Urban Farming: The Reluctant Utopia

The old conceptual dichotomy between the city and the countryside has often been a historical stumbling block for architects and urban planners. Whilst there have been many attempts to bring the city closer to the natural environment, some on grand scales, more modest experiments have often gleaned better results. Daniele Belleri is a partner at design and innovation office CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, where he is in charge of all editorial and curatorial projects. He and the practice's founder, architect and engineer Carlo Ratti – who is director of the Senseable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – together explore our contemporary options. Copyright © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effect of Farmers' Awareness of Climate Change on Their Willingness to Adopt Low-Carbon Production: Based on the TAM-SOR Model.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the intricate relationships between human health and the social-ecological system in an era of climate and global change. Widespread COVID-19 adversely affected farmers' employment, production practices, and livelihood resilience. At the same time, climate change is a key issue limiting agricultural production worldwide. Emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are a major factor leading to global climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production are receiving increasing attention. Therefore, it is particularly important to develop low-carbon agriculture. Based on data from 920 family farms in Jiangsu province and Shaanxi province, this study constructs a structural equation model and empirically tests the relationship between the variables using the bootstrap method. The results show that: (1) climate change awareness did not directly stimulate farmers' willingness to pursue low-carbon production; (2) climate change awareness has an impact on low-carbon production willingness through perceived ease of use and consequence awareness; and (3) anti-risk ability can effectively moderate the impact of climate change awareness on low-carbon production behavior in agriculture. The theoretical model framework proposed in this study provides a reference for research in the field of low-carbon agriculture and also provides some insights and suggestions for environmentalists and governments. In addition, policymakers should effectively raise the sense of responsibility of farmers to address climate change and promote low-carbon agricultural production to achieve healthy and sustainable agricultural development.

‘With agroecology, we can defend ourselves': examining campesino resilience and economic solidarity during pandemic-era economic shock in Guatemala

The global spread of Covid-19 led to travel and market restrictions that impacted Guatemala's rural food systems. This distinct economic shock directly affected campesinos, or small-scale farmers who depend on subsistence and commercial food production. Some Guatemalan farmer organizations have been promoting agroecology for decades in efforts to strengthen rural livelihoods and food sovereignty, defend Indigenous rights, and adapt to climate change, and agroecology is positioned as a tool for resilience to various shocks. We consider the neoliberal cooptation of the concept of resilience, and its usefulness in preserving alternative and previous (Indigenous) practices. Data from surveys and semi-structured interviews with farmers and leaders at eight organizations that promote agroecology suggests that prior engagement with a farmer organization, enacted through both agroecological practices and social networks, contributes to campesino resilience to the pandemic's economic shock at the farm level, with regards to production and consumption. This study illustrates the range and diversity of strategies taken up by campesinos during the pandemic, and considers the importance of social networks for collective actions that increase current and future economic solidarity in campesino communities.

Cultivating Connections with Farm to School Activities During School Closures

To engage youth and their families in a web-based hybrid club for farm to school activities as an alternative to school-based activities when schools closed due to the pandemic.Farm to school programs increase children's access to and knowledge of fresh and local foods primarily through experiential learning (Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory) such as gardening, tasting food and field trips.Youth, grades 2-6, and their families who experienced disruption in usual learning and social activities due to COVID-19 restrictions.Experiential activities are the hallmark of farm to school education. In March 2020 all hands-on, school based activities planned by Extension faculty were cancelled due to the pandemic. Faculty responded by offering garden-cooking clubs using a web-based hybrid approach independent of schools. Faculty facilitated bi-weekly virtual meetings of 30 minutes for 6-8 weeks for youth and their families. Asynchronous activities were also offered via a website, kits, video demonstrations, farmers market vouchers and when possible, farm tours.Adult caregivers received a survey at the end of the 6-8 week club sessions to evaluate their child's and family's level of engagement including queries on how much time they spent using web-based tools and how likely they were to start a garden.One hundred and ninety youth, grades 2-6, and their families participated in 4 virtual and/or hybrid clubs delivered by Extension faculty from March 2020 to October 2020. Caregiver responses from the survey (n = 46) indicated 83% of families expanded or started a garden. On average youth and/or families spent 47 minutes per week engaged in program activities including online learning.It appears that virtual programming can actively engage youth and their families in farm to school education and may be a tool to supplement resource intensive hands-on strategies in the future. Further research is need to determine which components are best suited for web-based delivery vs in person delivery.

