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In the Mediterranean region, the long-term provision of agro-ecosystem services is threatened by accelerating climate change, unsustainable farming practices, and other pressures. Alternative management practices such as conservation agriculture could be expected to ensure sustainability of ecosystem services from Mediterranean agro-ecosystems. Conservation agriculture is characterized by minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and diversification of crop species. We analyzed the impacts of several forms of alternative agricultural management practices (conservation tillage, cover cropping, mulching, manual weed management, organic fertilizer use, no-irrigation system) on multiple ecosystem services based on 155 published case studies (1994–2015). The effect size of various management options on four provisioning and four regulating ecosystem services were quantified. Impacts of conservation management options are not uniform. All regulating services were positively affected by the conservation management options except for the system without irrigation. In contrast, the provisioning services were inconsistently influenced by the conservation management options. For crop yield, environmentally sustainable soil management was beneficial, but organic fertilization (effect size = − 0.17), manual weed management (effect size = − 0.35), and no-irrigation system (effect size = − 0.5) led to lower crop yields. The impact on crop biomass was mainly negative but not significant. Water availability was especially important to enhance both provisioning and regulating services. Overall, alternative agriculture management practices led to more positive than negative effects on ecosystem services in the study region. Stimulating the application of conservation management practices is therefore an important policy option for decision-makers given the vulnerability of ecosystem services in the Mediterranean basin.

Crop classification provides relevant information for crop management, food security assurance and agricultural policy design. The availability of Sentinel-1 image time series, with a very short revisit time and high spatial resolution, has great potential for crop classification in regions with pervasive cloud cover. Dense image time series enable the implementation of supervised crop classification schemes based on the comparison of the time series of the element to classify with the temporal signatures of the considered crops. The main objective of this study is to investigate the performance of a supervised crop classification approach based on crop temporal signatures obtained from Sentinel-1 time series in a challenging case study with a large number of crops and a high heterogeneity in terms of agro-climatic conditions and field sizes. The case study considered a large dataset on the Spanish province of Navarre in the framework of the verification of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies. Navarre presents a large agro-climatic diversity with persistent cloud cover areas, and therefore, the technique was implemented both at the provincial and regional scale. In total, 14 crop classes were considered, including different winter crops, summer crops, permanent crops and fallow. Classification results varied depending on the set of input features considered, obtaining Overall Accuracies higher than 70% when the three (VH, VV and VH/VV) channels were used as the input. Crops exhibiting singularities in their temporal signatures were more easily identified, with barley, rice, corn and wheat achieving F1-scores above 75%. The size of fields severely affected classification performance, with ~14% better classification performance for larger fields (>1 ha) in comparison to smaller fields (<0.5 ha). Results improved when agro-climatic diversity was taken into account through regional stratification. It was observed that regions with a higher diversity of crop types, management techniques and a larger proportion of fallow fields obtained lower accuracies. The approach is simple and can be easily implemented operationally to aid CAP inspection procedures or for other purposes.

Food production depends upon the adequate provision of underpinning ecosystem services, such as pollination. Paradoxically, conventional farming practices are undermining these services and resulting in degraded soils, polluted waters, greenhouse gas emissions and massive loss of biodiversity including declines in pollinators. In essence, farming is undermining the ecosystem services it relies upon. Finding alternative more sustainable ways to meet growing food demands which simultaneously support biodiversity is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. Here, we review the potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to contribute to sustainable food production, using the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations General Assembly as a framework. We present new data from a case study of urban gardens and allotments in the city of Brighton and Hove, UK. Such urban and peri-urban landholdings tend to be small and labour-intensive, characterised by a high diversity of crops including perennials and annuals. Our data demonstrate that this type of agricultural system can be highly productive and that it has environmental and social advantages over industrial agriculture in that crops are usually produced using few synthetic inputs and are destined for local consumption. Overall, we conclude that food grown on small-scale areas in and near cities is making a significant contribution to feeding the world and that this type of agriculture is likely to be relatively favourable for some ecosystem services, such as supporting healthy soils. However, major knowledge gaps remain, for example with regard to productivity, economic and employment impacts, pesticide use and the implications for biodiversity.

It has been generally agreed that income is a critical means of obtaining the resources required to sustain one’s living standards. In the developed world, the increase in life satisfaction does not keep pace with the increase in income. In the developing world, the majority of the population is dependent on income from agriculture, and the incidence of poverty is high. As in other regions, Cambodia has been in the process of an agricultural transformation, and the incomes of agricultural families are becoming increasingly diverse. Household wellbeing is related to income diversification and positively impacts the quality of life of farmers in the farming communities of Tang Krasang and Tapang Trabek in Stung Chreybak. As a result, most farmers have found that the diversification of their income provides them with a sustainable livelihood through the expansion of dry season rice production, access to higher education, access to good health care, and the upgrading of houses. The objectives of this paper are to examine the life goals of rural people and to assess whether the diversification of income affects their wellbeing. Structured interviews were used to collect data along with field observation, interviews with key informants interviews, and focus group discussions on the income diversification of various stakeholders including representatives from authorities, local traders, and key relevant provincial department bodies. A total of 300 household families were selected for the questionnaires through multistage purposive and random-sampling techniques conducted in six villages, two communes, and two districts in Stung Chreybak. We found that income diversification is strongly associated with the attainment of external life goals and the sustainable livelihoods of farmers. This study recommends that supporting the importance of income diversification through the creation of model agricultural technologies and off-farm activities and the development of vocational training skills would allow more farmers to easily attain improved socio-economic wellbeing.

