China is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the world, and agricultural GHG emission accounts for nearly a fifth of the total emission in China. To understand the carbon absorption and emission characteristics of agricultural production systems in those arid oasis areas, a typical representative city in northwestern China, Zhangye City, was selected for study.The emission factor method was used to analyze and calculate the characteristics of changing carbon emission dynamics in the whole agricultural production system in Zhangye city region (38,592 km2) from 2010 to 2021.The results revealed that carbon emissions during agricultural planting mainly come from fertilizers, which account for the highest proportion (47.9%) of total carbon emissions in agricultural planting. Animal enteric fermentation emissions from local livestock farming are the main contributor (86%) to GHG emissions. The annual average carbon absorption intensity is 4.4 t C-eq ha-1 for crop and 2.6 t C-eq ha-1 for the agricultural production system. The ratio of total carbon emissions from agricultural production to carbon sequestration of crops is 1:1.7. We find that the total carbon sequestration slightly exceeds its total carbon emissions in the study region, with an annual average of 41% for its sustainable development index. Carbon emissions of the agricultural production system in this oasis area are mainly driven by the livestock industry, mostly CH4 emissions from cattle raising.Reducing the local carbon emissions from the livestock industry, typically the cattle raising, will play a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions from this local agricultural production system and maintaining its net positive carbon balance.

This paper assessed factors influencing participation in agricultural production by government workers in the Upper West Regions of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, using purposive and simple random sampling techniques to select 400 respondents across four (4) municipalities in the Upper West Region (UWR) for interview. Data were analyzed using the Heckman two-stage model to determine the extent to which factors critical to the participation in agricultural production by government workers. Results show that the majority (85.2 %) of government workers participate in one form or the other in agricultural production. They are specifically involved in crop production that is; food, and cash crops production as well as animal production. The need to supplement family food needs and to earn extra income was seen to condition their choice to participate in agriculture. The first and second stage predicting factors are income, access to extension, knowledge in agriculture and government policies; these were found to be statistically significant at 1 %. Time availability was significant at 5 %, however, sex, age, household size, credit availability, access to credit, passion for agriculture, scarcity of food, market access and cost of food were all found to be statistically significant at 10 %. We recommend that MoFA and its development partners in agriculture, effectively use local media and community visits to create more awareness among government workers on agricultural programmes and policies, since extension and knowledge in agriculture influence participation in agriculture production as revealed by the study in the UWR.

Water storage infrastructure is an indispensable part of many water supply systems, and its importance is experiencing a resurgence due to the increasing water irregularity induced by climate change and ever-growing water demand. Leveraging the commission of Hushan Reservoir in Taiwan as a quasi-experiment, this study provides some of the first causal evidence of the economic benefits of a reservoir from housing market and crop production for guiding sustainable water management. Using the administrative property transaction data and a spatial difference-in-differences framework, we find that the commission of Hushan Reservoir increases the values of residential property and farmlands by 4.1 and 8.9 %, respectively. We also find that enhanced irrigation water availability increases rice yield by over 4 % but has no impact on planted areas. Despite expectations of reduced groundwater use, our results show no evidence of a rebound in groundwater levels in the four years following the commission of the reservoir.

Environmental pollution has aggravated the climate change issues posing unusual challenges to the survival and growth of humanity, including extreme weather, loss of species, and sustainability of the ecosystem in developing countries. Unlike previous studies, this paper adds new dimension to the literature by incorporating corruption into agriculture production-environment nexus. This study adds new dimension to the literature by examining corruption, agriculture, and renewable energy on CO2 emissions. The study therefore examines the effects of governance (corruption) and agriculture production on CO2 emissions in 20 countries in Africa from 1990 to 2019. The study employed recent panel econometric approach which accounts for cross-sectional dependence in the variables. The findings of the fixed effect model and panel dynamic ordinary least squares (PDOLS) show that forest and renewable energy consumption decrease CO2 emissions. However, corruption, agriculture production, export, and urbanization escalate CO2 emissions in African countries covered in the paper. Moreover, the Dumitrescu-Hurlin Granger causality indicates a bidirectional causality between agriculture production and CO2 emissions, renewable energy use, agricultural output, and forest. Also, unidirectional Granger causality runs from corruption to forest and agriculture production. On these premises, consented efforts by governments should be made to support good institutions in order to promote good governance to avert pervasive consequences of corruption on the environment.

A lot of attention has been paid to environmental pollution worldwide, due to the increase in anthropogenic activities. Massive investment in non-renewable energy options raises questions regarding environmental sustainability and how to maximize food and non-food output while still preserving a healthy ecosystem. To this end, the present study explores the three-way nexus between economic growth, CO2 emission, and agriculture-value added will accounting for other control variables across a balanced panel of selected African economies from 1997 to 2020. Panel econometrics method of the generalized method of moments (two-step difference GMM) is used to obtain a robust result. From the present study, the environmental pollution model shows that economic growth significantly contributes to environmental pollution in Africa. Additionally, the food price index, capital, and FDI promote pollution, while agricultural production and labor decrease pollution. In the case of the economic growth model, the findings reveal that environmental pollution supports the growth-led pollution hypothesis. Also, the food price index and capital ameliorate economic growth, while foreign direct investments decrease economic growth. Finally, the agricultural production model indicates that economic growth increases agricultural production when the interaction term between GDPC and FDI is included in the model. In summary, the combination of explanatory variables, environmental pollution, capital, and foreign direct investment decreases agricultural production. On the contrary, the food price index and labor promote agricultural production in Africa. Furthermore, the study provides a lot of policies for authorities and stakeholders in Sub-Saharan African countries and other developing economies.

