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Agriculture.

Mixing up root microbes can boost tea’s flavor

Inoculating tea plant roots with nitrogen-metabolizing bacteria enhances synthesis of theanine, an amino acid that gives tea its savoriness.

Could a rice-meat hybrid be what’s for dinner?

Berkley walker wants to revamp photosynthesis for a changing climate, more stories in agriculture.

Camouflaging wheat with a wheat smell could be a new approach to pest control

Wheat fields coated in wheat germ oil confuse the noses of mice, reducing seed loss by more than 60 percent, a new study finds.

50 years ago, flesh-eating screwworms pushed scientists to mass produce flies

"Fly factories” dreamed up in the early 1970s have helped North and Central America keep screwworms in check for decades.

Martian soil may have all the nutrients rice needs

Experiments hint that in the future, we might be able to grow the staple food in the soils of the Red Planet.

Dry farming could help agriculture in the western U.S. amid climate change

Some farmers in the western United States are forgoing irrigation, which can save on water and produce more flavorful fruits and vegetables.

Indigenous people may have created the Amazon’s ‘dark earth’ on purpose

Modern Amazonians make nutrient-rich soil from ash, food scraps and burns. The soil strongly resembles ancient dark soils found in the region.

How fungi make potent toxins that can contaminate food

Genetically engineering Aspergillus fungi to delete certain proteins stops the production of mycotoxins that can be dangerous to human health.

A new seasoning smells like meat thanks to sugar — and mealworms

A spoonful of sugars could help cooked mealworms go down more easily, a potential boon for the planet.

How to build better ice towers for drinking water and irrigation

“Ice stupas” emerged in 2014 as a way to cope with climate change shrinking glaciers. Automation could help improve the cones’ construction.

Russia’s invasion could cause long-term harm to Ukraine’s prized soil

War will physically and chemically damage Ukraine’s prized, highly fertile chernozem soils. The impacts on agriculture could last for years.

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Agriculture and Food

Agriculture can help reduce poverty, raise incomes and improve food security for 80% of the world's poor, who live in rural areas and work mainly in farming. The World Bank Group is a leading financier of agriculture.

Healthy, sustainable and inclusive food systems are critical to achieve the world’s development goals. Agricultural development is one of the most powerful tools to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and feed a projected  10 billion people by 2050 . Growth in the agriculture sector is  two to four times more effective  in raising incomes among the poorest compared to other sectors.

Agriculture is also crucial to economic growth: accounting for 4% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and in some least developing countries,  it can account for more than 25% of GDP .

But agriculture-driven growth, poverty reduction, and food security are at risk: Multiple shocks – from COVID-19 related disruptions to extreme weather, pests, and conflicts – are impacting food systems, resulting in  higher food prices and growing hunger . Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has accelerated a global food crisis that is driving millions more into extreme poverty and hunger. Up to 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, which is 122 million more than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these, a quarter of a billion ( 258 million ) faced acute food insecurity.

The growing impact of climate change could further cut crop yields, especially in the world’s most food-insecure regions. At the same time, our food systems are responsible for about 30% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Current food systems also threaten the health of people and the planet and generate unsustainable levels of pollution and waste. One third of food produced globally is either lost or wasted. Addressing food loss and waste is critical to improving food and nutrition security, as well as helping to meet climate goals and reduce stress on the environment.

Risks associated with poor diets are also  the leading cause of death worldwide . Millions of people are either not eating enough or eating the wrong types of food, resulting in a  double burden of malnutrition  that can lead to illnesses and health crises. Food insecurity can worsen diet quality and increase the risk of various forms of malnutrition, potentially leading to undernutrition as well as people being overweight and obese. An estimated 3 billion people in the world cannot afford a healthy diet.

Last Updated: Sep 19, 2023

The World Bank Group provides knowledge, advice, and financial resources in low- and middle-income countries to transform food systems to reduce poverty and achieve green, resilient, and inclusive development.

Our work in food and agriculture focuses on: 

• Food and nutrition security , where we work with efforts to share information, and to rapidly provide resources where they are needed, while helping countries design the long-term reforms needed to build resilient food and nutrition systems.
• Climate-smart agriculture by working with client governments to provide solutions that address global climate priorities, while recognizing national contexts and development objectives.
• Data-driven digital agriculture by expand the frontier of financing and expertise for digital agriculture.
• Mobilizing capital for development in agriculture & food . We identify and leverage growth areas for productive investments, focusing on innovation and impact. And we design projects to ensure that financing boosts sustainable productivity gains, reaches smallholders and SMEs, and creates jobs to end poverty and hunger.
• Public policy and expenditure by working with governments to facilitate the adoption of more sustainable approaches, technologies, and practices, alongside policies that promote public and private sector investment.
• Sustainable and health diets to ensure that food can support a healthy population.

For fiscal year 2023, a total of $5,9 billion in new IBRD/IDA commitments to agriculture and related sectors has been approved. During that same period, investments, as part of new agriculture and food projects, directly supporting climate action have amounted to $3 billion.

 As part of a comprehensive, global response to the food and nutrition crises, the World Bank is scaling up its short- and long-term responses. In May 2022, the World Bank made a commitment of making available $30 billion over a period of 15 months to tackle the crisis . We have surpassed that goal. The World Bank have scaled up our food and nutrition security response, to now making $45 billion available through a combination of $22 billion in new lending and $23 billion from existing portfolio. Our food and nutrition security portfolio now spans across 90 countries. It includes both short term interventions such as expanding social protection, also longer-term resilience such as boosting productivity and climate-smart agriculture.

Increasingly, the Bank supports country efforts to transform their food systems by taking a holistic look at public policies and spending for agriculture and food. A new Multi-Donor Trust Fund,  Food Systems 2030 , provides a platform for change in this area.

