development of food security in China under the strategy of sustainable agricultural development,and puts forward that to implement the strategy of sustainable agricultural development,it is necessary to realize the coordinated development of food security,science and technology,ecological environment,resources and society.
文摘Plant diseases and pests present significant challenges to global food security, leading to substantial losses in agricultural productivity and threatening environmental sustainability. As the world’s population grows, ensuring food availability becomes increasingly urgent. This review explores the significance of advanced plant disease detection techniques in disease and pest management for enhancing food security. Traditional plant disease detection methods often rely on visual inspection and are time-consuming and subjective. This leads to delayed interventions and ineffective control measures. However, recent advancements in remote sensing, imaging technologies, and molecular diagnostics offer powerful tools for early and precise disease detection. Big data analytics and machine learning play pivotal roles in analyzing vast and complex datasets, thus accurately identifying plant diseases and predicting disease occurrence and severity. We explore how prompt interventions employing advanced techniques enable more efficient disease control and concurrently minimize the environmental impact of conventional disease and pest management practices. Furthermore, we analyze and make future recommendations to improve the precision and sensitivity of current advanced detection techniques. We propose incorporating eco-evolutionary theories into research to enhance the understanding of pathogen spread in future climates and mitigate the risk of disease outbreaks. We highlight the need for a science-policy interface that works closely with scientists, policymakers, and relevant intergovernmental organizations to ensure coordination and collaboration among them, ultimately developing effective disease monitoring and management strategies needed for securing sustainable food production and environmental well-being.
文摘Iraq depends on its water resources from the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries. Now, the flow of these rivers is decreasing, and Iraq is experiencing a water shortage problem. The situation is expected to be graver in the future if no action is considered. It is expected that the population will be about 70 million in 2050 and about 90 million in 2070. In such a case, thus, the quantities of water available in the future will not be sufficient to produce most of the requirements of food security, whether that be from agricultural or animal products. To overcome this problem, water management planning should be based on scientific background to overcome the present and expected problems. One of the main factors to be considered should be based on scientific studies of the virtual water footprint of different food crops to provide the largest possible amount of virtual water and avoid the acute shortage of its national water from surface and ground irrigation water (blue water) and rainwater (green water), in addition to working hard to provide the largest possible amount of desalinated water and refined sewage (gray water). In addition, any strategic plan for sustainable development in the country must be comprehensive so that it is not satisfied with improving the situation in the field of food security related to water security, but rather among its other elements is community development that directly affects food security, including setting policies to reduce consumption by reducing the steady increase in population where the population rate is 2.97% now. Collective awareness and guidance programs in all the fields of water and food security are very important to be adopted, so that everyone knows that the issue of food security and what derives from it are an existential issue related to the survival of Iraq as a state and people. In this research, facts are stated so that action is to be considered to minimize the water shortage problem. The new strategic water resources management plan is to be adopted that considers existing and future expected problems.
文摘Iraq is part of the Fertile Crescent with the two large rivers:Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries that secure the required quantity and quality of water to the Iraqi population for their different uses;including agriculture,industry,and other domestic requirements.During the last decades,however,the quantity and quality of water in these rivers decreased causing water scarcity in the country.This scarcity is having severe impacts on food security in Iraq since large cultivated areas in different parts of the country that grow different agricultural products have been abandoned due to lack of water.The worsening situation is attributed mainly to global climate changes including decreasing rainfall amounts,increase in air temperature,and insufficient water inflows in the two main rivers and their tributaries.This last issue is exasperated by the unfair water sharing policies of the riparian countries namely Turkey and Iran.In writing this article relevant data from different sources were used.Numerous published reports and papers dealing with this important issue were consulted,while at the same time,the long experience of the authors in these very important issues was also drawn upon to elucidate the difficulties that are current today and those expected in the future in this field.
