Linking policies and regulations to sustainable finance for the promotion of urban agriculture: Evidence from micro and small businesses.

Urban agriculture is closely tied to several of the Sustainable Development Goals. It can play a critical role in helping to achieve these goals by promoting sustainable food production and consumption, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating more sustainable cities. It is also considered a pathway for overcoming food security in urban areas. However, this needs to be integrated with policies and regulations supported by sustainable finance. Due to COVID-19, conflict, and lack of infrastructure in Ethiopia, several challenges must be addressed to promote urban agriculture to aid food security. Hence, this study is conducted to examine how government policies and regulations promote urban agriculture through sustainable finance in Ethiopia. The study employed both an explanatory research design and a mixed research approach. Multi-stage sampling techniques that include (Simple random sampling techniques and judgmental sampling were used. The data was collected from selected micro and small enterprises engaged in urban agriculture. The structural and measurement model is estimated with the help of smart-pls software version 4. The study's finding implies that government policies and regulations have an insignificant effect on urban agriculture. At the same time, the study finding implies that sustainable finance has an important mediating role between urban agriculture and government policies. Hence, the impact of government policies and regulations on urban agriculture is found to have an indirect effect. Based on the study's findings, the study recommends that all stakeholders promote innovation and entrepreneurship that promote urban agriculture through sustainable finance.

Impact of global trade agreements on agricultural producer prices in Asian countries.

Following global trade agreements, Asian countries have been highly aggressive in implementing free trade. These conditions will impact all sectors, including agriculture. This study aims to examine the impact of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), World Trade Organization membership (WTO), and the Doha Round implementations on agricultural producer prices in Asian countries (PPI). The study was conducted using secondary data from 1991 to 2020. The data for 28 Asian countries were analyzed using the first difference General Method of Moments (GMM). The results show that implementing the GATT raises the PPI, but implementing the WTO has the reverse impact. PPI is unaffected by the Doha Round. Inflation, exchange rate, value-added, human capital, and land area equipped for irrigation are all positive contributors to PPI. Several recommendations are made to increase PPI in Asian countries: increasing commitment to agricultural fair trade, increasing agricultural value-added, improving educational opportunities for agricultural business players, and prioritizing agricultural infrastructure investment.

Self-Compassion, Work Engagement and Job Performance among Intensive Care Nurses during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediation Role of Mental Health and the Moderating Role of Gender.

(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted attention on the importance of certain variables in predicting job performance. Among these, mental health is one of the main variables affected by this pandemic. It can have an important mediating role in predicting job performance by individual, occupational, and organizational variables, especially in the nursing community. However, there is little information about its mediation role among the predictors of job performance. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the role of mental health as a mediating factor in the influence of self-compassion and work engagement on ICU nurses' job performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the moderating effect of gender on all model relations. A survey of 424 ICU nurses (men 193 and women 231) was undertaken in three Coronavirus hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. (2) Method: Questionnaires were distributed and collected among the statistical sample, and the data from the questionnaires were analyzed using AMOS24 software (version 24). The research model was evaluated in two stages (the main model and the two sub-models in two gender groups). (3) Result: The analysis revealed that work engagement (ß = 0.42, p < 0.001), mental health (ß = 0.54, p < 0.001) and job performance (ß = 0.51, p < 0.001) were discovered to be positively related to self-compassion. Work engagement is positively associated with mental health (ß = 0.16, p < 0.01) and job performance (ß = 0.21, p < 0.001), and mental health is linked positively to job performance (ß = 0.23, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the effects of self-compassion and work engagement on job performance are mediated by mental health. According to the findings, gender moderates the link between self-compassion and work engagement, work engagement and job performance, and self-compassion and job performance. (4) Conclusion: Mental health has a mediating role in the effect of self-compassion and work engagement on ICU nurses' job performance. Gender also acted as a moderator in some relationships. Males are dominant in all of these relationships as compared to females.

Coffee Yield Stability as a Factor of Food Security.

Yield fluctuation is a major risk in all agricultural sectors, and it influences Goal 2 (food security) of the UN SDGs. Yield fluctuations are expected due to climate change, risking stable coffee supplies, and compromising coffee-exporting countries' ability to earn revenue to pay for food imports. Technology minimizing yield fluctuations is crucial for food security and for coffee farmers to earn a stable income. Fluctuations are small if yields remain close to the mean yield trends. In this study, the coffee yields of major producers are analyzed, together with zonal temperature data, to see where coffee is grown with stable technology under rising temperatures; thus, we demonstrate the advantages of the Yield Stability Index (YSI) over traditional stability measurements in guiding policy formulation and managerial decisions. The Yield Stability Index (YSI) is applied for 1961-1994 and 1995-2020, for the world's 12 major coffee-producing countries. The YSI indicates that of the 12 countries, only Indonesia, Honduras, and Mexico maintain stable yield levels, while Brazil and Vietnam considerably improve their yield stability, which traditional stability measures cannot grasp. Country-wise differences exist in environmental vulnerability and adaptability, with implications for food security. The novelty is the application of the YSI, and the connection between yield stability, climate change, and food security.

A SEM-NCA Approach towards Social Networks Marketing: Evaluating Consumers' Sustainable Purchase Behavior with the Moderating Role of Eco-Friendly Attitude.

This paper aims to investigate how social network marketing affects consumers' sustainable purchase behavior (CSPB) while considering the role of Eco-friendly attitude. The statistical population of the study included Iranian users of online social networks with at least one online purchasing experience. An online questionnaire was distributed on Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp platforms as the most popular networks in the country. By use of convenience sampling, commonly used in quantitative studies to overcome bias, 450 out of 475 returned questionnaires were acceptable, showing a response rate of 94.7%. The results indicated that an increase in Eco-friendly attitude positively increases the effect of word of mouth on consumers' sustainable purchase behavior. Meanwhile, Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) revealed that to reach a 50% level of consumers' sustainable purchase behavior, six essential necessary conditions are required: an eco-friendly consumers' attitude at no less than 50%, the trend at no less than 57.1%, word of mouth at no less than 45.5%, interaction at no less than 42.9%, customization at no less than 35.3% and entertainment at no less than 26.7%. Furthermore, the Importance-Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA) was investigated as a strategic tool. The results of IPMA showed that "buy products that use biodegradable material in packaging", "buy those products that are picked up and recycled", and "buy biodegradable products even if they belong to a less well-known company" show desirable performance and high importance and there is a great opportunity for expansion in this area.

Food Innovation Adoption and Organic Food Consumerism-A Cross National Study between Malaysia and Hungary.

In order to meet the rising global demand for food and to ensure food security in line with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 2, technological advances have been introduced in the food production industry. The organic food industry has benefitted from advances in food technology and innovation. However, there remains skepticism regarding organic foods on the part of consumers, specifically on consumers' acceptance of food innovation technologies used in the production of organic foods. This study measured factors that influence consumers' food innovation adoption and subsequently their intention to purchase organic foods. We compared the organic foods purchase behavior of Malaysian and Hungarian consumers to examine differences between Asian and European consumers. The findings show food innovation adoption as the most crucial predictor for the intention to purchase organic foods in Hungary, while social lifestyle factor was the most influential in Malaysia. Other factors such as environmental concerns and health consciousness were also examined in relation to food innovation adoption and organic food consumerism. This paper discusses differences between European and Asian organic foods consumers and provides recommendations for stakeholders.