Is irrigation fit for purpose? A review of the relationships between scheme size and performance of irrigation systems

Irrigation is increasingly being called upon to help stabilize and grow food and water security in the face of multiple crises;these crises include climate change, but also recent global food and energy price crises, including the 2007/08 food and energy price crises, and the more recent crises triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war on Ukraine. While irrigation development used to focus on public, large-scale, surface- and reservoir-fed systems, over the last several decades, private small-scale investments in groundwater irrigation have grown in importance and are expected to see rapid future growth, particularly in connection with solar-powered pumping systems. But is irrigation 'fit-for-purpose' to support population growth, economic development, and multiple food, energy and climate crises? This paper reviews how fit-for-purpose irrigation is with a focus on economies of scale of surface and groundwater systems, and a particular examination of systems in Sub-Saharan Africa where the need for expansion is largest. The review finds challenges for both larger surface and smaller groundwater systems in the face of growing demand for irrigated agriculture and dwindling and less reliable water supplies. To support resilience of the sector, we propose both a holistic design and management improvement agenda for larger surface systems, and a series of suggestions to improve sustainability concerns of groundwater systems.

Reaction of the cereal market to the disruption of trade flows in Romania

The paper presents the reaction of the Romanian cereal market to the disruption of trade flows caused by certain shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which lead to changes with high impact on the functioning of this market, representing an important test for the resilience of the sector. Due to trade liberalization in global markets, including agri-food markets, the competitiveness of exports has become increasingly important, contributing to the creation of the country's competitive advantage. Any restrictions to trade in agri-food products can distort trade flows, and this disruption will have an impact on supply and prices. Maintaining a balance between imports and exports is essential to ensure domestic market stability. International trade in agri-food products plays an important role in global food security. The results show that Romania mainly exports unprocessed agricultural products, with cereals having the largest share in the export structure, cereal supply is dependent on climate change, yet it is one of the products with the lowest volatility. The cereal market shows a more elastic reaction to price responses, even though demand for staple foods is generally inelastic.

Perspectives of agricultural cooperatives re-development after COVID 19 pandemic in Slovakia

The Covid 19 pandemic is a global, not only, health crisis with devasting impact on the world economy in general. These impacts are also visible more and more in food and agriculture sector as the main sector of population nourishment. In spite of adopted measures in many countries, spread of the virus is starting to distrupt the supply of agrofood products to markets and consumers, both within and across borders. Most major economies are expected to enter recession as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, and the OECD has estimated that for each month the necessary containment measures continue the drop in output is equivalent to a decline in annual GDP growth up to 2 percentage points. How damaging these impacts tourn out to be for individual agricultural production of countries and agricultural cooperatives which are consider as the more viable during crisis is the objective of this paper.

E-food trade effects on purchasing approach regarding customer behavior

Our world is changing too fast. The distances have been shortened and communication has been increased by the invention and widespread use of the internet. Our habits started to change in many aspects of our lives by the development of digitalization. Especially during the pandemic Covid-19 that has started at the end of 2019, it's observed that mobility of people have been decreased and however, they began to have difficulties in meeting the needs. There has been a great demand for companies that sell over the internet. In particular, the tendencies of people to purchase food items which are their vital need over the internet have increased to a great extent. Looking at the e-commerce market on a sectorial basis during the pandemic, the biggest increase was seen in e-food trade with a growth of approximately 400%. Within that period, it is predicted that our purchasing habits will change rapidly and virtual markets will become much more important in our lives. The delivery of food products to the consumer has always been a big problem. The risk of deterioration of the products in a short time and the physical destruction of the products during their transportation has increased the importance of food logistics. The logistics channels are needed to be developed in order to increase e-food trade. For this reason, contemporary logistics channels have started to be used by integrating developed logistics applications to the traditional logistics channels. It will be much faster and cost-efficient to deliver the products to the consumer with the new logistics channels in the near future. Yield penalty due to transportation will decrease, and since the number of stock brokers is reduced, the consumer will be able to reach the product they demand at a more affordable price from the producer that they have chosen. In the future, physical stores will be replaced by logistics-supported virtual markets. The agriculture and food sector should also start working in order to accommodate quickly to the new trade order.