In Angola, the Angola Commercial Agriculture Development Project , co-financed by the World Bank and the French Agency for Development, contributed to the government economic diversification agenda by supporting the transition from subsistence to a more market-oriented, competitive agriculture sector. The project helping producers or small and medium enterprises prepare and finance agriculture investments through technical assistance, grants, and de-risking via partial credit guarantees. As of August 2023, 101 projects have been approved, equivalent to about $26 million in agriculture investment. The project funded the first partial credit guarantees scheme dedicated to the agriculture sector in Angola – an innovation for country’s agribusiness sector – mobilizing so far $6.7 million in private bank financing. 

In Argentina , the Bank supported 14,630 families who benefited from better socioeconomic inclusion. Under the project, 2,409 families accessed water for human and animal consumption, also irrigation; 7,499 rural families improved their productive capacity; and over 900 families accessed infrastructure, equipment and training that improved their marketing. Based on the model of productive alliances, 2,801 families from different regions became beneficiaries by linking their production with the markets. Among the funded activities, the production of honey, orchards, forage, livestock, nuts, spices, yerba mate and tea, among others, stand out.

In  Armenia , the Bank supported 285,000 people to improve livestock farming and pasture management. Under the project, over 110,000 heads of livestock – about 17% of Armenia’s total livestock – received improved animal health services. The project was closed in 2022.

In Azerbaijan, the Agricultural Competitiveness Improvement Project , which ended in 2021, helped small and medium agribusinesses raise their productivity and sales by about 60% and 70% respectively. The project supported 70% of all livestock in the country through its animal disease-control program, also invested in seed research and processing to improve seed quality and production. The project also supported the privatization program on veterinary services, and provided financial support for over 200 agricultural enterprises. The project created 3,000 new jobs in the sector.

In Benin, between 2011-2021, the Agricultural Productivity and Diversification Project facilitated the adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies for 327,503 crop producers, leading to 135,549 hectares of land cultivated with improved technologies. The project interventions resulted in increased yields from 0.45 ton to 0.81 ton for cashew; from 1.2 tons to 2.97 tons for maize, from 4.0 tons to 6.2 tons for rice, and from 50 tons to 70 tons for pineapple. The project led to significant increases of milled rice and fish output. Combined with support for crop production and processing, support to exports has led to increases in the export of cashew and pineapple.

For the past 16 years,  Bolivia  has been developing a strategy to improve agricultural production and marketing through the productive alliances model. This model links small rural producers with markets, and facilitates their participation in value chains, and access to technical assistance and technology for better market access. Currently, over 2,600 productive alliances have been implemented, benefiting 107,308 producer families.

In Bhutan,  a Bank-supported project  supports the government's efforts to reduce rural poverty and high levels of malnutrition through climate-smart agriculture. Irrigation technology and greenhouses introduced through the project have helped farmers to increase their access to local and export markets. More than 6,500 people have increased the quality and quantity of produce like rice, maize, potato, vegetables, quinoa, citrus, apples, and potatoes, as well as high-value spices such as cardamom and ginger. 

In Burkina Faso, the Bank supported the Burkina Faso Livestock Sector Development Project which ran from 2017 to 2022. By project completion, beneficiaries among selected value chains increased their yield by 8.4%. Yield increase for cattle, sheep, and egg production reached 6.76%, 11.93%, and 6.50%, respectively. Sales increased by 45% exceeding the target of a 30% increase. The volume of loans granted by partner financial institutions reached $5.02 million, exceeding the original target of $4.38 million. The project reached a total of 329,000 beneficiaries, out of which 138,314 were women and 112,573 were youth.

In the Central African Republic, through the Emergency Food Security Response project, 330,000 smallholder farmers received seeds, farming tools, and training in agricultural and post-harvest techniques. The project helped farmers boost their crop production and become more resilient to climate and conflict risks. Local food production increased by 250%, from 28,000 tons in September 2022 to 73,000 tons in June 2023. Moreover, 21,006 agricultural households received training on post-harvest loss management and provided equipment, such as mobile storage units, to enhance packaging of agricultural products, leading to higher selling prices.

In China, since 2014,  a Bank-supported project  has helped expand climate-smart agriculture. Better water-use efficiency on 44,000 hectares of farmland and new technologies have improved soil conditions and boosted production of rice by 12% and maize by 9%. More than 29,000 farmers’ cooperatives report higher incomes and increased climate resilience.

In  Colombia, since 2010, the adoption of environmentally friendly silvopastoral production systems  (SPS) for over 4,100 cattle ranches has converted 100,522 hectares of degraded pastures into more productive landscapes and captured 1,565,026 tons of CO2 equivalent. In addition, almost 40,000 hectares of pastureland were transformed to SPS and 4,640 hectares into intensive Silvopastoral Production Systems (iSPS). Moreover, 4,100 direct farmers beneficiaries, of which 17% were women, were trained in SPS and iSPS, and over 21,000 farmers, technicians and producers were also trained, visited demonstration farms, and participated in workshops and events and technology brigades. A network of 116 plant nurseries were also established, which produced around 3.1 million fodder trees that were delivered to beneficiary farmers. 

In Cote d’Ivoire, between 2013 and 2017, the Agriculture Sector Project  boosted the productivity of 200,000 farmers and rehabilitated 6,500 kilometers of rural roads which allowed farmers to more easily bring their products to market and reduce post-harvest losses. To aid the cashew industry, the Bank also supported a research program that helped disseminate 209 genotypes of high-performing trees and establish 18 nurseries. The Bank-financed project also helped leverage $27.5 million in private investment to boost productivity on at least 26,500 hectares.

In  Croatia , the Bank supported the Ministry of Agriculture in building a National Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy that connects country needs and the EU Common Agricultural Policy.

In Djibouti , the Bank supported the construction of 112 water mobilization units, which improved water access for 9,762 households. The Bank also helped introduce hydroponic agriculture to 30 beneficiaries, rehabilitated 96 hectares of irrigated farmland, and produced 14,000 seedlings. 