Food security and PNAE: what changed during the pandemic?

The topic of food insecurity returned to the debate in society during the Covid-19 pandemic. The PNAE is an important instrument to promote rights related to food, in addition to contributing to the strengthening of the local economy and generating income for family farmers. This article aims to carry out a qualitative analysis on the execution of the PNAE in the Municipality of Sao Joao d'Alianca -GO, especially on its contribution to local family farming and the impacts and alternatives adopted during the period of suspension of school activities during the period of Covid-19 pandemic. To achieve the intended objective, the case study was carried out through a qualitative approach, the techniques of literature review, semi-structured interview and observation were also employed. Thus, guaranteeing the triangulation of the data obtained and greater confidence in the research. In the period prior to the pandemic, the municipality exceeded the minimum amount of acquisitions from family farming (30%), especially due to the articulation between local public agents and the local farmers' cooperative. During the pandemic period, this articulation continued with the distribution of food kits to families in situations of food insecurity, overcoming challenges and opening new possibilities.

On-Farm Renewable Energy Systems: A Systematic Review

Over the years, energy is becoming an essential factor with an impact on social, economic, and environmental aspects. More than 2.5 billion people are connected to agriculture worldwide, so the importance of agricultural energy production has become increasingly important. This study provides a comprehensive review of renewable energy, environment, and farm publication trends. Two hundred articles from 1988 to 2022 were analyzed, with special attention devoted to the last three extreme years, using the Scopus database and the Bibliometrix tool for analysis and visualization. Research on this topic experienced significant developments after 2008, with many fluctuations being revealed. Historically, China and the USA were the most productive countries in agricultural energy production advancements. However, in the last three years, the research center's respective contributions have undergone major changes. China maintained its dominance, but the importance of the USA fell sharply, and new centers (India, Poland) appeared. Biogas is the most popular method which is used and searched in this area between 1988–2022 since it includes both sustainability and locality. However, between 2020–2022, the importance of the circular economy has been highlighted in the literature. Complex energy systems, dual use of land, and energy storage might be the most important challenges for future research. © 2023 by the authors.

The Role of Common Agricultural Policy for Enhancing the Resilience of Rural Areas under the Current Global Challenges

Currently the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2023-2027 proposes a series of development objectives that allow Member States to design their CAP Strategic Plans for enhancing the resilience of rural areas through targeted actions to increase agricultural production and food security, while supporting climate and environmental objectives. This paper aims to identify the concrete ways in which funding granted through the CAP can contribute to increasing the resilience of rural areas under the global current challenges brought by the COVID-19 crisis and by the war that Russia started in Ukraine, by analysing some key factors: CAP's role for boosting the competitiveness of European agriculture, supporting the growth and employment in rural areas, supporting farm income, financing the environmental objectives and, last but not least, finding solutions to increase food security. For this purpose, the latest statistics on CAP allocations for the two pillars (Pillar I - agriculture and markets and Pillar II - rural development) will be presented, as well as the evolutions of trade in agricultural products and agricultural production at EU-27 level in order to highlight how can CAP respond to the challenges brought by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the climate change, while financing the sustainable development of EU's rural areas and supporting a competitive agriculture in the Member States.

Do we still need to develop new tools to assess the sustainability of urban agriculture?