Ethnic minority farmers (EMFs) in upland areas of Central Vietnam are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate shocks and extreme events. It is thus urgent to examine their perceptions of the potential risks, their coping strategies, and the factors influencing their adaptation decisions in agriculture production. By exploring adaptation measures of the Xo Dang and Co Tu EMFs in Quang Nam province, Central Vietnam, the study results reveal that the EMFs are increasingly conscious of local climate shocks in the recent decade; as a result, they have applied multiple specific strategies in agriculture production to mitigate risks. The findings indicate that the key variables of the age of the household head, income, household size, residence period at the locality, and farmers\' perception of climate change significantly influenced the households\' adaptation decisions. Recognizing this, the study proposed specific recommendations and policy implications to minimize risks while maximizing benefits for the EMFs.

Climate change continues to pose a threat to the agricultural sectors worldwide, jeopardizing food and nutritional security, which is a critical component of the sustainable development agenda. Consequently, this study attempts to examine the impact of climatic variables (CO2 emissions, energy resources, rainfall, temperature, fossil fuel consumption, and humidity) on agricultural production of rice, cereals, vegetables, coffee, and agriculture value added (as a percentage of GDP) in the Malaysian context. To this end, this study applied a generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator on the data obtained from the metrological station Malaysia, Department of Statistics Malaysia and World Development Indicators (WDI) spanning the period 1985-2016. The results revealed that temperature and energy consumption negatively and significantly affect rice and vegetable production, while the negative effect of rainfall, temperature, fossil fuel consumption, and humidity on cereal production is insignificant. The results also confirmed that CO2 emissions have a negative and significant impact on coffee production. Likewise, temperature, energy consumption, and fossil fuel consumption exhibit a negative and significant influence on agriculture value added. These observations evidenced the adverse effect of climate change on various agricultural products in Malaysia. Therefore, in order to ensure robust and sustainable agricultural output in Malaysia, policymakers as well as environmentalists should work together to formulate appropriate adaptation strategies.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intricately linked to food systems. Addressing challenges in food systems is key to meeting the SDGs in Africa and South Asia, where undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies persist, alongside increased nutrition transition, overweight and obesity, and related chronic diseases. Suboptimal diets are a key risk factor for mortality and 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet; in addition, food systems are not prioritizing environmental sustainability. Optimizing food systems and increasing agricultural productivity beyond calories, to nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits, legumes, and livestock, and sustainable fishing, are required. Strengthening of research around food systems-on pathways, value chains, and development and validation of metrics of diet quality-is required. The development of new technology in crop management and pest control and addressing natural resource degradation is key. Engaging with the public and private sectors, outreach to donors and policymakers, and strengthening cross-disciplinary collaborations are imperative to improving food systems.

Silique dehiscence is an important physiological process during natural growth that enables mature seeds to be released from plants, which then undergo reproduction and ensure the survival of future generations. In agricultural production, the time and degree of silique dehiscence affect the harvest time and processing of crops. Premature silique dehiscence leads to seeds being shed before harvest, resulting in substantial reductions to yields. Conversely, late silique dehiscence is not conducive to harvesting, and grain weight and oil content will be reduced due to the respiratory needs of seeds. In this paper, the mechanisms and regulation of silique dehiscence, and its application in agricultural production is reviewed.

Wetlands are the most threatened ecosystem in China, and wetland conservation is a national priority because of their importance for water security, flood mitigation, and biodiversity conservation. A goal has been established for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region (BTH) to recover 340 km2 of wetlands by 2020. To guide restoration and protection efforts, policymakers need information on the trends of wetland loss, conversion of wetlands, and their associated human drivers. The main drivers of changes in different wetland types in the BTH were identified and quantified from 2000 to 2015. In 2015, there was 6264.07 km2 less wetland area than in 2000, with the remaining wetlands primarily located in Hebei and Tianjin. Reservoirs/ponds were the most abundant wetland type, followed by herbaceous swamps, rivers, canals and channels, and then lakes as the least represented. There were continuous losses of wetlands from 2000 to 2015, with marked decreases for rivers (30.48%), channels/canals (23.30%), and herbaceous swamps (16.12%). However, there was an increase in the area of lakes and reservoirs/ponds, with increases of 54.96% and 3.47%, respectively. The largest changes in natural wetlands were due to agricultural production followed by artificialization and grassland expansion. The driving forces of the observed changes were specific to each local region. According to an aggregated boosted trees (ABT) analysis, gross farm production, total aquatic products, and irrigated area were the top three drivers of the decrease in natural wetlands, which agreed with the main patterns of change in the BTH. The purpose of this study was to provide guidance for policy makers working to meet the 2020 BTH wetland recovery target. Recommendations were provided at the provincial level, including water transfers across provincial boundaries, the control of agricultural expansion, exploration of species-specific irrigation deficits, a reduction in the artificialization of land surfaces, the development of a sustainable intensified aquaculture model, and the promotion of awareness of wetland importance among local people.