In Ethiopia, since 2015  a project has helped 2.3 million farmers with agricultural support services, agricultural research, small-scale irrigation, and market infrastructure development. In addition, almost 600,000 livestock and aquaculture farmers have been provided with various services (animal health, feeding, breeding and commercialization) and another 425,000 pastoralists and agro-pastoralists have been supported to build livelihoods resilience in the lowlands parts of the country.

In Guinea, the World Bank helps the government's efforts to adapt and mitigate climate shocks, build a resilient food system, and promote employment for youth and women. From 2018 to 2023, through the Guinea Integrated Agricultural Development Project , local farmers increased agriculture's productivity, sustainability, and profit. To help local communities, the project disseminated innovation packages with high-yielding seeds, helped improve irrigation, trained and mentored women and youth to access funds to create jobs, and increased income for beneficiaries. The project also promoted the use of climate-smart, gender-sensitive digital technologies with local producers. The project has reached 149,000 farmers (of whom 38% are women and 30% are youth). The project’s results include a 30% increase in yield of rice and maize; a 42% increase in commodity sales; a 47,470-hectare area covered by improved technologies; over 97,000 users of improved technologies, and more than 2,000 jobs created for women and youth. It also supported the national agriculture census and helped mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing improved seeds, fertilizers, and farming kits to 40,000 vulnerable families.

In Honduras, since 2010 , 12,878 small farmers, of which 27% are women, have used productive alliances to improve productivity and access to markets, which has leveraged $33.5 million in finance from commercial banks and microfinance institutions. Under the project, gross sales of producer organizations rose by 24.3%. Also, support to Honduras’ Dry Corridor Alliance, has helped 12,202 households implement food security and agricultural business plans, and improved agricultural yields, nutrition, and food diversity of project beneficiaries.

In Bihar, India, the  Bihar Transformative Development Project  has supported 6.2 million women through 531,825 affinity based Self Help Groups (SHGs). The project, which closed in April 2023, helped Bihar become the state with the highest number of SHGs in the country, with 12.7 million women in over 1 million SHGs. In the project areas alone, the women SHGs saved over $473.5 million and leveraged $2.3 billion from the formal financial sector. In addition, over 500,000 women SHG members were supported through market-linked value chains.

In India, the  Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project  supported over 400,000 farm families and 1,270 businesses and over 100 of industry associations and producer organizations in improving their productivity and incomes and helping develop new marketing channels since 2017.

Since 2013,  Bank support has strengthened Indonesia’s agricultural research  system. Thirty-three Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology centers now have the capacity to develop improved rice, vegetable, and fruit varieties. The project has supported 161 agricultural researchers through degree programs; upgraded 58 labs and 54 research stations; and funded 1,134 research activities, including 44 international research collaboration activities. 

In Jamaica, an ongoing project since 2000 is strengthening value chains. The project emphasizes on the linkages between producers/service providers and buyers, to improve economies of scale for producer organizations, small agricultural enterprises and tourism clusters, and to mainstream climate resilience. The project introduces counter-seasonal production methods and technologies such as greenhouses, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable land and water management practices, small scale productive infrastructures such as cold storage facilities, local roads, alternative energy sources, among others. Around 9,000 people will benefit directly from these investments, of which 40% will be women and 30% youths.

In  Kenya, since 2016,   1.5 million farmers , where over 60% are women, have increased their productivity , climate resilience and access to markets. The digital registry (including geo tagging) of these 1.5 million farmers enables them to access agro-weather and market advisories. In addition, the Bank is facilitating partnerships between the government and 26 ag-tech support agencies which enables almost 500,000 farmers to access a range of services (inputs, financial services and markets) by leveraging digital technologies.  

In Kosovo , the Bank provided 775 grants to farmers and 103 grants to agri-processors to increase production capacities and enhance market competitiveness in the livestock and horticulture sector. This was done through upgrading facilities, adopting new technologies, and introducing food safety and environmental standards. Further, support was provided for the rehabilitation of irrigation schemes covering an area of 7,750 hectares which had an impact on the production, yield, quality, and variety of products cultivated in the area.

In Madagascar, since 2016 , the Bank has boosted the productivity of over 130,000 farmers. Sixty-thousand hectares of irrigated rice fields have been rehabilitated. The Bank also supported the cocoa sector through research, the development of certified seeds, and promotion of improved production and processing techniques. This allowed 4,000 cocoa producers to increase their incomes and increase production and export volumes by 50%. The Bank also financed the country’s largest land rights registration, facilitating the delivery of over 200,000 land certificates to farmers. 

In Mali, the Food Security Resilience Project is distributing 15,000 metric tons of fertilizer and 4,500 tons of climate resilient seeds for over 400,000 farmers, of which 160,000 are women, in Segou, Koutiala and Sikasso. The Drylands Development Project funded activities including subprojects, agricultural infrastructure, cash transfers which benefitted over 150,000 agricultural households, equivalent to more than 1 million people, in the regions of the Sahel band, including Kayes, Koulikoro, Segou and Mopti.

In Mauritania, between 2016 and 2021, the intervention of the Sahel regional support project offered agricultural assets and services to more than 400,000 farmers/pastoralists, where nearly 30% are women. More than 1.9 million hectares of land under sustainable management practices, in addition to the construction of 133 vaccination parks and the realization of 118 water points (wells and boreholes) as well as other infrastructure of valorization and trade of animals were provided to agro-pastoralist communities. Additionally, from April 2023- June 2028, the Bank offered to support the Agriculture Development and Innovation Support Project (PADISAM) to improve land resources management and foster inclusive and sustainable commercial agriculture in selected areas of Mauritania. It is anticipated that by the end of the project, there will be 72,000 direct beneficiaries and about 5,000 Ha of land under sustainable landscape management practices.

In Moldova, since 2012 , the Bank has helped more than 7,500 farmers gain access to local and regional high-value markets for fresh fruit and vegetables and boosted land productivity through the promotion of sustainable land management practices on 120,000 hectares of farmland.