Ghana’s agricultural sector faces an array of emergent multi-dimensional risks, underscoring the urgency for innovative and holistic approaches. In this regard, effective risk management is essential for stabilizing economies, ensuring food security, alleviating poverty, and nurturing sustainability. This review explores the concept of multi-risk, empirical manifestations, drivers, novel tools for evaluation and management, and implications for Ghana’s economy and ecosystems. It presents compelling case studies showcasing the successes and challenges of multi-risk management. Strategies in Ghanaian agricultural risk management were examined, spotlighting the need for interdisciplinary research, policy coherence, robust communication, innovative technologies, sustainable practices, market diversification, and local knowledge integration. By embracing a unified and cooperative strategy, Ghana can foster a thriving agricultural sector, safeguarding food security and economic prosperity for future generations.

Diverse agricultural land uses are a typical feature of multifunctional landscapes. The uncertain change in the drivers of global land use, such as climate, market and policy technology and demography, challenges the long-term management of agricultural diversification. As these global drivers also affect smaller scales, it is important to capture the traits of regionally specific farm activities to facilitate adaptation to change. By downscaling European shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) for agricultural and food systems, combined with representative concentration pathways (RCP) to regionally specific, alternative socioeconomic and climate scenarios, the present study explores the major impacts of the drivers of global land use on regional agriculture by simulating farm-level decisions and identifies the socio-ecological implications for promoting diverse agricultural landscapes in 2050. A hilly orchard region in northern Switzerland was chosen as a case study to represent the multifunctional nature of Swiss agriculture. Results show that the different regionalised pathways lead to contrasting impacts on orchard meadows, production levels and biodiversity. Increased financial support for ecological measures, adequate farm labour supplies for more labour-intensive farming and consumer preferences that favour local farm produce can offset the negative impacts of climate change and commodity prices and contribute to agricultural diversification and farmland biodiversity. However, these conditions also caused a significant decline in farm production levels. This study suggests that considering a broader set of land use drivers beyond direct payments, while acknowledging potential trade-offs and diverse impacts across different farm types, is required to effectively manage and sustain diversified agricultural landscapes in the long run.

Agricultural landscapes are currently suffering and generating severe ecological issues. This is especially true in intensively managed alluvial contexts, where biodiversity is declining and ecosystem services (ES) delivery capacity is being depleted. The aim of our study is to set up and test a synthetic analytical methodology that allows us to: understand current agricultural landscape ecological quality drivers (structural and functional traits); identify context-specific strategies to correct current negative trends (landscape ecology design approach); and assess the changes in the landscape ecological behavior provided by design scenarios. The applied methodology is low-cost and low-time-demanding and is based on multi-scale landscape ecology and land-use-based ES assessment; it implements a pattern-process-design approach. Analyses are applied to four northern Italian alluvial agricultural landscape systems. We specifically address landscape biodiversity support functions (landscape ecology indicators) and landscape multifunctionality (ES spatial assessment). We test the agroforestry approach (landscape feature insertions and crop diversification) as a key strategy to enhance ecological quality and ES, and we account for its contributions to context-specific design scenarios. This analytical toolkit might serve for future applications on similar case studies.

India's horticulture sector has emerged as a significant growth driver, contributing about 34.45 per cent to the agricultural GDP while occupying only 12.5 per cent of the cropped area. The sector has grown tremendously, with horticultural crop production reaching approximately 349.67 million tonnes in 2021-22, up from 92 million tonnes in 1990-91. This growth is driven by India's diverse agro-climatic conditions, enabling year-round cultivation of over 40 horticultural crops, making India the world's second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Despite this progress, malnutrition, climate change, and post-harvest losses persist. India's per capita availability of horticultural crops remains close to the WHO-recommended intake, yet many households cannot afford their daily nutritional needs, leading to widespread malnutrition. As the population grows, the demand for nutritionally secure food will increase significantly, emphasizing the need for sustainable horticultural practices. The paper outlines the sector's growth trajectory across five phases, highlighting the role of policy support and technological advancements. From home gardens in the preindependence era to large-scale commercial production in the 21st century, the sector has evolved significantly. The paper presents the case studies of widely adopted technologies contributing to the total economic surplus of rural farm households. Regional variations and market vulnerabilities that affect the stability of technologies are also highlighted. To ensure the sector's sustainability, the paper proposes research and policy options focusing on climate-resilient technologies, efficient water use, integrated pest management, value chain integration, and market stabilization strategies. By addressing these challenges, the horticulture sector can enhance its contribution to India's agricultural GDP, food security, and overall sustainable development.

The paper focuses on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on some Italian farms. In particular, the aim is to investigate the consequences of the health emergency on diversified farms, their reactions, and their agricultural and rural policy needs in order to overcome the crisis. The research path investigates five farms of central Italy through semi-structured interviews. The identified case studies are characterized by the heterogeneity of features and farms’ activities. These activities include agritourism, on-farm processing of plant and animal products (mainly olive oils, fruits, and cheese), bio-energy production, tastings and leisure activities, educational farms, and contracting of farm equipment. A qualitative–quantitative analysis based on textual analysis techniques, particularly content and sentiment analysis, was performed. The results highlight the importance of farm diversification and networks in farms’ strategies in dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. Furthermore, the presence of both synergies and trade-offs in different types of diversification is found. These results have interesting policy implications that should be more explicitly taken into account to target the next rural development measures.