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.

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.

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.

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.

A theoretical and empirical approach to foreign labour migration and employment: the case of agri-food migrant workers in developed economies

Most of the research on migration has focused on the scale and effects of people exodus from rural to urban areas rather than on rural areas as recipients of migrants, especially foreign migrants. This study aims to analyse employment of foreigners in agriculture and food processing sectors of selected developed countries, with particular emphasis on the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. It first reviews existing literature on ideas and theories about human migration through the history of economic and social thought. This theoretical background lies in the economic, social, health, demographic and integrated theories and concepts of migration that help understand the pull and push causes as well consequences of current international migration processes. Next, this article presents some facts about the employment of foreigners in agriculture and food processing in developed countries traditionally affected by severe labour shortages in these sectors, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on employers and workers. The results reveal that labour shortages and labour exploitation are amongst the most frequent and relatively consistent issues associated with immigrant workers in the agri-food industry. During COVID-19, these problems were exacerbated and complemented with the workers' health risk due to coronavirus clusters on farms and at food-processing plants.

Ukraine's market of certified seed: current state and prospects for the future

The production of high-quality seeds and planting material is the basis for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of crop production. The main aim of this article is to develop proposals to ensure that supply meets the demand in the seed and planting material market Ukraine. The future prospects are also discussed. The paper uses statistical and comparative analysis. The patterns of foreign trade in seeds and planting material to and from Ukraine are analyzed. The high level of import dependence of Ukraine leads to excessive exposure to instability in the world seed market. The development of seed production in Ukraine is discussed and analyzed along with the ways for improving commercial circulation of seeds and planting materials. The export volumes of grains and oilseeds in 2020 were the highest of those over the last three decades and amounted to USD 18.7 million, which is almost twice more than in 2019. Corn seeds dominate in exports (72%). The volume of imports of seeds of grains and oilseeds exceeded exports by 22 times in value and, in 2020, amounted to USD 409.4 million. In the total volume of imports, imports of sunflower seeds accounted for 53%. The upward trend of seed imports has been maintained since 2010. It was the result of increased demand for imported seeds by large- and medium-sized agricultural producers. In 2020, COVID-19 gave impetus to the development of domestic seed production and foreign breeding companies within the country. Prospective ways to accelerate the development of the organization of the Ukrainian seed and planting material market are outlined. Ukraine has prospects for increasing the export of seeds of grains and oilseeds by expanding its production by foreign companies operating in Ukraine. Solving problems of competitiveness seed production in Ukraine will make it possible to strengthen the role of domestic breeding in the seed market, as well as to use the best foreign varieties through their commercial circulation.

A global analysis of COVID-19 impact on agriculture

Background:The world has been facing a major crisis developed by the pandemic of Covid-19, which has made an impact on all spheres of human life. Every business sector and industry has been facing a difficult period, which seems to continue for some period of time. The primary aim of this study was to look at the global impact of Covid-19 on the agriculture sector all around the globe. To collect relevant data and information, a comprehensive review of the literature was conducted by following a qualitative research design, which means that no empirical research was conducted. So, after reviewing a range of literature on the impact of Covid-19, it was found that like many other sectors, the agriculture sector has also been hit hard by the pandemic of Covid-19. Things have been going through a difficult period, and even then, lockdown is being lifted in different parts of the world, the situation is still under dark skies. The global food supply chain, agricultural product supply, agricultural activity along farming has been largely affected, which has also made a negative impact on the income of farmers. So, it is time for policymakers to think deep to see weaknesses and vulnerabilities to deal with this negative global impact. Objectives: 1. To find out the global impact of Covid-19 on the agriculture sector. 2. To analyse the global change in food supply and agricultural product supply. Methods:The primary aim of this study was to look at the global impact of Covid-19 on the agriculture sector and its relevant sectors all around the world. The paper is looking into some relevant matters like how Covid-19 has made an impact on the agricultural supply chain, food supply chain, damage to agricultural export, as well as, effects on farming & farmers. It was also aimed to see how the agricultural income of farmers has been affected by the pandemic along with the effects on the value of the agricultural products. The overall food system of the world is dependent on the agriculture sector, and if things would be out of order in this sector, it was obvious to have an impact on other relevant sectors. So, the paper has taken a comprehensive review of literature based on recent research studies and data generated after the beginning of Covid-19 way back in December 2019. It is important to mention here that a lot of research data has been generated in the last year regarding the negative impact of Covid-19 on human life in so many ways. A lot of debate is based around the concepts of the social and economic impact of Covid-19, so this paper has dedicated its focus to reviewing the literature with regards to the agriculture sector. This study is based on a qualitative research design, where a literature review is used to collect information, and then making analysis to come up with some useful information to conclude findings. Results:Growing nations, fifteen from Africa followed by ten from Latin America, six from Oceania, and four from Asia, are the most susceptible to modifications that happened in the supply shocks in recent times. It concludes that the contemporary pandemic is likely to cause transitory food insecurity across such prone nations. Conclusions: They need to find alternative ways to keep things on the right track even when a pandemic comes harder at them. It is critical to mention here that a lot of negative global impact of Covid-19 on agriculture has been identified in this study;still, there is no systematic evidence and reasons to look at real-time data and results. So, policymakers should be closely looking at these systems and policy gaps to ensure they are better prepared next time. When enough dosage of the vaccine will be available for the masses, and this hard period will be over, it would be a time for policymakers and think tanks to sit together, review their weak points, and come up with a strong policy with the right direction to keep the world safe from such kind of pandemic in the future.