In  Montenegro , since 2009, the Bank has supported almost 4,000 farmers working on orchards, vineyards, livestock and aromatic plants, 224 agro-processors, and 59 farmers working on processing on-farm complying with the European Union requirements for food safety and 278 agricultural households adopting agro-environmental measures, improving their competitiveness and sustainability.

In Nepal, the Bank-supported  Nepal Poverty Alleviation Fund  helped small farmers and rural poor people access microcredit, assets, services, and training. Since 2004, it has created over 30,000 community organizations and had an impact on more than 900,000 households. 

In Nicaragua, between 2015 and 2019,  food security in 563 communities along the Caribbean Coast was enhanced, benefiting 75,000 people. Nearly 8,400 families adopted improved agricultural technology and productivity increased by 65%.

In Niger , through the Climate Smart Agriculture Support Project , the World Bank supported over 370,000 farmers, where 145,000 of whom are women. The farmers benefited from the project’s investments in small and large-scale irrigation, improved climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable land management practices. Over 154,000 hectares of land were developed with sustainable land management practices, and 4,400 hectares of cropland were brought under irrigation. In collaboration with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics and FAO, the project promoted good agriculture practices through farmer led e-extension services and technical assistance. The project investments led to significant increases in agriculture productivity: yields of cowpea, millet, and sorghum increased by 169, 164, and 142 percent, respectively. The project also strengthened the national climate information system by building the capacity of the National Meteorology Department (the project installed 30 meteorological stations and 600 rain gauges). Through its support to the Sahel Regional Center for Hydro and Agrometeorology, the project strengthened the early warning systems of national institutes such as National Meteorology and the National Hydrology Directorate.

In Nigeria, APPEALS Project   was designed to enhance agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers and improve value addition along priority value chains. Since 2017, the project has demonstrated 204 improved technologies to 93,0009 farmers and continued to contribute to the national food basket across 11 value chains. Food crop production has surged, with 304,516 metric tons produced, representing 3.1% of the national output. Furthermore, the project has reached 61,171 farmers with processing assets to improve the quality of their produce. The project also trained 10,346 women and youth, including persons with disability, providing them with business, technical and life skills training, support to business planning and facilitation of business name registration, start-up grant to establish a commercially viable business, and mentorship to provide the beneficiaries with continued support from established agribusiness entrepreneurs. The project linked farmers to market through the facilitation of commercial partnerships resulting in a total of 327 business alliances with 147 off-takers already buying farmers’ produce across the 11 value chains, with a transaction worth of US$ 59.7 million. Similarly, the project has linked 200 agribusiness clusters to infrastructures which includes 55km rural farm access road, 75 aggregation and cottage processing centers, 102 solar-powered water intervention and energy supplies.

In Pakistan, in 2022, in response to the flood’s emergency, about 230,000 smallholder farmers received cash transfer support to winter cropping, more than 500 watercourses damaged by the floods were rehabilitated, 27,000 tents and 2.2 million mosquito nets were purchased. Women were provided with poultry and small ruminants restocking, tunnel farming as well as kitchen garden kits.

In Paraguay, since 2008, 20,863 farmers  increased their agricultural income by at least 30% and 18,951 adopted improved agricultural practices, boosting the productivity of their land.

In Peru, since 2013,  nearly 600 agricultural innovations have been identified and tested with the help of competitive matching grants. More than 110 of these innovations have been validated at the farm level, and as of September 2020, one or more of them have been adopted by nearly 32,000 producers.

In the  Philippines, since 2015 , the Bank helped raise rural incomes, enhance farm and fishery productivity, improve market access and mainstream institutional and operational reforms, as well as science-based planning for agricultural commodities in 81 provinces. The project has benefitted a total of 323,501 people–46% of them women–with farm roads, irrigation, and agricultural enterprise projects, boosting incomes by up to 36%. 

In  Rwanda, since 2010, the Bank helped support more than 410,000 farmers – half are women – in improving their agricultural production by developing over 7,400 hectares for marshland irrigation, providing hillside irrigation on over 2,500 hectares, and several hundreds of farmers benefitted matching grants to support their investments in Farmer-Led Irrigation Development (FLID) technologies on over 1,200 hectares of their land. Interventions also included improving soil conservation and erosion on more than 39,000 hectares of hillside. Maize, rice, beans, and potato yields have all more than doubled and around 2.5 tons of vegetables are exported to Europe and the Middle-East every week from intervention areas, or locally, where more horticulture produce is sold to premium markets including 5-star hotels or the national airline, RwandAir. Less than two years after one of the Bank supported projects introduced greenhouse farming in its intervention areas to minimize the impacts of unfavorable weather conditions and better manage crop pests and diseases, by 2023, the demand for these technologies has seen a rapid increase in these areas and 132 units have been acquired and installed through the matching grants program under the project. Evidence shows relatively high revenues for farmers investing in greenhouse technology, with revenues increasing up to 15 times for vegetable growers.

In  Tajikistan , the Bank supported the establishment of 545 farmer groups in horticulture value chains, specifically apricot, apple, pear, lemon, cucumber, and tomato, and dairy value chain benefiting a total of 13,516 farmers out of which 48% were women. The Bank also supported the establishment of 342 productive partnerships benefitting 4,340 smallholder farmers. A total of 21,882 beneficiaries achieved an increase in commercial activity. The project supported training for 13, 516 farmers, on value chain development.

In  Tunisia, the Bank helped 113 remote rural villages improve  land management practices on 37,000 hectares of land to increase productivity and improve 930 kilometers of rural roads serving some 160 villages. 

In  Uruguay, since 2014, climate-smart agriculture techniques  have been adopted on 2.7 million hectares and adopted by 5,541 farmers, providing for a carbon sequestration potential of up to 9 million tons of CO2 annually.

