Repositioning fertilizer manufacturing subsidies for improving food security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in China

China removed fertilizer manufacturing subsidies from 2015 to 2018 to bolster market-oriented reforms and foster environmentally sustainable practices.However,the impact of this policy reform on food security and the environment remains inadequately evaluated.Moreover,although green and low-carbon technologies offer environmental advantages,their widespread adoption is hindered by prohibitively high costs.This study analyzes the impact of removing fertilizer manufacturing subsidies and explores the potential feasibility of redirecting fertilizer manufacturing subsidies to invest in the diffusion of these technologies.Utilizing the China Agricultural University Agri-food Systems model,we analyzed the potential for achieving mutually beneficial outcomes regarding food security and environmental sustainability.The findings indicate that removing fertilizer manufacturing subsidies has reduced greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions from agricultural activities by 3.88 million metric tons,with minimal impact on food production.Redirecting fertilizer manufacturing subsidies to invest in green and low-carbon technologies,including slow and controlled-release fertilizer,organic-inorganic compound fertilizers,and machine deep placement of fertilizer,emerges as a strategy to concurrently curtail GHG emissions,ensure food security,and secure robust economic returns.Finally,we propose a comprehensive set of government interventions,including subsidies,field guidance,and improved extension systems,to promote the widespread adoption of these technologies.

Soybean maize strip intercropping:A solution for maintaining food security in China

The practice of intercropping leguminous and gramineous crops is used for promoting sustainable agriculture,optimizing resource utilization,enhancing biodiversity,and reducing reliance on petroleum products.However,promoting conventional intercropping strategies in modern agriculture can prove challenging.The innovative technology of soybean maize strip intercropping(SMSI)has been proposed as a solution.This system has produced remarkable results in improving domestic soybean and maize production for both food security and sustainable agriculture.In this article,we provide an overview of SMSI and explain how it differs from traditional intercropping.We also discuss the core principles that foster higher yields and the prospects for its future development.

Food security amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Central Asia:Evidence from rural Tajikistan

Food security has been long understudied in the context of Central Asia.We present an analysis examining household-level food demand for Tajikistan and assessing the magnitude of its food security changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.Based on an extensive household survey data set from Tajikistan,we estimate the expenditure,income,and price elasticities for nine food categories using the QUAIDS model.Then,we develop a microsimulation model using the estimated elasticities to assess the dual impact of declining remittance income and rising food prices stemming from the pandemic shock.There are significant differences in demand elasticities across food groups,with high elasticities observed for nutritious foods,such as meat,fruit,eggs,and milk,in rural households.Moreover,our findings show that changes in remittance income and food prices significantly negatively affected food security for rural households during the COVID-19 pandemic.These findings have important implications for policymakers concerned about rural livelihoods and food security in remittance-receiving economies during the post-pandemic period.

Dietary Diversity and Food Security Status among Cameroonian Adults Living in Semi-Urban Areas: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Food security is one of the greatest challenges that most African countries face. It is a concept that considers not only food quantity but also food quality. The objective of this study was to describe dietary diversity and food security status at the individual level in Cameroonian populations. Methods: A total of 1180 men and women aged 20 and over and living in the West, North West, and Littoral regions of Cameroon were recruited. Data on dietary habits were collected through the frequency of consumption of various food groups. Dietary diversity was assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall. Food security status was determined by combining two indicators (food consumption score and individual food diversity score). Results: The mean dietary diversity score of the population was 3.53 ± 1.44, p Conclusion: The diet diversity of adults living in the West, North West, and Littoral regions of Cameroon is medium. Although half of the study population was food secure, there is a need to implement food security policies further to reduce food insecurity among the Cameroonian population.

A Comparative Study on Factors Influencing Food Security in China and India

This paper analyzes and compares the key factors influencing food security in two populous countries(China and India),and cate-gorizes them into three types:agricultural production,economic development and income level,and income distribution.Using the prevalence of undernourishment as an indicator of food security,the paper empirically tests the degree of impact of various factors on food security in both countries using Tobit regression and Newey regression methods.The study finds that improving the level of economic development can significantly enhance food security in both countriesꎻreducing the Gini coefficient has a significant impact on India,but not on Chinaꎻincreasing the agricultural production per capita has a much greater effect on China than on India.Therefore,both countries should take measures that are both similar and different according to their national conditions to improve their food security level.

The Role of Plantain in Promoting Food Security: A Review

Plantain is a food security crop of significant nutritional value in the global south. Yet there are significant post-harvest losses, especially at the senescent stage. This review seeks to give a general overview of the crop, its nutritional significance and the technologies that can be adopted to enhance its utilisation at its senescent stage. In West Africa, plantains are eaten at all ripening stages, yet processing is limited to the unripe and semi-ripe. Adoptable technologies such as foam-mat drying will enhance its utilisation in indigenous meals and other food applications. This review provides useful insight to optimize the use of plantain to prevent food waste.