Evolution of oilseed sector in Romania - an analysis from the perspective of effects produced by the COVID-19 pandemic

Romania ranks first in the European Union for the production of sunflower seeds, third for the production of soybeans and seventh for the production of rapeseed. The paper aims to analyse the effects produced by the COVID-19 pandemic on the evolution of the oilseed sector in Romania. Thus, the following indicators were analysed: evolution of areas under oilseeds, total oilseed production and average yields, as well as the volatility of selling prices for oilseeds. The results of the study reveal that Romania has been the largest producer of sunflower seeds in the European Union. The average yields in sunflower, soybeans and rapeseed have shown great variations in the analysed period. According to Eurostat data, it can be noticed that although Romania is the third large producer of oilseeds in the EU, the average yields continue to be low compared to those from other large EU producers. Yields are also among the most volatile in the EU. The selling prices for soybeans showed a higher increase in the year 2020 than in 2019 in Romania, compared to the increase in the average selling prices of the EU-27 (+9.89%). The selling prices for rapeseed also had a higher increase in 2020 than in 2019 in Romania, compared to the increase in the average selling prices of the EU-27 (+2.31%).

Oilseeds development in Morocco in the current international context

Oilseeds are grown mainly for the extraction of vegetable oils and for its by-products needed in livestock feed and in other industrial uses. The oils obtained from them are becoming a staple food used in daily cooking in several countries, and as a result the world demand is constantly increasing. This situation, combined with the exponential increase in the world population and other cyclical factors, is leading to a surge pricing, especially in importing countries. This increase in prices is fueled by soaring oil prices and disruption in supplies following Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea. Morocco is directly impacted by these fluctuations given that the country imports almost its total needs in vegetable oils, oilseeds and meals. The high dependence on imported vegetable oils and oilseed products has a detrimental effect on the economy of Morocco and weighs heavily on the country's trade balance. Considering their increasingly important role in society, the development of a local oilseed sector to reduce Morocco's dependence on imports and cope with the vagaries of global markets has never been more topical in the current context of sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty.

Resilience in the food sector - environmental, social and economic perspectives in crisis situations. (Special issue: Opportunities and challenges of EU farm-to-fork strategy.)

Environmental, social and economic perspectives, derived from the sustainability approach and present within by the resilience concept, are integral parts of food systems. At the same time they are clearly articulated within the EU farm-to-fork (F2F) strategy referring to building up resilience to possible future crises as diseases and pandemics. The aim of this paper is to investigate resilience in the food sector referring to its selected environmental, social and economic dimensions, which in fact rely on each other and cannot be separated, simply because of the character of food system itself (work with living organisms, soil, within natural environment, etc. done by people for business purposes). The issue of resilience in the food sector must be considered multidimensionally. In this approach, the basic direction of activities should be the one focused on the resilience approach, both in environmental protection and society. For a harmonious combination of these activities, it is also necessary to look at economic perspective of food system and entire rural livelihoods (e.g. income and employment diversification). Considering the last shocks discussed (COVID-19, war in Ukraine, drought, embargo on grain exports from Russia, rising inflation), a difficult situation on the food market can be expected in the nearest future, which makes the concept of resilience in the food sector even more relevant than it has been so far.