In Uganda, since 2015 , the  Agriculture Cluster Development Project’s e-voucher scheme has leveraged over $12 million of farmer investments enabling over 450,000 farm households access and use improved agro-inputs resulting in higher farm yields. Provision of matching grants has enhanced storage capacity by 55,000MT, acquiring value addition equipment and machinery thereby facilitating Producer Organizations to add value and undertake collective marketing. Additional infrastructure support addressing road chokes has also led to improved market access.

The Bank has also made investments into strengthening regulatory and administrative functions of the Ministry of Agriculture through the development of IT Platforms and tools facilitating timely planning and decision making.

In the Uganda Multi-Sectoral Food and Nutrition Security Project, the Bank has supported enhanced knowledge on nutrition resulting in improved household nutrition and incomes for 1.55 million direct project beneficiaries.

In Uzbekistan, the Horticulture Development Project has helped create, 34,520 jobs, including 13,124 for women; increase beneficiary productivity by 24% and profitability by 124%, including through entry into new export markets. The  Livestock Sector Development Project supported a sub-loans benefitting a total of 560 large scale commercial livestock farmers, and a total of 135 value chain development projects benefiting 1,456 smallholder farmers (Dekhans). As a result of the project support, the share of improved and high yielding livestock breeds increased by 98.7%; thereby increasing milk and meat productivity by 33% and 38% respectively. A total of 3,659 livestock farmers acquired agricultural assets.  In addition, the project created a total of 21,698 new jobs.

In Vietnam, since 2010, the Bank has promoted sustainable livelihoods by helping develop 9,000 “common interest groups” comprising over 15,500 households and partnering them with agricultural enterprises. The Bank also helped  over 20,000 farmers  improve their livestock production and benefited an additional 130,000 people through capacity building in food safety. 

Under the  West African Agricultural Productivity Program , the Bank supported a research and development effort that promoted technology generation, dissemination, and support to local farming systems in 13  ECOWAS  countries. The project reached over 2.7 million beneficiaries, 41% of whom were women. It also generated 112 technologies that reached over 1,850,000 hectares.

Last Updated: Sep 25, 2023

The World Bank works with a range of partners to achieve ambitious development goals: transforming food systems, boosting food security and empowering smallholder farmers, to realize zero hunger and poverty by 2030. 

The World Bank Group is a joint convener, with the G7 Presidency, of the Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS) . A key outcome of the Global Alliance is the  Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard , a key tool to fast-track a rapid response to the unfolding global food security crisis, designed to consolidate and present up-to-date data on food crisis severity, track global food security financing, and make available global and country-level research and analysis to improve coordination of the policy and financial response to the crisis.

The Bank hosts a  Multi-Donor Trust Fund,  Food Systems 2030 , that helps countries build better food systems, fostering healthy people, a healthy planet and healthy economies. The Trust Fund aims to deliver improved livelihoods and affordable, and nutritious diets for all, and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals of zero poverty and hunger by 2030 and the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Food Systems 2030 provides advice and analytical products to underpin policy options, funds to pilot innovative approaches, and information to build support for change in different country contexts. It engages with the private sector by supporting the design, piloting and de-risking of innovative public-private partnerships that advance development and climate goals.   

The  Global Agriculture and Food Security Program , a multilateral financing platform, is dedicated to improving food and nutrition security worldwide. Launched by the  G20 in the wake of the global response to the 2007–08 food price crisis, GAFSP works to build sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. Since its inception in 2010, the Program has mobilized more than US$2 billion in donor funds to reach more than 16.6 million people. GAFSP provides financial and technical resources – investment grants, technical assistance, concessional finance, and advisory services – to demand-driven projects along the food chain to accelerate the transformation of food systems at scale.

The World Bank leads the  Food Systems, Land use and Restoration Global Platform (FOLUR) , financed by the Global Environment Facility, in partnership with UNDP, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Global Landscapes Forum and the Food and Land-use Coalition. FOLUR is a $345 million, seven-year program that aims to improve the health and sustainability of landscapes that produce the world’s food. FOLUR targets sustainable production landscapes in 27 country projects for eight major commodities (livestock, cocoa, coffee, maize, palm oil, rice, soy, and wheat).

The World Bank chairs the System Council of  CGIAR , a global partnership that advances cutting-edge science to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and ensure sustainable management of natural resources.

For more information, contact Clare Murphy-McGreevey on [email protected].

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Food Systems 2030 is an Umbrella Multi-Donor Trust Fund that helps countries build better food systems by 2030. Food Systems 2030 helps countries rethink and transform their food systems from farm to fork, progressing ...

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March 11, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

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Pioneering agricultural resilience and sustainability in the face of climate change

by TranSpread

With climate change and growing global populations posing increasing threats to food security, the quest for agricultural sustainability and the resilience of crop yields becomes paramount. Current research strategies focus on genetic improvements to cultivate crop varieties better suited to these changes, alongside refining crop management practices to enhance resource efficiency.

These efforts are supported by crop models, vital tools for simulating the genetic, environmental, and management (G×E×M) factors affecting crop growth. Among these models, the GreenLab model stands out for its detailed organ-level simulations, incorporating physiological and morphological responses to environmental conditions. However, despite its sophistication, the GreenLab model simplifies environmental impacts into a single factor, inadequately capturing the nuanced effects of climate, soil, and management practices on yield.

In February 2024, Plant Phenomics published a review article titled " Functional–Structural Plant Model 'GreenLab' : A State-of-the-Art Review ." The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the GreenLab model, delving into its developmental history, fundamental concepts, main theories, applications, software tools, and future directions.

Originating from the AMAP modeling approach, GreenLab integrates botanical concepts like physiological age and source–sink dynamics, laying a robust foundation for simulating plant growth in accordance with botanical principles.

Over two decades, collaboration between institutes in China and France has refined GreenLab into a sophisticated model that simulates plant growth at the organ level, accommodating various plant types from herbaceous species to trees.

