Climate-smart agricultural systems must mitigate climate change and adapt to it.

India, a prominent global milk producer, faces suboptimal animal milk productivity primarily due to feed and fodder deficits and malnutrition of milch animals. In Tamil Nadu, landrace, dual-purpose and multi-cut sorghum fodder cultivars play a pivotal role in providing much-needed fodder under rainfed and limited irrigation conditions.

Despite the importance of enhanced seed quality to agricultural productivity growth, evidence remains scarce regarding the nature and possible drivers of returns to formal sector quality assurance systems, including certified seeds production in countries like Nigeria that focus significantly on the formal-sector seed systems.

Food loss is a major problem, as it reduces food system efficiency. Loss of animals is of particular importance, as animal production generally has higher environmental impact.

Palm oil production is a major source of income for millions of smallholders in Indonesia, the main palm oil producing country in the world. However, smallholders' yield is low in relation to the attainable yield. Adoption of better management practices (BMPs) as an approach to increase yield and profit has received less attention than certification and replanting programs.

Flanders, a densely populated region in Belgium, faces challenges in balancing agricultural production with renewable energy targets. Agrivoltaic systems combine solar energy and agricultural activity on the same field and can increase land productivity while simultaneously expanding the share of renewables. However, its potential and implications for the region is geographically complex.

Black soil farmland protection is a necessary measure in China to achieve sustainable, high-quality farmland development. Biochar, as a new type of soil amendment, has been shown to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase crop yields. However, few studies have addressed the widespread application of biochar from a productivity perspective.

While there is potential for soy production in Europe, many European regions still struggle to adopt soy cultivation. Consequently, the European market is heavily dependent on imports from overseas. At the same time, in line with current literature, the EU is paying specific attention to the necessity of yield improvement through research funding, training, and learning instruments, as well as allocating

Current food systems account for approximately 30 % of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; therefore, consumers' dietary preferences can have strong environmental consequences. This is well known for the GHG mitigation achieved by reducing animal protein consumption and associated methane emissions. However, the impact of diet shifts on the soil GHG balance has not been comprehensively evaluated

Wheat is a crucial crop for food and nutritional security in Mediterranean and MENA regions, yet it faces significant challenges due to high yield variability, low average productivity, and substantial yield gaps. This highlights the urgent need for improved agricultural practices to enhance its productivity and resilience. The region's climate climate change, soil degradation, and water supply variability

In the context of global change, large irrigation schemes are once again at the forefront of regional and national development plans. The Bagré irrigation scheme in Burkina Faso, with 16,780 ha planned, of which 3380 ha already under cultivation, is emblematic of this renewed interest. However, it is worth remembering that large irrigation schemes in sub-Saharan Africa have rarely delivered the expected

Smallholder dairy farmers are among the primary dairy producers in developing countries. In Zambia, they contribute more than 80 % of the country's milk production, which amounts to approximately $80 million annually. Understanding the factors that influence smallholder dairy farmers' decisions to join cooperatives is crucial for enhancing cooperative participation and improving dairy production efficiency

Local cereal production influences the sustainability of urban food system. Food self-sufficiency is widely studied on national and regional scale. However, few previous research focuses on urban cereal supply from a perspective of land use change.

Excessive use of chemical fertilizer severely impacts the ecological environment and presents considerable challenges to food security and agricultural sustainability. To address this issue, governments worldwide have implemented incentive measures, such as technical training, agricultural subsidies, and propaganda guidance. However, the effectiveness of these measures in enhancing farmers' willingness

Agroecosystems provide crop provisioning service to support food security, as well as regulating services to maintain soil health. However, the relationships among ecosystem services (ES), rice production security, and soil attributes remain unclear.

Late spring frosts are a major problem for apple production in Germany. Frost events frequently lead to yield losses and quality reduction. This has motivated the development of several frost protection measures, which differ in terms of effectiveness, costs and workload. In many cases, it is an open question for fruit growers if investing in frost protection is worthwhile and which strategy would

The agriculture and food system face challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, agricultural pollution, and food security. An environmentally and resource friendly development of food security is required at international and national levels. Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer opportunities to address these challenges and facilitate the transformation of agriculture

European agriculture faces numerous challenges, and agroecology has emerged as a promising alternative. To facilitate this transition, integrating agroecology into agricultural education is crucial. However, its systemic and interdisciplinary nature makes it difficult to teach and learn. To support teaching, the “SErious Game for AgroEcology” (SEGAE) was developed. SEGAE is a simulated mixed crop–livestock

Crop phenology is a critical ecological indicator reflecting the impact of climate change on agricultural systems. As soybean is one of the most important economic crops in China, investigating the dynamics and drivers of soybean phenology is essential for developing adaptation options.

Climate change, food security concerns, and the need for environmental sustainability pose significant challenges to agricultural systems worldwide. South Korea's heavy reliance on rice monoculture underscores its vulnerability to these challenges, necessitating exploration of crop diversification as a potential solution.