文摘Food security issues become one of the critical concerns and top priority areas for Ethiopia.This study analyzed rural households’food security status and its determinants in Minjar Shenkora woreda of Amhara Regional State and Ada’a woreda of Oromia Regional State.Data were collected from 240 randomly selected rural farm households.The study employed both descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model to estimate the status and determinants of households’food security,respectively.The findings indicated that the average dietary energy available for food secured households was 2,860.6 kilo calorie per day while 1,891.7 kilo calorie per day for the insecure group.According to the findings of the binary logit model,factors such as education level,farm size,livestock ownership,cooperatives membership,off-farm income and credit access have positive and significant effects on household food security.While household size has a negative and significant effect on household food security.The results recommend that interventions should target at improving rural financial services and off-farm activities that increase households’income and focusing on those most significant variables when attempting to enhance household food security.
基金financially supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Joint Research and Development Project Under the Sino–Thai Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation(2017YFE0133000)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(72104239)+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Public Welfare Research Institutes,China(Y2022ZK03)the Science and Technology Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(ASTIP-IAED-2022-04)。
文摘Irrigated agriculture has tripled since 1950,accounting for 20%of the global arable land and 40%of food production.Irrigated agriculture increases food security yet has controversial implications for global climate change.Most previous studies have calculated carbon emissions and their composition in irrigated areas using the engineering approach to life-cycle assessment.By combining life cycle assessment(LCA)-based carbon emissions accounting with econometric models such as multiple linear regression and structural equation modeling(SEM),we conducted an interdisciplinary study to identify the influencing factors and internal mechanisms of the carbon footprint(CFP)of smallholder crop cultivation on irrigation reform pilot areas.To this end,we investigated corn and potato production data in the 2019–2020 crop years for 852 plots of 345 rural households in six villages(two irrigation agriculture pilot villages and four surrounding villages as controls)in Southwest China.The crop CFP in the irrigation agriculture pilot areas was significantly lower than in non-reform areas.Irrigation reforms mainly impacted the crop CFP through four intermediary effects:the project(implementation of field irrigation channels),technology(improving adoption of new irrigation technologies),management(proper irrigation operation and maintenance),and yield effects.All effects inhibited the CFP,except for the project effect that promotes carbon emissions.Among them,yield increase has the greatest impact on reducing CFP,followed by management and technology effects.Furthermore,planting practices,individual characteristics,and plot quality significantly impacted the crop CFP.This study has policy implications for understanding the food security–climate nexus in the food production industry.
基金financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71333013 and 71503243)the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y02015004 and GJHZ1312)+1 种基金the Tsinghua University, China (CIRS2016-03)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M610710)
文摘China's food supply and demand have significant implications for both China's own national food security and that of the world. This study reviews China's food security prospects and their implications, focusing on international trade in the coming decade. The results show that China's policies for ensuring food security will be enhanced and China will move to sustainable agriculture. Most studies anticipate that China will increase its food and feed imports in the coming decade. China's overall food self-sufficiency is likely to fall from 94.5% in 2015 to around 91% by 2025. The greatest increases in imports are likely to be soybean, maize, sugar, and dairy products. However, within the production capacity of the major exporting countries and of many food-importing developing countries, China's additional imports of 3 to 5% of its total food consumption in the coming decade are unlikely to threaten global food security. Indeed, the projected imports of feed and several foods could provide opportunities for many exporting countries to expand their production and save global resources.
基金funding supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, 71473123 and 71633005)the German Research Foundation (DFG, RTG1666)
文摘Air pollution negatively impacts food security. This paper reviews the current literature on the relationship between air pollution and food security from the perspective of food system. It highlights that agricultural emissions which substantially contribute to air pollution could happen at every stage along the food supply chain. Meanwhile, air pollution can not only affect plant growth and animal health but also shift market equilibrium of both agro-inputs and outputs in the food supply chain and thereby affect food security indirectly. Furthermore, this study evaluates the effects of agricultural policy and energy policy on food security and air pollution, respectively, and provides an overview of potential policy instruments to reduce air pollution while ensuring food security. Finally, we identify the remaining research and policy issues for further studies, mainly focusing on the study of household's bounded rational behaviors and the issue of rural aging population.