Current perspectives of e-noses

An electronic nose (e-nose) is a collection of sensors with specific characteristics. In this chapter, we will be discussing the current perspectives of e-noses in various sectors, such as military, biomedicine, food and beverages, agriculture… The important role of e-noses in these sectors can provide a new dimension to many things from detecting explosives to sensing chemicals in warfare;from maintaining food quality to helping in identifying various flavors of wine, from detecting cancer to sensing COVID-19 virus, etc. The e-nose market is a few decades old but it has marked its presence in almost all fields. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Designing a sustainable development model for agricultural sector under critical circumstances (COVID-19 Pandemic): A fuzzy approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected health, economic, and social factors and harmed the distribution and sales of agricultural products. It has become a crucial factor in agricultural development. The purpose of the present study is to design a sustainable development model in the agricultural sector under circuital circumstances (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic). To achieve this goal of used a combined methodology of grounded theory, the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM), the Fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (FDEMATEL) method, and the Fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory-based analytic network process (FDANP) method. The criteria of higher importance were identified using grounded theory and FDM. Then, the fuzzy DEMATEL method was carried out to identify internal relationships, effects, and dependencies of the main criteria. Finally, the weight of the main criteria of the model has been calculated with the Fuzzy DANP method. According to the results of the Fuzzy DEMATEL method, Critical circumstances (COVID-19), environmental factors, educational factors, health factors, and economic factors had the highest effects. The critical circumstances criterion (COVID-19) had the largest effect and strongest relationship with the other criteria. On the other hand, the results of the Fuzzy DANP method show that environmental factors (MC7), social factors (MC2), critical circumstances (COVID-19) (MC5), health factors (MC1), entrepreneurial factors (MC8), are the most important criteria of the sustainable development model of the agricultural sector under critical circumstances. Therefore, to move on the path of sustainable development in the agricultural sector, one should focus on the factors that have a higher influence and importance. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Iranian Journal of Fuzzy Systems is the property of University of Sistan & Baluchestan and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

COVID-19 as a catalyst of food security crisis. whether the existing system of agriculture can remain the same

From 2019 to 2022, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global percentage of hunger rose by 150 million people, which is 10% of the world population. At the same time, one-third of food is thrown away because it cannot reach the final consumer. Climate change, natural catastrophes, wars leading to humanitarian crises are the main and ongoing causes of hunger. COVID- 19 acted as an accelerator of processes that exacerbate the food security crisis, to which import-dependent countries are especially sensitive. Quarantine that was introduced as a tool to combat the spread of the COVID-19 acted as a catalyst of social, economic, political, ecological, and food crisis that is displayed in the global economic system and in agriculture - its subsystem. At first glance, the increase in the percentage of starving populations on the planet is explained by poverty and the inability to purchase basic food products;a rise in prices was caused by breaks in logistics chains, the increase in the price of energy carriers, and economic shifts caused by the lockdown. In practice, despite the constantly growing volumes of global production of agro-industrial products, the balance between demand and supply of products that ensure the world's food security has been disturbed. The research problem lies in the insufficient determination of intangible causes of hunger, other than those caused by poverty and social inequality. The aim of the research is to show the prospects of the aggravation the food security crisis due to excess of food demand over supply, and to propose theoretical ways out of the crisis. The quantitative method of panel data research was used to prepare the article. The visualization method was used to simplify the perception of the proposed array of information. It is possible to overcome such social problems as hunger, poverty, climate and ecology problems caused by the increase in the temperature on the planet's surface, ocean pollution, and soil degradation only through adaptation and achieving synergy between the planet's ecosystems. Agriculture as a main factor of food security should be transformed through implementing principles of climate-optimized agriculture and blue economy (use of ocean resources) as a source of "blue food" to achieve food sustainability.

Indian agriculture and rural economy in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of the paper is the analysis of the changes in Indian agriculture during the pandemic. The following research questions were put forward: What is the diversification of the Indian agriculture and rural economy in terms of COVID-19?;What is the percentage change in overall agricultural commodities production, in farm-gate prices for commodities in agriculture and the allied sector and in the availability of agri-inputs? The theoretical part of the paper depicted the following issues: India's role in global farming;rural economy issues, economic recovery, and the agricultural sector in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic. The studies that were conducted include: documentation, statistical, comparative, and dynamics analysis. The results showed that the Indian agriculture and rural economy in terms of COVID-19 had different tendencies. With businesses across all industries forced to shut down, the economy ground to a halt. Even while farming operations were spared during the lockdown's early stages, the agricultural value chain nonetheless experienced widespread disruptions. This was devastating to the rural Indian economy.