Food Security Problems and Solutions in China Based on the Strategy of Sustainable Agricultural Development

China attaches great importance to food security.With the strong promotion of the government,Chinas grain output has achieved a great feat from"shortage"to"surplus in bumper years"and then to"rising steadily",achieving a record"increase for the tenth consecutive year".From the current balance of food supply and demand in China,the food security situation can be guaranteed on the whole.However,if we analyze the food security in China from the perspective of agricultural sustainable development strategy,there are some difficulties,such as the reduction of cultivated land area,the decline of cultivated land quality,the fragility of agricultural ecological environment,and the transformation of residentsconsumption structure.This paper analyzes the difficulties faced by the development of food security in China under the strategy of sustainable agricultural development,and puts forward that to implement the strategy of sustainable agricultural development,it is necessary to realize the coordinated development of food security,science and technology,ecological environment,resources and society.

Food Security of Shifting Cultivation Systems: Case Studies from Luang Prabang and Oudomxay Provinces, Lao PDR

The Government of the Lao PDR’s policy is to eliminate the cultivation of upland rice by means of ‘slash-and-burn’ cultivation and to replace it with more ecologically stable systems based on sustainable land use at the village and household level. The objectives of this policy are to alleviate poverty and to introduce more sustainable management of agricultural resources. In order to achieve these objectives, the government has initiated a program of relocation to upland ‘focal areas’ from which marketing, distribution and other services can be supplied, these being essential preconditions for effective agricultural development in these regions. This diagnostic study has examined communal and household strategies for addressing food security issues, and has highlighted the main problems encountered in the pursuit of food security on the local level. The specific objective was to conduct a broadly focused participatory problem diagnosis of the study areas in two districts Phonsay and Namo, in order to understand farmers’ problems, livelihood goals and how their perspectives on food security have changed, and to investigate food security in shifting cultivation systems in Luang Prabang andOudomxay provinces. Within these two provinces Phonsay and Namo districts were selected as the research areas. The two districts are the poorest districts in the Luang Prabang and Oudomxay provinces and two of ten priority poorest districts in the whole country. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for the study. The results of this study were reviewed against the sustainable land use systems strategy formulated from the Lao PDR policy. The study highlights both the benefits and stresses on household welfare, food insecurity conditions in the study areas, and interrelated problems of insufficient rice for household consumption. Finally based on these results the authors propose recommendations and future research indications.

Air pollution, food production and food security: A review from the perspective of food system

Air pollution negatively impacts food security. This paper reviews the current literature on the relationship between air pollution and food security from the perspective of food system. It highlights that agricultural emissions which substantially contribute to air pollution could happen at every stage along the food supply chain. Meanwhile, air pollution can not only affect plant growth and animal health but also shift market equilibrium of both agro-inputs and outputs in the food supply chain and thereby affect food security indirectly. Furthermore, this study evaluates the effects of agricultural policy and energy policy on food security and air pollution, respectively, and provides an overview of potential policy instruments to reduce air pollution while ensuring food security. Finally, we identify the remaining research and policy issues for further studies, mainly focusing on the study of household＇s bounded rational behaviors and the issue of rural aging population.

Relevance of Advanced Plant Disease Detection Techniques in Disease and Pest Management for Ensuring Food Security and Their Implication: A Review

Plant diseases and pests present significant challenges to global food security, leading to substantial losses in agricultural productivity and threatening environmental sustainability. As the world’s population grows, ensuring food availability becomes increasingly urgent. This review explores the significance of advanced plant disease detection techniques in disease and pest management for enhancing food security. Traditional plant disease detection methods often rely on visual inspection and are time-consuming and subjective. This leads to delayed interventions and ineffective control measures. However, recent advancements in remote sensing, imaging technologies, and molecular diagnostics offer powerful tools for early and precise disease detection. Big data analytics and machine learning play pivotal roles in analyzing vast and complex datasets, thus accurately identifying plant diseases and predicting disease occurrence and severity. We explore how prompt interventions employing advanced techniques enable more efficient disease control and concurrently minimize the environmental impact of conventional disease and pest management practices. Furthermore, we analyze and make future recommendations to improve the precision and sensitivity of current advanced detection techniques. We propose incorporating eco-evolutionary theories into research to enhance the understanding of pathogen spread in future climates and mitigate the risk of disease outbreaks. We highlight the need for a science-policy interface that works closely with scientists, policymakers, and relevant intergovernmental organizations to ensure coordination and collaboration among them, ultimately developing effective disease monitoring and management strategies needed for securing sustainable food production and environmental well-being.