Urban agriculture initiatives are increasing in numbers. Projects are being created on all continents and in all kinds of cities large or small. The Covid-19 crisis has also increased the awareness of public authorities to the participation of this agriculture to food provisioning for some populations but also for its participation to social resilience of the city. Studies have been done to evaluate the impact of urban agriculture on city sustainability and tools have been developed to measure it at several scales from the city to the project. The private sector has also begun to work on tools to evaluate the sustainability of urban agricultural projects to help public authorities and landowners choose project to install in new places. With such a plethora of tools, do we still need to work on this subject? As the existing tools do not apply at the same scale, do not rely on the same goals of sustainability and are not always very transparent about their workings? The first step to answer all these questions is through a systematic review of published tools in scientific reviews. Therefore, the objective of this review is to compare the identified tools according to several criteria (scale, type of urban agriculture evaluated, sustainability dimensions studied, complexity/ number/type of indicators, public availability, etc.). This will enable us to identify both the conditions under which existing tools can be used, gaps in the existing pool of resources but also the gaps in knowledge to measure some part of UA sustainability and identified technical and organisation levers than can improve UA sustainability. The first pool of analysed articles shows the use of existing frameworks in half of them whereas half developed their own systems and sometimes indicators. Nearly all tools are based on the three sustainability pillars (environmental, economic and social) even though they are sometimes redesigned for the tool in different categories. © 2022 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved.

Smallholders Are Not the Same: Under the Hood of Kosovo Agriculture

Economists and policy makers are interested in producers' responses to policies in order to achieve some national or sectoral objectives, e.g., growth, employment, food security. The way producers respond to policy depends on their production function. If producers do not have homogenous production function, policy responses will be heterogeneous. We use the underlying functional relationship to derive homogenous groupings. The paper employs finite regression mixture models to specify and estimate farm groups with regard to pre-specified functional relationship. The proposed approach is illustrated with regard to the aggregate production function of Kosovo agriculture, characterised by high prevalence of small farmers. The results point out to two farm clusters. The first one extracts more output from labour and intermediate consumption. The second one makes a better use of land. Perhaps, surprisingly, both clusters appear quite similar in terms of their stock of production inputs. Cluster 1 however appears to be more specialised. We can conclude that in Kosovo agriculture appearances and size are not primary determinants of productivity.

Ad hoc government payments impact on non-real estate farm debt

Purpose>The authors examined the impact of the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) and Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments to United States agricultural producers on non-real estate agricultural loans.Design/methodology/approach>The authors used quarterly, state-level commercial bank data from 2016–2020 to estimate dynamic panel models.Findings>The authors found MFP and CFAP payments not associated with the percentage of non-real estate agricultural loans with payments over 90 days late. However, these payments associated with the percentage of non-real estate agricultural loans with payments between 30 and 89 days late. The available data utilized cannot consider when producers received the actual payment and what they specifically did with those funds.Originality/value>The contribution of this study is for US policymakers and agricultural lenders. The findings could be helpful in designing and implementing future ad hoc payment programs and provide an understanding of potential shortcomings of the current safety net for agricultural producers in the Farm Bill. Additionally, findings can assist agricultural lenders in predicting the impact of ad hoc payments on their distressed loan portfolios.

Micro and small farms – element from the model for revitalizing of rural areas

The structural defining elements of the socio-economic model for the sustainability of rural development are closely related to the revitalization of the activities, processes and results of the functioning of economic units/actors in rural areas. We have used a double matrix socio-economic model that has the aim to determine what role do the micro and small farms have in socio-economic environment in Bulgaria, as well as how implementation of EU politics and national legislation affect them. Bulgarian agriculture has experienced major structural changes as a result of the restoration of ownership of agricultural land and in recent years, CAP policy the green deal, combined with COVID19 and the war in Ukraine has influenced heavily the processes happening to small and micro farms in Bulgaria and their role/place in agriculture. © 2022, Agricultural Academy, Bulgaria. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 Responses and Pivots in the Piedmont Region of North Carolina: A Call for Policy Reforms for Small Farmers

While the United States prioritizes agricultural legislation and assistance, policies passed both federally and locally are not always developed with small-scale farms in mind. This inequity became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. By identifying how aid money was distributed during times of crisis, we were able to see how small-scale farms are supported through words rather than action. We examine small-scale farmers prior to and during the pandemic in the North Carolina Piedmont region. We focus on the role small-scale farmers and farmers markets play in a local agro-food system through a political economy perspective and highlight some of the challenges, barriers, and responses during the pandemic, including access to farm aid. In addition, we identify strategies for how small-scale farmers persisted during unprecedented times, especially during COVID-19.