COVID-19 impact on the agro-food and marine industries through a Bayesian stochastic volatility Fourier Series model

In this paper, we construct a hybrid model, consisted of a Bayesian Vector Autoregressive structure with Bayesian stochastic volatility (SVAR-SV), as well as, Fourier Series (FS). We test the model's performance in terms of forecasting ability, comparing it with simple Bayesian stochastic volatility (SV), and also with a classical econometric autoregressive model. By estimating the average prices of the major Food futures in the stock market, and the average prices of the biggest Marine companies' stocks, we test the effect of Covid-19 on these stocks, through the proposed hybrid model, and the impulse-response functions between the aforementioned. Through this approach, we test whether the Covid-19 pandemic hindered the performance of marine companies and affected the food prices, with those two affecting one another. Based on the findings, a shock is apparent from the Food futures to the Marine companies' stocks, and the hybrid model proposed is the best, in terms of forecasting ability.

Indian agriculture sector: impacts from COVID-19

The livelihood of around 70% of the Indian rural population depends on the agriculture sector. In India, even the earnings of the non-agriculture sectors in terms of backward and forward linkage for agro-based businesses also get impacted by the production of agricultural products. However, issues like cereal-centric, regionally-biased, and resource-intensive production are still about the agriculture sector of India. The present study attempts to provide an insight into the present scenario of the Indian agriculture sector after providing a brief review of the agricultural literature. Through empirical analysis using multiple regression technique, it tries to find out the factors responsible for the growth of the Indian agriculture sector. The study also explores the potential impact of COVID-19 on the agriculture sector of India based on various secondary sources. The result shows that agriculture trade, level of rainfall, and infrastructure development is significantly and positively, while life expectancy and employment in agriculture are significantly and negatively impacting the agricultural contribution to the GDP of India.

Problems of food security in the conditions of the open economy of modern Georgia

The article discusses the problems of food security in the open economy of modern Georgia against the background of the ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. After the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the attention of almost all countries of the world, including Georgia, was focused on self-sufficiency of the demand of their population with local agricultural and food products. In such conditions, Georgia has a chance to expand domestic production of agricultural and food products. In order to increase the competitiveness of the food and nutrition products produced in Georgia, it is necessary to improve the connections between the separate links of their production, to synchronize the production processes. In order to increase the level of food self-sufficiency of Georgia, it is necessary to protect the production of import-substituting, domestic, agrarian products with non-tariff barriers, and to properly manage their production and logistics. Significant and rapid changes in the global supply chain of food and nutrition products provoked by the Covid-19 pandemic have become an opportunity to increase the level of food self-sufficiency of Georgia, which needs to be properly used.

Political returns to ad hoc farm payments?

This paper investigates the extent to which ad hoc farm payments made under the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) and the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) affected voting patterns in the 2020 Presidential Election. MFP and CFAP payments were historically unique not only in terms of their magnitude, but also because they were authorized almost entirely by the incumbent Administration of President Donald Trump without direct Congressional authorization or appropriation. Our results indicate that these payments did influence county-level voting outcomes. The observed response is driven almost exclusively by increased turnout among Trump supporters-we do not observe evidence that ad hoc payments generated widespread "vote switching" away from the Democratic or third-party candidates and toward Trump. We find the MFP and CFAP programs generated 677,512 votes for Republican candidate Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election with an estimated cost-per-vote-gained of $66,124. These votes induced by ad hoc farm payments were insufficient to change electoral college outcomes in any U.S. state.

Global evidence of the exposure-lag-response associations between temperature anomalies and food markets

Recent years have witnessed a landmark shift in global food prices due to the frequency of extreme weather events caused by temperature anomalies as well as the overlapping risks of COVID-19. Notably, the threat posed by temperature anomalies has spread beyond agricultural production to all aspects across food supply and demand channels, further amplifying volatility in food markets. Exploring trends in global food prices will give nations early warning signs to ensure the stability of food market. Accordingly, we utilize the Distributed Lag Non-Linear Model (DLNM) to simultaneously establish the exposure-lag-response associations between global temperature anomalies and food price returns in two dimensions: "Anomaly Degree" and "Response Time". Meanwhile, we also examine the cumulative lagged effects of temperature anomalies in terms of different quantiles and lag times. Several conclusions have been drawn. First, global food price returns will continue to decrease when the average temperature drops or rises slightly. While it turns up once the average temperature rises more than 1.1 degrees C. Second, major food commodities are more sensitive to temperature changes, and their price returns may also trend in a directional shift at different lags, with the trend in meat price being more particular. Third, food markets are more strongly affected in the case of extreme temperature anomalies. Many uncertainties still exist regarding the impact of climate change on food markets, and our work serves as a valuable reference for international trade regulation as well as the creation of dynamic climate risk hedging strategies.