The model's evolution from deterministic to stochastic versions has expanded its utility, enabling it to simulate diverse growth patterns and architectural complexities with remarkable accuracy. By incorporating concepts from process-based models, GreenLab offers detailed simulations of biomass production and allocation, leveraging mathematical equations for efficient parameterization and simulation.

It stands out for its ability to model the dynamic interaction between development and growth, capturing the nuanced effects of environmental factors on plant structure and yield.

Applications of GreenLab span across different plant species, demonstrating its versatility in simulating growth patterns of both field and horticultural crops, as well as trees, under varying environmental conditions. The model's calibration process, involving detailed plant architecture and biomass data, underscores its precision in simulating plant growth .

Moreover, GreenLab's integration with advanced technologies like speed breeding and artificial intelligence heralds a new era of crop modeling, enabling rapid phenotyping and yield prediction to support sustainable agricultural practices. The software tools developed for GreenLab, from Visualplant to XPlantGL, facilitate user-friendly simulations and calibrations, making it accessible to researchers and practitioners alike.

Looking forward, the paper highlights the model's potential in bridging genetic, physiological, and environmental research, offering insights into crop adaptation strategies and optimizing yield predictions. Through continuous development and integration with cutting-edge technologies, GreenLab remains at the forefront of agricultural modeling, promising innovative solutions to the challenges of food security and climate change .

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The proposed topic for the 2023 project is “Assessing the Distributional Impacts of Climate Change in the Agricultural Sector.” Climate change affects all aspects of the agricultural sector, from the production of food and fiber, through the choice of technology by producers, to the set of products that are available to consumers and the prices of those products. USDA is committed to understanding the consequences of climate change, as well as the impact of potential policy responses. Economic research on climate-related issues can advance this mission.

The 2023 project will focus on distributional impacts, because USDA is also committed to promoting equitable outcomes both in the impact of climate-related changes and in the design of policy responses. Doing so requires analysis and measurement of the effects of climate change in the agricultural sector on different groups in the population. These include producers and consumers, households in different income groups, racial and ethnic groups, those who live in different areas, and groups defined along other dimensions.

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Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA) Implementation Strategy (PDF, 1.8 MB) is a framework outlining a new approach for delivering disruptive breakthrough discoveries for agriculture.

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An additional focus is to establish more sustainable systems that enhance crop and animal health. Our scientists and university partners have revealed the genetic blueprints of a host of plants and animals including the genomes of apples, pigs, and turkeys, and in 2012, they furthered understanding of the tomato, bean, wheat and barley genomes -- key drivers in developing the resilience of those crops to feed growing populations.

NASS has developed animated U.S. crop progress and topsoil moisture maps , along with other resources, to help experts assess farmland data. USDA researchers also created the Maize Genome Database, an important tool to help farmers improve traits in a crop vital to the world. Meeting growing global demand for food, fiber, and biofuel requires robust investment in agricultural research and development (R&D) from both public and private sectors. USDA is a leader in remote sensing and mapping to visualize data in support of agricultural policy and business decision making as well as program operation. We ranked first worldwide among research institutions publishing on priority diseases in animal health including salmonellosis, avian influenza , mycobacterial disease, coccidiosis, campylobacterosis, mastitis and others.

USDA conducts and supports science that informs decisions and policies contributing to a safe food supply and the reduction of foodborne hazards. Our scientists found the primary site where the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease begins infection in cattle and developed an improved vaccine against the disease. They are also working on new strategies to control mites and other major honey bee problems such as colony collapse disorder .

Improving Nutrition and Confronting Obesity

USDA builds the evidence base for food-based and physical activity strategies and develops effective education activities to promote health and reduce malnutrition and obesity in children and high-risk populations. For example, ARS evaluated school characteristics associated with healthier or less healthy food preparation practices and offerings and found that the school nutrition environment could be improved by requiring food service managers to hold nutrition-related college degrees, pass a food service training program, and by participating in a school-based nutrition program such as USDA Team Nutrition .

USDA-supported science is investigating the causes of childhood obesity so that our country can address the epidemic. In these efforts, USDA supports nutrition education programs and encourages Americans to consume more nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables. Our scientists are part of an international team that has found a way to boost the nutritional value of broccoli, tomatoes and corn, and have worked to find ways to bolster the nutritional content of other staple crops like oats and rice. USDA research has supported these efforts, showing how healthy foods can often cost less than foods that are high in saturated fat, added sugar and/or sodium.

In 2013, USDA updated the national assessment of urban and rural food deserts - low-income areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food - and provided information on the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics that distinguish food deserts from other areas, for decision-makers and stakeholders concerned about access to healthy foods.

Conserving Natural Resources and Combating Climate Change

USDA develops and delivers science-based knowledge that empowers farmers, foresters, ranchers, landowners, resource managers, policymakers, and Federal agencies to manage the risks, challenges, and opportunities of climate variability, and that informs decision-making and improves practices in environmental conservation.

Our scientists are developing rice and corn crops that are drought- and flood-resistant and helping to improve the productivity of soil, as well as production systems that require increasing smaller amounts of pesticides or none at all.

Vegetation indices contained in VegScape have proven useful for assessing crop condition and identifying the aerial extent of floods, drought, major weather anomalies, and vulnerabilities of early/late season crops. This tool allows users to monitor and track weather anomalies' effects on crops in near real time and compare this information to historical data on localized levels or across States.

Additionally, our researchers have examined the potential impacts of a suite of climate scenarios on U.S. crop production. Studies like these will help policymakers, farmers, industry leaders and others better understand and adapt to a changing climate on America's crop production.

Our researchers created i-Tree , urban forest management software to help cities understand the value of urban trees through carbon sequestration, erosion protection, energy conservation and water filtration, and since 2009 have continued building on the success of the tool and expanding its use. Our scientists are conducting research on uses of wood, helping companies meet green building design standards and creating jobs using forest products. We have also worked with Major League Baseball to reduce the occurrence of broken baseball bats.