文摘The Government of the Lao PDR’s policy is to eliminate the cultivation of upland rice by means of ‘slash-and-burn’ cultivation and to replace it with more ecologically stable systems based on sustainable land use at the village and household level. The objectives of this policy are to alleviate poverty and to introduce more sustainable management of agricultural resources. In order to achieve these objectives, the government has initiated a program of relocation to upland ‘focal areas’ from which marketing, distribution and other services can be supplied, these being essential preconditions for effective agricultural development in these regions. This diagnostic study has examined communal and household strategies for addressing food security issues, and has highlighted the main problems encountered in the pursuit of food security on the local level. The specific objective was to conduct a broadly focused participatory problem diagnosis of the study areas in two districts Phonsay and Namo, in order to understand farmers’ problems, livelihood goals and how their perspectives on food security have changed, and to investigate food security in shifting cultivation systems in Luang Prabang andOudomxay provinces. Within these two provinces Phonsay and Namo districts were selected as the research areas. The two districts are the poorest districts in the Luang Prabang and Oudomxay provinces and two of ten priority poorest districts in the whole country. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for the study. The results of this study were reviewed against the sustainable land use systems strategy formulated from the Lao PDR policy. The study highlights both the benefits and stresses on household welfare, food insecurity conditions in the study areas, and interrelated problems of insufficient rice for household consumption. Finally based on these results the authors propose recommendations and future research indications.
基金Under the auspices of Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.XDB40000000,XDA23060100)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42077455)+1 种基金Western Light Talent Program(Category A)(No.2018-99)United Fund of Karst Science Research Center(No.U1612441)。
文摘Cropland area has long been used as a key indicator of food security.However,grain yield is not solely controlled by the area of the cropland.Therefore,we proposed a new indicator to assess food security.Results show that from 1992 to 2004,the global cropland area increased by 840200 km^(2)(99.4%),but the grain yield increased only by 310 million t(29.1%);and from 2004 to 2015,the cropland area decreased by 39000 km^(2)(4.64%),but the grain yield increased by 370 million t(70.84%).This result showed that grain yield was not linearly correlated with cropland area,and delimiting the threshold of cropland protection may not guarantee food security.Combined with further correlation analysis,we found that the increase in the global grain yield was more closely related to the harvested area(R^(2)=0.94),which indicated that the harvested area is a more scientific and accurate indicator than cropland area in terms of guaranteeing food security.Therefore,if governments want to ensure the food security,they should choose a new and more accurate indicator:harvested area rather than cropland area.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41625001,31660233).
文摘China is the world’s largest consumer of pork and grains.However,African swine fever(ASF)and the COVID-19 outbreak have greatly impacted the pork supply and food security in China.How can food security and the pork supply be ensured under the dual impacts of COVID-19 and ASF?This is a major problem to be urgently solved by the Chinese government.This study indicated that the main pork production and sales areas in China were separated,which reflected the spatial imbalance between the supply and demand.The total area of suitable selected sites for pig farms in China is 21.5 million ha.If only the areas with levels of high and moderate suitability are considered as potential sites for pig farms,the potential pork production can reach 56.1 million tons in China,which is slightly lower than demand.Due to the impact of the ASF epidemic,the food consumed by pigs has been reduced by 34.7 million tons.However,with increasing pork productivity in the future,the self-sufficiency rate of grains may further decline.On the premise that the quality of people’s life is not affected,the diversification of meat supply channels should be realized in an orderly and sustainable way,which might alleviate the pressure on food supply.This study provides a theoretical reference for the spatiotemporal layout of the swine industry and addresses the issue of food security in China under the influence of ASF and the COVID-19 outbreak.