The concurrent global demands of ensuring food production, preserving the environment, and responsibly managing natural resources, shape the formulation of EU policies, influencing farmers' decision-making processes and production activities. In this context the Farm to Fork Strategy plays a crucial role, setting specific targets such as a 50 % and a 20 % reduction in pesticides and fertilizers use

Pine wilt disease (PWD), caused by Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is the deadliest disease affecting pine trees, and causes severe economic and ecological damage in South Korea. Therefore, monitoring PWD is a national campaign necessary for timely control of the disease.

Irrigated paddy fields are major contributors to methane (CH4) emissions, significantly impacting global warming. Flood irrigation, the traditional method for rice cultivation, significantly increases water consumption and CH4 emissions.

Excessive nitrogen (N) fertilization has led to serious environmental problems. Exploring the spatial distribution of rice yields and N loss is crucial to determine optimal N fertilizer management. However, previous studies are mostly based on field scale, it's a big challenge to use model approach to explore the spatial distribution and influencing factors of rice yields and N loss due to lack of

The publication of farm (or farmer) typologies has increased over recent years. The purpose of these studies is usually to differentiate groups of farmers so that they are “targeted” with specific agricultural innovations, or best-bet interventions can be “prioritised”. The degree to which such typologies actually influence development practice is however unclear, and little has been published on that

The development of pink bollworm (PBW) resistance to Bt cotton and the rise of boll rot (BR) disease pose significant challenges to cotton production in India. Both PBW and BR significantly reduce cotton yields by damaging seeds and lint. Damage caused by PBW often resembles BR infection leading to misdiagnosis and incorrect control measures. The lack of precise methods for quantifying yield losses

Synergies between water-energy-food-ecology (WEFE) nexus essentially embody the sound functioning of complex adaptive systems. As an effective way of promoting the transformation of agricultural systems, it is critical to compare the synergies between conventional and organic farming systems from a nexus perspective, and to explore the contribution of synergies to achieving sustainable development

Biodiverse coffee agroforestry systems (AFS) offer high potential for forest restoration. However, long-term monitoring using appropriate indicators is necessary to ensure successful ecological restoration. In the State of São Paulo, Brazil, legal instruments define ecological indicators and reference values for monitoring AFS-mediated ecological restoration.

Food security is increasingly at risk due to rising demand, unprecedented population growth, and challenges such as climate change and urbanization. Consequently, modeling the combined effects of climate change and land conversion on agricultural lands is of strategic importance.

Food insecurity remains a global challenge, with differing narratives shaping interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. The “crisis narrative,” favored by aid agencies, links insecurity to production issues, advocating agricultural innovations. Meanwhile, the “chronic poverty narrative,” reflected in African policy, ties insecurity to farmer poverty, emphasizing livelihood and economic solutions. Narrative

More nutrient cycling may be achieved by using less external inputs (feed, fertilisers) and reduce losses to the environment, especially in intensive farming systems. Yet, changes in on-farm management may have unintended consequences at higher aggregation scales due to potential trade-offs.

Over the last 26 years, researchers globally have successfully applied the soil nitrogen (N) model in the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to simulate N cycling and its effects on crop production across a range of agricultural systems and environments. As the modelling community further expands its focus to include environmental impacts of farming, it needs the model to be fit for

Climate change can trigger excessive rainfall, making mechanized soybean harvesting unfeasible. The off-season maize cultivation can benefit from soybean-maize rotation system, inoculated with Bradyrhizobium spp. strains, as a potential biological source of nitrogen (N). To meet the nutritional demand of maize crops, N fertilization management is essential. Recent research has sought to understand

The transition to digital agriculture is likely to lead to systemic changes that will affect production, consumption, governance, and the wider environment of agricultural systems. Nevertheless, the absence of sufficient evidence and ambiguities in perspectives create an ongoing lack of clarity regarding the potential impacts of digital agriculture. Therefore, to discern potential impacts while addressing

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas with a high global warming potential. Specialty crop (SC) systems, including vineyards, orchards, and vegetable farms, are among the highest value crops grown and emit N2O. Knowledge regarding N2O emissions from SCs remains limited, necessitating simulations using process-based models. However, model calibration and validation for SC biomass dynamics and

Agroforestry provides numerous benefits to agricultural landscapes, including timber production, carbon sequestration and enhanced biodiversity. Critically, agroforestry also influences the productivity of pasture, crops, and livestock. The magnitude and direction of the effect, however, is highly variable due to factors including the type of agroforestry (e.g., windbreak, alley, silvopasture), the

Understanding the interactions between genotype, environment, and management is crucial for guiding the development of new cultivars and defining strategies to maximize yield under specific environmental conditions.

In the Sahel region, agroforestry, if upscaled, is a promising land restoration measure to combat the effects of climate change. Beyond its environmental benefits, agroforestry potentially increases crop yields or provides tree products. While the presence and quantity of trees ensures environmental outcomes to a certain degree, the potential economic benefits can only be realized from more sophisticated

Redesign of farm systems could enable smallholder farms to move towards sustainability. In farm redesign, the joint participation of researchers and farmers is fundamental, together with new techniques and tools for evaluation.

Climate change will significantly impact grain production in the Guanzhong Plain. Maize-soybean intercropping is a stable and efficient cropping system, and optimizing water and nitrogen (N) management strategies for this system under future climate is crucial for sustainable agriculture.