USDA supports families managing through tough economic times by helping residents save energy at home and conserve water, with a program run by Cooperative Extension and our land-grant university partners. Cooperative Extension-affiliated volunteer monitoring programs have engaged citizens in water monitoring to better understand the effects of climate change and/or aquatic invasive species on local waters. Collectively, these programs interacted with hundreds of local, State, and Federal partners. The programs help citizens detect the presence of invasive species and harmful algal blooms.

Science Education and Extension

USDA recognizes the importance of recruiting, cultivating, and developing the next generation of scientists, leaders, and a highly skilled workforce for food, agriculture, natural resources, forestry, environmental systems, and life sciences.

The NIFA interagency agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leverages technology and innovation and involves youth in STEM outreach and exposure. Youth participants developed science process skills related to using GIS and research design, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings to the community which has enabled them to become better consumers of science and citizens capable of making wise STEM policy choices.

USDA strives to provide effective research, education, and extension activities that inform public and private decision-making in support of rural and community development . NASS holds outreach events throughout the Census cycle with underserved and minority and disadvantaged farming groups to promote participation in the Census of Agriculture . With funding and support from NIFA, many Tribal Colleges are offering Reservation citizens training ranging from basic financial literacy to business start-up and marketing information so that families not only survive, but thrive.

In addition, the ERS Atlas of Rural and Small Town America brings together over 80 demographic, economic, and agricultural statistics for every county in all 50 states and assembles statistics in four broad categories -- people, jobs, agriculture, and geography.

Research and Science Centers and Databases

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• Digital Desktop (DigiTop) for Employees
• Food and Nutrition Assistance Research Database
• Food and Nutrition Information Center
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News from the Columbia Climate School

The Emerging Field of Sustainable Agriculture

Steve Cohen

I grew up in Brooklyn and have spent most of my life living in Morningside Heights in Manhattan; my only exposure to farming life was during the last of my five years living in Franklin, Indiana, when I delivered the Daily Journal Newspaper to farmers in rural Johnson and Brown counties. Occasionally, when the farmers were a little short of cash, they paid for their newspapers with produce. I know very little about farming, except that farmers seem to be the hardest-working people I’ve ever known. Modern industrial farming has made American agriculture the most productive in the world, but it is capital-intensive, risky, and polluting. An emerging movement in sustainable agriculture is developing, which promises continued productivity with less pollution. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists :

“There’s a transformation taking place on farms across the United States. For decades, we’ve produced the bulk of our food through industrial agriculture—a system dominated by large farms growing the same crops year after year, using enormous amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that damage our soil, water, air, and climate. This system is not built to last, because it squanders and degrades the resources it depends on. But a growing number of innovative farmers and scientists are taking a different path, moving toward a farming system that is more sustainable—environmentally, economically, and socially. This system has room for farms of all sizes, producing a diverse range of foods, fibers, and fuels adapted to local conditions and regional markets. It uses state-of-the-art, science-based practices that maximize productivity and profit while minimizing environmental damage. Sustainability also means the whole system is more resilient to droughts, floods, and other impacts of climate change that farmers are already seeing. Though the move to this type of system often involves some up-front costs, smart public policies can help farmers make the shift.”

Techniques such as rotating crops and integrating livestock and crops can reduce costs and maintain soil productivity with less need for chemicals and other costly interventions. Notably, some of the “sustainable” techniques represent a return to traditional methods of farming. The issue for many farmers is the capital requirements needed for some of the technology required for sustainable farming and the revenue deferred when giving the soil time to regenerate itself. One company that has addressed these issues is Land O’Lakes, which is a cooperative populated by farmers who are part owners of the company. According to a 2021 Press Release on the Land O’Lakes website:

“Land O’Lakes, Inc. today announced new on-farm sustainability commitments to be adopted by its more than 1,600 member-dairy farms by 2025. Within the next four years, all Land O’Lakes’ dairy farmer-owners will complete an intensive, industry-leading on-farm sustainability assessment aligned with the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment while maintaining universal compliance with the National Milk Producers Federation’s National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program. This announcement is the next step in Land O’Lakes’ enterprise-wide approach to on-farm sustainability.”

This company has learned that sustainability practices can reduce both costs and pollution. By using satellites, automation, GPS, and other technologies, they can precisely target water, fertilizer, and pesticides to plants, thereby reducing resource use, costs, and pollution. Managing manure from their many dairy cows enables Land O’Lakes to utilize this resource for fertilizer and energy. Efforts are underway to promote these methods globally, with limited success. According to Rochelle Toplensky of the Wall Street Journal :

“The Sustainable Markets Initiative, a private-sector group launched in 2020, set up its Agribusiness Task Force to accelerate regenerative agriculture adoption and includes senior leaders from Mars, McDonald’s, PepsiCo , Bayer , McCain, Mondelez and others. The task force’s 2022 report concluded the main hurdle to adopting regenerative practices was that farmers’ short-term economics don’t add up, but it also found there was a knowledge gap and not everyone in the value-chain was aligned. Follow-up work concluded that farmers need financial incentives and derisking mechanisms as well as technical and peer-to-peer support. Also important were agreeing [to] environmental outcome metrics and creating supportive policy and payments for so-called ecosystem services such as rebuilding biodiversity and water quality.”

In the United States—and throughout the world—there is potential for a transformation of agricultural practices to make them more efficient and less polluting. But agriculture is an industry characterized by a wide variety of cultural traditions, business models, and geographic conditions. Sustainable practices make economic and environmental sense, and farmers who practice them will outcompete those who don’t. Nevertheless, the transition requires capital, technical expertise, and the willingness and training to experiment with new production processes. The piece by the Union of Concerned Scientists recognizes this and calls for public policy to provide the incentives needed to bring about this transition. The United States has had an activist federal farm policy since the 19 th century. It dates back to the establishment of Land Grant Colleges in the Morrill Act of 1862, where the federal government gave states federal lands in exchange for the establishment of agricultural colleges. The federal government also developed agricultural extension services to train farmers in the latest methods of farming.