基金Supported by Humanities and Social Sciences Planning Project of the Ministry of Education(16YJA790014)
文摘In December 2015,the Central Rural Work Conference put forward the structural reform of agricultural supply side,to ensure the national food security. At present,China's grain production is increasing,the supply and demand structure of grain market is not balanced,and the ineffective supply due to the lack of market supply and demand has caused the problem of structural surplus and structural shortage.And price and quality difference of domestic and international grain is obvious,and the agricultural products in China are overstock,so the reform of agricultural supply side based on food security must be implemented. To adjust structure,reduce stock,reduce cost,increase quality,promote the primary,secondary and tertiary industries convergence will become the focus of China's agricultural supply side structural reform,and we can develop the ecological agriculture,improve the competitiveness of the grain market in price and quality,to ensure food security for the nation.
文摘The quantity and quality of farmland is the key factor determining grain production capacity, so protecting farmland has become the key to guaranteeing food security. I take Anshan City in Liaoning Province as the study area which has its own particularity in terms of protecting farmland. Based on the prediction of population, coupled with the relevant data concerning farmland area, the per unit area yield of grain, the prediction and analysis of the balance of supply and demand of farmland in Anshan City are conducted. The results show that in the year 2010, the maximum supply amount of farmland that the city can offer is 239 000 hm2, and in the year 2020 the maximum supply amount of farmland that the city can offer will be 238 000 hm2; in the year 2010, the maximum demand amount of farmland is 204 186.02 hm2, and in the year 2020 the maximum supply amount of farmland will be 226 409.61 hm2. So the supply amount of farmland that the city can offer can meet the need of grain production objective. Some problems concerning farmland protection are pointed out in order to provide beneficial exploration of the farmland protection based on the model of food security.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41625001,31660233).
文摘The COVID-19 outbreak that became a global pandemic in early 2020 is starting to affect agricultural supply chains and leading to a rapid rise in global food prices.As many grain exporting countries announced a ban on grain exports,food security issues in China have attracted a significant international attention.Based on the Suitability Distribution Model and Soybean-Cereal Constraint Model,we explored the relationship between soybean production potential and food security.We calculated that the soybean potential planting area in China is 164.3 million ha.If the outbreak prevents China from importing soybeans,soybean planting area will need to be increased by 6.9 times to satisfy the demands.In the meantime,cereal self-sufficiency rate will drop to 63.4%,which will greatly affect food security.Each additional unit of soybean production will reduce 3.9 units of cereal production,and 1%increase in the self-sufficiency rate of soybean will result in a 0.63%drop in the self-sufficiency rate of cereal.Without sacrificing the self-sufficiency rate of cereal,the self-sufficiency rate of soybean is limited to 42%.Consequently,China will still need to import more than 68%of the current import volume of soybean.Although in the short term,the outbreak will not affect food security in China,as soybean imports decrease,insufficient supply of soybeans will affect people’s quality of life.To prevent the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak,China should increase soybean stocks and strengthen international cooperation.In the long term,increasing the self-sufficiency rate is a fundamental solution to solving soybean import dependency.The key to increasing soybean cultivation is by making soybean cultivation profitable and by building a sustainable soybean planting chain.