Cacao production takes place in diverse environments and agricultural systems, with its performance and income generation potential depending on multiple contextual factors. The crop has been promoted among smallholders in South America as a driver for sustainable rural development, but a systematic comparison of the economic performance of diverse cacao production systems in this region was missing

The productivity of grazing-based dairy systems is driven in large part by availability of nitrogen (N) as it cycles though the soil, plant and animal. However, N use efficiency (NUE) is generally less than 40 % with significant N losses attributed to animal excreted N, especially urinary N, due to high N concentrations deposited.

European farming systems depend on synthetic fertilisers and feed imports. In a context of global peak oil and geopolitical crises, it is important to seek increasing independence from input imports and to reduce their environmental impact. This requires better crop-livestock integration, notably at the territorial level. However, this implies contending with the trade-offs related to agricultural

Crop rotation is seen as a ‘Climate-Smart Agriculture’ practice, but there are knowledge gaps around their climate impacts. This is the first direct measurement of nitrous oxide emissions (N2O) from cropland soils in South Africa.

Farmers' transition from using chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer to adopting sustainable alternatives like clover and multi-species swards can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, increase carbon sequestration, improve water quality, reduce dependence on volatile fertilizer prices and imports, and offer numerous other benefits. However, despite efforts to promote the uptake of clover

Agricultural sustainability in rural India is vital for ensuring food security and livelihoods, particularly for small-scale farmers. Many rural communities exhibit a blend of sustainable and unsustainable farming practices, affecting both their agricultural productivity and resilience in the face of environmental and socio-economic challenges.

A region's agricultural practices, particularly farmers' choices regarding plowing and planting, influence the adaptability of croplands to climate change. However, the role of these agronomic landscapes in mediating cropland responses to diverse climate conditions remains unclear.

The Argentine wheat belt region is centered on the humid pampas, i.e. the main wheat producing area of Argentina and is considered at global scale one of the most important in the world for its production of cereals and oilseeds crops. In this whole area wheat is exposed to contrasting climatic conditions.

Implementing alternative practices to the use of pesticides involves work issues that can limit adoption of these practices, particularly on dairy farms. Depending on how practices change, work organization may completely change, additional skills and knowledge may be required, and system complexity may increase, inducing a higher mental workload. This can result in an excessive total workload for

Sustainability transitions in agri-food systems are expected to reduce their negative environmental and social impacts. On the other hand, Europe demands an increase in the agricultural land under organic farming by 2030. Innovations in agri-food systems, especially in the organic sector, could close the gap in sustainability transitions and the foreseen conversion to organic farming.

The comparison of agricultural models and the conduct of crop improvement research have garnered significant attention in recent times. One of the primary objectives in this field is to pinpoint and mitigate the uncertainties inherent in modeling the effects of climate on crop growth and productivity. Enhancing the precision and reliability of crop models has emerged as a critical concern.

In modern intensive dairy farming, cows are increasingly held indoors and fed arable crops instead of grass to maximize individual animal performance. This leads to environmental issues such as high farm-level nutrient surpluses and loss of grassland plant species diversity as well as a growing competition between food and feed.

Predicting crop yields with high precision and timeliness is essential for crop breeding, enabling the optimization of planting strategies and efficients resource allocation while ensuring food security. Current research in this field typically does not address the problem of yield prediction in the diverse context of breeding experiments involving numerous varieties. However, evaluating the performance

Influenced by natural conditions, geographic location and socioeconomics, Qinghai Province is a typical alpine agro-pastoral ecotone; additionally, its food production system cannot cope with many risks, and exploring the suitability of resilient cropland spaces and rational utilization paths is of practical significance.

Milk production in developing countries is characterized by low per animal yield and disproportionately high GHG emissions. Specific policy recommendations are necessary to improve the technical as well as environmental efficiency of dairy production, especially for small farms. However, limited financial resources owned by producers lead to high transaction costs of introducing change. Both, concentrate

Intensive agriculture is under pressure from changing demands from society, prompting the need to redesign agricultural landscapes to provide multiple ecosystem services (ESs). However, implementation of changed practices requires positive engagement from stakeholders. Therefore, their perspective on ecosystem services needs to be known.

Sustainable agricultural practices are critical in a world grappling with climate change and pressure on natural resources. Unplanned agricultural expansion often harms ecosystems and the services they provide. Balancing food production with environmental protection demands sophisticated tools like spatial analysis and artificial intelligence to inform land-use decisions.

Coffee cultivation is important to Brazil's economy, positioning the country as a global leader in production and export. Given the complex environmental and management factors affecting yields, particularly due to climate change, there is a pressing need from farmers and dealers for more precise crop estimation models.

In Peru, silvopastoral systems have been included as a national measure to address deforestation and mitigate carbon emissions. Limited studies have assessed the sustainability of mixed livestock-crop systems using tools that address multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Research and policy continue to highlight the potential importance of transformative adaptations (involving wholly new systems, processes, or locations for activities) for climate and other future changes, including in agriculture. Despite this, there are few examples of transformative changes in action and insufficient understanding about the drivers that enable or facilitate transformative change