Looking Forward to When it is Over: Reactions and Short-Term Coping Micro-Strategies of Polish Fruit and Vegetable Farmers during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The present paper focuses on farmers' strategies for coping with the shock caused by the outbreak of the pandemic of COVID-19. Using the concept of farm resilience, which underlines the role of capacity and abilities as well as different actions undertaken in difficult situations, this study proposes an analytical framework of farmers' coping short-term micro-strategies in relation to external crises, on the example of the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking into account academic literature, qualitative data gathered from fruit and vegetable producers in different regions in Poland and the information from sector experts, the paper outlines the varied consequences of the pandemic for farms, and also farmers' diverse reactions to them. The findings from this study suggests that the analysed farms' relative resilience to the crisis was achieved thanks to their available economic and social resources and the actions they undertook. The above-mentioned resources and activities were considered in the study primarily using the relational (process-based) approach, focusing on the ways of their creation, maintenance and adaptation. At the same time, the empirical material under analysis has shown that the adaptive measures adopted were short-term and did not respond to the farms' permanent problems, which the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated significantly. It is assumed that presented results and proposed framework of farmers' micro-strategies, which were taken during the pandemic, might be useful for future studies focusing on various external shocks as well as for research to be conducted in other CEE countries due to many common contextual factors that has shaped food practices and institutional arrangements.

Narrative explorations of the role of the informal food sector in food flows and sustainable transitions during the COVID-19 lockdown

Globally, the informal food sector has been the recipient of exclusionary urban policies, despite its dominant role in urban life. This study examined the contributions of the informal food sector to food flows during the COVID-19 lockdown in Cape Town, South Africa. An ethnographic research method consisting of in-depth interviews and participant observations was used to gather data between April and November 2020. The data were thematically analysed. Corporate retailers and informal vendors managed food flows through the city prior to COVID-19. Due to the lockdown regulations, food flows through the informal sector ceased. The situation resulted in job loss and increased food insecurity. During this challenging period, the informal sector transformed food flows by facilitating sustainable urban agriculture, food aid programmes, and community change. Although the sector can hinder urban modernisation, the current study findings showed that the informal food sector is a buffer for meeting urban sustainability needs. Regulatory frameworks that embrace inclusive governance approaches are highly recommended.

A Stochastic Model for an Input Control Problem in a Two-Level Supply Chain for Production-Time-Dependent Products with Random Demands

Inspired by the poultry farming process, we studied an input control problem in a two-level supply chain for production-time-dependent products with random demands. Poultry farms deliver chicks in batches, and the raising process begins at timed intervals. Chicks become broilers after a predetermined raising time. The broilers in the process are shipped to manufacturing plants to satisfy the demand. The remaining chicks grow to the next product size to satisfy the demands for larger chickens. This procedure is repeated until the chicks are fully grown. After the chicks are grown to satisfy the demand for the largest size, the remaining chicks are discarded. In this paper, a stochastic model is presented to study an input control problem in the poultry farming process. Because of the production density, feed, and temperature control, one important issue in the operation of a poultry company is the determination of the raising interval and quantity of input (chicks). While existing mathematical models can provide effective information on the production-planning problem of systems, research has not been conducted on cases of random demand. Identifying a recursive structure and Markovian property for the number of raw materials (chicks) and the unfulfilled demand for each product type in the system, we demonstrate that embedded Markov chain models can be obtained. The equilibrium probabilities of the models can be calculated using matrix analytic methods or probability generating functions. Various numerical experiments are conducted to analyze how performance measures such as amount of disposal, unsatisfied demands, and total cost (considering disposal cost and opportunity cost) change with system parameters.

The Presence of Political Bots on Twitter during the COVID-19 Crisis in Spain

The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the decree of the State of Alarm in Spain and a severe home confinement that was softened in phases of de-escalation. During this period, social networks were used as a discussion tool. With this research we intend to find out if artificial intelligence tools were used in the political debate on Twitter. To achieve this, algorithms that determine the presence of bots in the conversation, their communicative roles and their relationship with the main political parties were applied. The results show that disinformation campaigns were created by bots with the aim of manipulating public opinion. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR]

The role of agribusiness extension in the changing business environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, socio-economic and political conditions