文摘The challenge Africa faces the most is how to feed the 2.4 billion people in 2050. This will require a transformational agriculture. Africa doesn’t need subsistence agriculture, but rather agriculture linked to the market where market demand and the consuming habits are taken in consideration. Agriculture evolves in an environment where small holders are linked to markets (national and regional), where economies of complementarity and economies of scale are taken advantage of by producers and private sector. In short, Africa will need a paradigm shift to industrialise and commercialise its agriculture sector in order to increase food production, and income and to create jobs in and outside the sector. Africa needs agribusiness and agro-industries to domesticate the benefits of the sector, to create wealth in the sector and retain that wealth in the continent. Agricultural commodities regional value chains for increased food should be the target for Africa. The continent remains the region with the highest prevalence of under-nourishment. Since agriculture remains the mainstay of most African economies except the mineral producers, the sector deserves a close attention from leaders. It accounts for 65% of employment and 40% of Africa’s export earnings and accounts for 17% of the GDP. This shows how important the sector is. Agriculture needs to be seen as a conduit for farmers to get connected to markets, a conduit for revenue, for jobs and for transformation. Africa needs to come back on the international scene as food sufficient continent and even food exporter. This can be achieved only with a stable, productive agricultural resource base. Thus, achieving and sustaining food security and economic prosperity in Africa will require significant efforts to modernize the continent’s agriculture sector through injection of agribusiness and agro-industries and through the application of science and technology in agriculture. In essence, agriculture needs to be viewed as knowledge based entrepreneurial activity. Smart investments in agriculture will have multiplier effects for the whole economy and hence induce prosperity to other sectors. In recent years, a renewed focus on agriculture has been evident in policy and development agendas across the African continent. This paper outlines the status of agriculture, agribusiness and agro-industries in Africa, their role in the agenda of agricultural transformation and economic transformation and the focus on regional value chain to increase food production, transformation and trade. The paper adopts a new thinking in agriculture, which reflects a regional value chain approach. The author covers such issues as: need for agricultural transformation, the role of value chain in agricultural sector, the need for regional value chain for increased income and increased food, the role of markets and the common denominator of all, the regional integration to push forward the African agriculture agenda. Evidence shows that it is agricultural growth, through its leverage effects on the rest of the economy that typically enables poor countries, poor regions and ultimately poor households to take the first steps toward economic transformation. Therefore agricultural productivity, at the small holder’s level, has the potential to lift millions of Africa’s vulnerable out of poverty and provide sustainable jobs. Other factors, namely “the rapid urbanization” and “increased population growth”, are quoted to be of critical importance. Africa population is projected to double, attaining the 2.3 billion people mark over the next 40 years representing half of the globe’s total population. This could trigger competition for resources and can have devastating effects on natural resources if not rightly channelled.
文摘This study summarises the findings from a study investigating rural small-holding farmers’experiences on the shift from food crop to cashew in the forest/savanna transitional agro-ecological zone of Ghana and its impact on rural food security.Using a mix method approach,the study sampled the views of 400 farmers from 9 farming communities in the Wenchi Municipality of Ghana via questionnaire and semi-structured interview and collated statistical data on crop production to trace the nexus between climate change,agrarian land-use decisions and food security.The study found evidence of increasing shift from food crop to cashew production.This was evidenced by increasing cashew cultivation and cashew output and decreasing total land acreage for food crops and increasing food insecurity of farmers.The findings revealed that about 71%of farmers had expanded their cashew farms and another 41.0%have turned their food crops’lands to cashew production.Besides cashew production,(57.0%)has overtaken the traditional food crop-maize(25.5%)production in terms of output.Instructively,the study found that the main motivation for the shift from food crop to cashew production is not only to maximise income in bulk,but also climate change adaptability issues.The study found that the cashew crop is resilient in adapting to the changing climate and less prone to pests’invasion compared to maize in the study District.The study found that food security among rural folks had been seriously compromised by the conversion of farmlands from food crop to cashew farming.Although,the study found that female farmers have higher consciousness to food security yet less motivated to shift from food crop to cashew crop production compared to men.Worryingly,females are the hardest hit group because of their low ownership of or access to farmlands and low voices of women in farmland use decision making in a men-dominant rural extended family setting of the study District.The study concludes that climate change adaptability concern has introduced a new set of risks including crop failure due to changing rainfall pattern and increasing incidence of pest invasions forcing the rural folks to compromise innovative indigenous farming focus and practices that have helped them to navigate extreme food poverty.This study,therefore,argues for improved food crop seeds tailored to the specific climatic context and innovative farming practices that beef-up small-holding farmers’capacity to navigate climate change to continually produce food crop to ensure rural food security and sustainability.