Food and Nutritional Security in the Refugee Women’s Life Narratives

Objective: To understand, based on the life narratives of refugee women, food and nutritional security. Method: Qualitative, descriptive, exploratory study, Narratives of life method, by Daniel Bertaux. Conducted with 11 participants, refugee women residing in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Results: The meanings and feelings evidenced in the life narratives of refugee women expressed the insecurities and weaknesses with food in the resettlement. Final Considerations: Given the meanings and feelings regarding food in the refuge, it is expected that the present study will contribute to the elaboration of new action plans and intersectoral public policies of agile action to meet the demands of the refugee population, in the attempt to mitigate starvation, poverty, social differences and the compromised health status of the refugee population.

Virtual Water Trade and Food Security for Iraq

Iraq depends on its water resources from the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries. Now, the flow of these rivers is decreasing, and Iraq is experiencing a water shortage problem. The situation is expected to be graver in the future if no action is considered. It is expected that the population will be about 70 million in 2050 and about 90 million in 2070. In such a case, thus, the quantities of water available in the future will not be sufficient to produce most of the requirements of food security, whether that be from agricultural or animal products. To overcome this problem, water management planning should be based on scientific background to overcome the present and expected problems. One of the main factors to be considered should be based on scientific studies of the virtual water footprint of different food crops to provide the largest possible amount of virtual water and avoid the acute shortage of its national water from surface and ground irrigation water (blue water) and rainwater (green water), in addition to working hard to provide the largest possible amount of desalinated water and refined sewage (gray water). In addition, any strategic plan for sustainable development in the country must be comprehensive so that it is not satisfied with improving the situation in the field of food security related to water security, but rather among its other elements is community development that directly affects food security, including setting policies to reduce consumption by reducing the steady increase in population where the population rate is 2.97% now. Collective awareness and guidance programs in all the fields of water and food security are very important to be adopted, so that everyone knows that the issue of food security and what derives from it are an existential issue related to the survival of Iraq as a state and people. In this research, facts are stated so that action is to be considered to minimize the water shortage problem. The new strategic water resources management plan is to be adopted that considers existing and future expected problems.

The Impact of Water Scarcity on Food Security in Iraq

Iraq is part of the Fertile Crescent with the two large rivers:Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries that secure the required quantity and quality of water to the Iraqi population for their different uses;including agriculture,industry,and other domestic requirements.During the last decades,however,the quantity and quality of water in these rivers decreased causing water scarcity in the country.This scarcity is having severe impacts on food security in Iraq since large cultivated areas in different parts of the country that grow different agricultural products have been abandoned due to lack of water.The worsening situation is attributed mainly to global climate changes including decreasing rainfall amounts,increase in air temperature,and insufficient water inflows in the two main rivers and their tributaries.This last issue is exasperated by the unfair water sharing policies of the riparian countries namely Turkey and Iran.In writing this article relevant data from different sources were used.Numerous published reports and papers dealing with this important issue were consulted,while at the same time,the long experience of the authors in these very important issues was also drawn upon to elucidate the difficulties that are current today and those expected in the future in this field.

Assessment of Household Food Security and Its Determinants in Minjar Shenkora and Ada’a woredas of Central Ethiopia

Food security issues become one of the critical concerns and top priority areas for Ethiopia.This study analyzed rural households’food security status and its determinants in Minjar Shenkora woreda of Amhara Regional State and Ada’a woreda of Oromia Regional State.Data were collected from 240 randomly selected rural farm households.The study employed both descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model to estimate the status and determinants of households’food security,respectively.The findings indicated that the average dietary energy available for food secured households was 2,860.6 kilo calorie per day while 1,891.7 kilo calorie per day for the insecure group.According to the findings of the binary logit model,factors such as education level,farm size,livestock ownership,cooperatives membership,off-farm income and credit access have positive and significant effects on household food security.While household size has a negative and significant effect on household food security.The results recommend that interventions should target at improving rural financial services and off-farm activities that increase households’income and focusing on those most significant variables when attempting to enhance household food security.

A systematic review of climate change impacts,adaptation strategies,and policy development in West Africa

Climate change studies are diverse with no single study giving a comprehensive review of climate change impacts,adaptation strategies,and policy development in West Africa.The unavailability of an all-inclusive study to serve as a guide for practitioners affects the effectiveness of climate change adaptation strategies proposed and adopted in the West African sub-region.The purpose of this study was to review the impacts of climate change risks on the crop,fishery,and livestock sectors,as well as the climate change adaptation strategies and climate-related policies aimed at helping to build resilient agricultural production systems in West Africa.The review process followed a series of rigorous stages until the final selection of 56 articles published from 2009 to 2023.Generally,the results highlighted the adverse effects of climate change risks on food security.We found a continuous decline in food crop production.Additionally,the livestock sector experienced morbidity and mortality,as well as reduction in meat and milk production.The fishery sector recorded loss of fingerlings,reduction in fish stocks,and destruction of mariculture and aquaculture.In West Africa,climate-smart agriculture technologies,physical protection of fishing,and inclusion of gender perspectives in programs appear to be the major adaptation strategies.The study therefore recommends the inclusion of ecosystem and biodiversity restoration,weather insurance,replacement of unsafe vessels,and strengthening gender equality in all climate change mitigation programs,as these will help to secure enough food for present and future generations.