Remarks on the use of drones and data in precision agriculture. (L'Accademia per il post Covid-19.)

Precision agriculture is certainly one of the most interesting innovation for the management of agricultural crops. Drones, SAPRs, can be easily used for a targeted distribution of production inputs, such as plant protection products, fertilizers and biological protection, pollution reduction, dispersion and tracking the use of products. The article examines the regulatory aspects that hinder the spread of this practice and the possibility of making full use of the benefits and describes: - the provisions currently in force that prohibit the spraying of plant protection products by air, except for exceptions, with complex and highly limiting procedures (regional and ministry opinion). - the difficulties of monitoring and collecting data that can be used by the individual farmer to make choices within business context, but can also be used by consultants or transferred to platforms and clouds on the web. - aspects related to the protection, exchange and in particular the ownership of non-personal data relating to agricultural activity. The article concludes that, faced to the initiatives aimed at advancing precision agriculture and the digitization of the agricultural sector, it is necessary to address, in the appropriate institutional settings, the regulatory and legal elements that hinder the diffusion of innovations in support sustainable use of resources.

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.

Students' perceptions on the effect of COVID 19 on agricultural higher education in India

The study analysed the temporal changes in the perceptions of students of agricultural higher education due to disruption of the COVID 19 pandemic and recommends strategies to deal with it. An online survey was conducted involving students of agricultural higher education at two intervals to capture their perceptions on the academic, physical, and psychological disruptions due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Among these three aspects, changes in behavioural aspects are significant over time, which is reflected in terms of viz., attitude, frustration, anxiety, depression, uncertainty, desire for cocooning and boredom. Students showed a positive response towards continuing educational activities through online and e-learning modes. Adapting to new normal necessitated extensive use of digital technologies in education that challenged the face to face instructions, approaches to learning and assessment. Counselling and mentoring of students are found mandatory in pandemics. The development of a sustainable digital ecosystem of learning with equal weightage on students' physical and psychological well-being is needed. New approaches of learning are to evolve due to the COVID19 pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic and resilience in the agricultural sector: a local strategy may solve the global challenges

Agriculture remains a major engine of growth among the majority of developing and underdeveloped countries throughout the globe. But the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has severely affected all sectors of agribusiness industries. In many parts of the world agriculture production became almost half due to the impact of this pandemic. But in two Himalayan regions of India, Darjeeling and Sikkim, mixed effects were observed during the pandemic period. Although a large number of marginal farmers were severely affected during the lockdown and even in the unlock phases, while a significant number of farmers also gained nominal to a large amount of profit;chiefly because of reliability on complete organic farming including producing organic manure and bio-pesticides by the farmers themselves, lack of competition with imported agricultural commodities into the local market due to the inter-state travel ban, marketization of the agricultural products to the consumers through Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs), NGOs and Sikkim State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation ltd. (SIMFED) and above all creation of the Farmers' Helpline at district levels by the local government bodies to solve the problems of the farmers even in the remotest regions.

Economic indicators of profitability in the production of organic and conventional food and psychological ways of overcoming the crisis in managers due to the possible decline of business during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 virus pandemic has led to huge changes in the business of many companies. Managers and owners of companies were most affected, so in one segment of this paper, certain psychological ways that are available to people when it comes to overcoming various crises. Considering that profitable business is a condition for the survival of companies, in this paper, a comparison of profitability in the production of organic and conventional food was performed. ROA and ROE were calculated on a sample of 150 food producers in our country for the period from 2016 to 2020. The results showed that ROA is higher in conventional food producers, while ROE is higher in organic food producers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the profitability of food producers is higher than in the period before its outbreak. Also, there is a tendency to increase profitability in both types of production.