Economies of community in local agriculture: farmers in New London, Connecticut, respond to the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the weaknesses of the U.S. national food system, with grocery store shelves emptied in March and April 2020 and COVID outbreaks reported throughout the summer of 2020 at meat processing plants across the country. Fleetingly, Americans turned to local farms to ensure they could access food safely in a time of uncertainty. This paper examines the economies of community that formed around local farms and how direct engagements between consumers and producers in the face of the pandemic deepened these economic structures that often put community well-being above profits. Within a capitalist system that prioritizes efficient mass production, economies of community illustrate that solidarity can improve local food system resilience. Based on qualitative and quantitative research carried out in the summer of 2020 in New London County in southeastern Connecticut, this research draws on ethnographic interviews with small-scale farmers who developed innovative ways to feed some of their community's most vulnerable members. Community economies show that we should not only depend on standardized large-scale farms and giant retail distribution;the American food system needs to continue to cultivate small-scale local production in order to improve resilience and food access. At present, the sustainability of producing and distributing food occurs at the farmer's expense. The government needs to support local food producers so they can continue to play an integral part in community well-being.

Impact of COVID 19 on agriculture: role of ict interventions during pandemic era

The spread of novel coronavirus Covid-19 at the beginning of March 2020 significantly squeezed agri sector, especially fruits and vegetables. The closure of schools, restaurants, offices, and others has shifted supplies of agribusiness to retail channels. One of the prevailing issues faced by farmers in managing crops and finding a conducive place to market their products. In this view, the farmers' marketplace needs to evolve to continuously supply farmers' products to consumers. Agriculture itself is undergoing a fourth revolution activated by the use of information and communication technology (ICT). This paper provides insights into how mobile app technologies can promote in solving the agri and allied sector related glitches like soil degradation, excessive water, emissions, pollution, the market place, etc. We find mobile app features have widely developed for farmers, distributors, and producers together valuable data, observe fields, and manage crops to optimize the processes. Mobile apps and cloud computing become a hub of solutions. In this global pandemic, providing support to farmers with useful and practical agricultural information can improve their economic development and eventually give a good impact on the country.

Review of agrifood trade policies in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia countries 2019-2020

This review is devoted to the analysis of the agricultural trade policy of the Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia countries. The purpose of the review is to monitor the latest developments in the trade policies of these countries that have an impact on the dynamics and structure of trade. The overview chapter summarizes the main agricultural trade trends in the twelve countries of the region from 2019-2020. The publication also includes a thematic chapter analysing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agrifood trade and trade policy in these countries.

Impact of COVID-19 on farming activities in Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh

The Covid-19 situation severely affects different walks of life, especially service sector, Manufacturing sector, Tourism, Education, Transportation etc. The agricultural sector comparatively less affected. Visakhapatnam is no exemption from this situation. But There is a remarkable impact in certain areas in Agriculture in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. In Visakhapatnam district, Paddy is the major crop occupies 1 lakh hectares, It requires huge quantity of inputs, labor and needs timely marketing facilities. The study reflects that, the income level decreased by 11% during Covid -19 situation. The percentage increase in labor cost increased by 19% during Covid situation. The percentage increase in cost of cultivation in Paddy increased by 14% during Covid situation. With regard to Constraints, the major constraints observed are non availability of Labor, Reduction in labor working hours per day, Non availability of inputs, Late receipt of amount for sold produce, Exploitation of Middlemen, Non availability of advisory support, Lack of government support and Poor marketing facilities.