The Covid-19 pandemic, changes in global political and security conditions, and climate change have brought significant changes to the food production, consumption, and supply chain. The impact of these changes is transmitted to the farm level. Farmers face not only production risk and price risk, but also the risk of market changes triggered by changes in business orientation on fulfilling consumer pReferences. The purpose of this study is to identify changes in the socio-economic and political environment and their impact on farmers and farming, as well as to analyse the responses needed for extension to remain effective and relevant in carrying out its role. This study employed a descriptive comparative approach. Qualitative data obtained through literature studies based on journal articles. This study found that changes in the business environment not only affect farmers and farming but also the food agribusiness system from upstream to downstream. The conventional extension approach is increasingly turning into a more flexible approach and is not only oriented to the needs of farmers but also considers the needs or pReferences of consumers. Extension is no longer a domain or carried out by public institutions but also by private institutions or companies as well. The results of this study are useful for the formulation of public policies in the field of extension as part of responding to changes in the busiess environment, climate change, and information technology.

Developing agribusiness of vegetables and seasonal fruits for strengthening economy of smallholder farmer households post the 2018 earthquakes and pandemic Covid-19 era in upland North Lombok West Nusa Tenggara

The general objective of the research were to analyse the acceleration of economic recovery and food security of smalllholder farmer househols post the 2018 earthquake and COVID-19 pandemic era through empowering farmer groups of dry land horticulture agribusiness based. The specific objective was determining and analysing the effect of the Pentha-helix approach, sinergy among Higher Education Institution, Local Government, Agricultural Extension officer, Bank and private enterprise in empowering farmers. It's mission were Better Farming, Better Business and Better Living. It was the longitudinal action research by implementing Participatory Action Research. The data was recoded from farmers target groups and 60 smallholder farmers in three villages nearby the pilot project village. The cross classification between food expenditure and sufficiency of energy consumption was used to measure the degree of food security of household. It's concluded that developing agribusiness of upland horticulture has high potential for reinforcement of economic recovery of smalholder farmer's household post the 2018 earthquakes and during pandemic COVID-19 era. Implementing Triple Helix and Pentahelix approach have a possitive impact for strenghtening and recovering economy of smalholders farmers households. They were in enough food category which depicted by 85.50% degree of energy consumption. Food scurity based on distribution of household food need was in the category of low expenditure of food (less than 60%). Food scurity of household based on cross combination between the dergree of energy consumption and the proportion of food expenditure were 61% of them were resistance to food scurity, 30.85% of household were vulnerable of food scurity, and 6.20% of households were troubled of food scurity and 61.25% of them were lack of food. They realize that North Lombok region is a tourism destination, so that they have high instrinsik motivation for growing vegetable crops and seasonal fruits. Therefore, supplying high economic value of vegetables and fruits, quality insurance and friendly environment of vegetables and fruits are needed to be sustained through implementing the penta helix approch.

Production and income dynamics of maize farmers in dryland of North Lombok Indonesia before and during the Covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a broad impact on several aspects of human life, one of which is the issue of food sufficiency. Due to social restrictions, the agricultural sector, which plays a role in producing food for humans, may be affected by the pandemic. These restrictions impact the availability of farm labor and the market, both agricultural inputs, and outputs. This three-year study examines the factors that influence the productivity and income of maize farmers in the dry sandy lands of Gumantar village, North Lombok, Indonesia, before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used was descriptive quantitative with 50 respondents, determined by accidental sampling. The study results showed variations in land area ownership of respondent farmers, variations in crop productivity, and variations in the form of products sold, such as selling cobs and selling grains. Maize production was more affected by rainfall, fertilizer availability, and pest disturbances than the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the income of maize farmers due to restrictions on the mobility of maize buyers.

Interspecies Relations: SARS-CoV-2 Spillovers on Mink Farms

This essay argues for the need for research into multispecies relations at the intersection between international political economy, ecology, and disease emergence. It draws attention to the conditions of intensive agribusiness and modern livestock, which alter human-animal-microbe relations, facilitating the emergence of infectious diseases such as the case of mink farms and COVID-19. It also highlights the impact of infection on animals and farming economies. Through a discussion of the ways anthropogenic activities have historically changed the kinds, scale, and spread of human disease, the essay concludes with an appeal to rethink international political economy.