Moving beyond the opposition of diverse knowledge systems for food security and nutrition

Food Security and Nutrition(FSN) is influenced by diverse and complex factors, and therefore requires a holistic approach to agriculture and food systems plus integration of knowledge from diverse sources in science and society. Using the results of a colloquium held at the University of Hohenheim(Germany) in September 2016 leading up to the recent High Level Panel of Experts(HLPE) Note on Critical and Emerging Issues for Food Security and Nutrition, this article underlines the role of research and innovation as a social and political process and draws attention to neglected types of knowledge. It illustrates the potential of knowledge co-production and co-innovation to transform food systems in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The prospects for China＇＇s food security and imports： Will China starve the world via imports？

China＇s food supply and demand have significant implications for both China＇s own national food security and that of the world. This study reviews China＇s food security prospects and their implications, focusing on international trade in the coming decade. The results show that China＇s policies for ensuring food security will be enhanced and China will move to sustainable agriculture. Most studies anticipate that China will increase its food and feed imports in the coming decade. China＇s overall food self-sufficiency is likely to fall from 94.5% in 2015 to around 91% by 2025. The greatest increases in imports are likely to be soybean, maize, sugar, and dairy products. However, within the production capacity of the major exporting countries and of many food-importing developing countries, China＇s additional imports of 3 to 5% of its total food consumption in the coming decade are unlikely to threaten global food security. Indeed, the projected imports of feed and several foods could provide opportunities for many exporting countries to expand their production and save global resources.

Development of Hybrid Rice to Ensure Food Security

Rice is the staple food for more than half of the world＇s population and for more than 60% of China population. Increasing rice yield is therefore crucial for solving food shortage problem, ensuring food secruity, and reducing poverty. Given the vast population and limited per capita cultivated land in China, meeting food demands by increasing the yield per unit area with the aid of advanced sciences and technologies would be the only option. Several alternative measures for increasing crop yield, such as building water conservancy facilities, increasing fertilizer application, improving soil texture, forming interrelated cultivation techniques, more effective controlling of pests and diseases, and using of elite varieties, have been undertaken. Among these alternative measures, adopting elite varieties, particularly popularizing super hybrid rice, proves to be the most economical and effective option.

Framework of SAGI Agriculture Remote Sensing and Its Perspectives in Supporting National Food Security

Remote sensing, in particular satellite imagery, has been widely used to map cropland, analyze cropping systems, monitor crop changes, and estimate yield and production. However, although satellite imagery is useful within large scale agriculture applications （such as on a national or provincial scale）, it may not supply sufifcient information with adequate resolution, accurate geo-referencing, and specialized biological parameters for use in relation to the rapid developments being made in modern agriculture. Information that is more sophisticated and accurate is required to support reliable decision-making, thereby guaranteeing agricultural sustainability and national food security. To achieve this, strong integration of information is needed from multi-sources, multi-sensors, and multi-scales. In this paper, we propose a new framework of satellite, aerial, and ground-integrated （SAGI） agricultural remote sensing for use in comprehensive agricultural monitoring, modeling, and management. The prototypes of SAGI agriculture remote sensing are ifrst described, followed by a discussion of the key techniques used in joint data processing, image sequence registration and data assimilation. Finally, the possible applications of the SAGI system in supporting national food security are discussed.

Feeding More People on an Increasingly Fragile Planet: China's Food and Nutrition Security in a National and Global Context

Developing and developed countries alike are increasingly facing the dififcult question of how to feed more people amidst a host of emerging demographic, environmental, and health challenges. At the same time, in addition to food quantity, increased attention is being given to food quality attributes, in particular nutrition and safety. This is especially evident in China, where concerns are on the rise regarding the ability of China’s food production systems to deliver nutritious and safe food to a growing, urbanizing and more aflfuent population. These food and nutrition concerns come at a time when China is an increasingly inlfuential actor within the global food security network through activities such as production, consumption and trade. We argue that China has the opportunity to increase food and nutrition security both nationally and globally through a comprehensive policy agenda that focuses on institutional reforms, investments for and in agriculture, productive social safety nets, mutually beneifcial trade, and the exchange of know-how and technologies among developing countries and donors. This agenda will help China adapt its food production systems to the changing face of agriculture and to play a vital role in addressing the emerging challenges facing food and nutrition security within and beyond China in the coming decades.