In the United States, agricultural policies and subsidies are legislated in the “Farm Bill,” which has been renewed eighteen times since it was first enacted during the New Deal of the 1930s. According to the Congressional Research Services Primer on the Farm Bill , last updated on February 29, 2024:

“Farm bills traditionally have focused on farm commodity program support for a handful of staple commodities—corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, peanuts, dairy, and sugar. Farm bills have become increasingly expansive in nature since 1973, when a nutrition title was first included. Other prominent additions since then include horticulture and bioenergy titles and expansion of conservation, research, and rural development titles.”

Traditionally, agriculture policy in the United States was dominated by rural farm states due to their over-representation in the United States Senate. Lightly populated farm states have the same number of senators (two) as heavily populated industrial states. Farm policy was more important in rural states, and in exchange for votes from industrial states on urban initiatives, farm-state senators traditionally dominated U.S. agriculture policy. This changed in the 1970s when food subsidies for poor people were added to the farm bill, and today, over 75% of the funding in the farm bill subsidizes these “nutrition” programs. In the most recent farm bill, nutrition funding totaled $1.1 billion, crop insurance $124 million, and conservation funding was about $58 million. The politics of agriculture policy is no longer dominated by the farm states. According to the Congressional Research Service :

“The omnibus nature of the farm bill can create broad coalitions of support among sometimes conflicting interests for policies that individually might have greater difficulty achieving majority support in the legislative process. In recent years, more stakeholders have become involved in the debate on farm bills, including national farm groups; commodity associations; state organizations; nutrition and public health officials; and advocacy groups representing conservation, recreation, rural development, faith-based interests, local food systems, and organic production. These factors can contribute to increased interest in the allocation of funds provided in a farm bill.”

This broader coalition might be drawn upon to support an expansion of agricultural subsidies to enable farms to receive the financial support needed to transition to renewable agricultural practices in the United States. Farm policy and environmental/climate policy might well be brought together to modernize American agriculture and reduce its release of toxics and greenhouse gasses into the environment. Funding the transition to renewable agriculture does not need to be justified as climate policy, although it would have the impact of reducing greenhouse gas pollution. It could well be sold as modernizing American agriculture to better position it for global competition.

Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Columbia Climate School, Earth Institute or Columbia University.

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Efficiency of Zinc in Plants, its Deficiency and Sensitivity for Different Crops

Optimal crop nutrition is a significant factor in increasing agricultural vintage and quality of products. Zinc (Zn) is an immobile important micronutrient, which is taken up by plants in Zn2+ form to complete their life cycle efficiently. It plays a critical metabolic role in plants and is an important constituent of proteins and other large-molecules, and serves as structural and functional unit, or controlling cofactor for a wide range of enzymes. The Zn is needed in small and in appropriate amounts for plants main physiological processes to work normally. These processes play critical roles in photosynthetic activity of plants and forming carbohydrates, synthesis of protein, reproduction and seed development, growth, and disease protection. After Zn deficiency in plants, these physical functions are decreased, and plant health and productivity suffer greatly, subsequent in reduced production or even failure of crops and often bad quality of crop products. Plant Zn deficiencies occur on variety of soils and are severe due to a combination of symptoms like chlorosis, resetting, dieback and suppressed or irregular vegetative development. In addition, various crops require varying amount of Zn. So the knowledge regarding this is not up to date. The present review discusses the Zn importance in plants, its deficiency in soil and required level of Zn for crops.

Towards Achieving Food Security in Nigeria: A Fuzzy Comprehensive Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination in Organic Fertilizers

In the quest towards achieving the Zero hunger agenda of the sustainable development goals by 2030, the utilization of organic fertilizers, for soil amendment purposes, has been posited as a feasible alternative for overcoming the negative impacts of inorganic fertilizers. Despite its manifold benefits, the use of untreated and improperly treated organic materials in agricultural production is however capable of introducing toxic metals in the soil-plant systems causing health and agro-environmental impacts. In this study, available organic fertilizers use by Nigerian farmers were selected and analyzed for nutrient values and most importantly, heavy metal contamination. The degree of contamination in each sample was modeled using fuzzy comprehensive assessment. The manure samples possessed optimum nutritional values; the nitrogen, phosphate, and potash contents ranged from 0.91 – 7.44, 0.06 – 1.61, 0.14 – 0.58% respectively. The fuzzy algorithm results categorized all the organic fertilizers as pristine, with a membership degree ranging from 35 to 99%. However, an excessive level of toxic contamination, with a membership function between 3 to 33% was observed. The major contaminants were identified as Zn, Cr, and Cd with an individual contribution of 16, 29, and 33% respectively. Adequate remediation techniques and good management practices that reduce the concentration of heavy metals in the organic fertilizers especially that of Zn, Cr, and Cd, should therefore be promoted among the producers and users of these soil improvers in Nigeria.

Coconut Growers Knowledge, Perception and Adoption on Impacts of Climate Change in Gampaha and Puttalam Districts in Sri Lanka: An Index-Based Approach

Climate change and food security are critical topics in sustainable agricultural development. Climate change is expected to have serious environmental, economic and social impacts on Sri Lanka. Coconut growers’ knowledge, perception level and adoption for climate change adaptation measures have influenced productivity of the coconut cultivation. The study investigated the coconut growers’ knowledge gap, knowledge and perception levels regarding impacts of climate change in Gampaha and Puttalam districts. Further, this study investigated their adoption of different adaptation measures. A stratified random sampling technique was applied for selecting 240 respondents from two different districts. Structured questionnaire and interview schedule were used to elicit information from the respondents and data was analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. Adoption rate of the climate change adaptation measures is significantly influenced by coconut growers’ knowledge and perception level at varying degrees. The study revealed that most of the growers in two study areas have better knowledge (> 70%) and perceptions (>60%) regarding the gradual changes in the climate and its impact on their coconut cultivation. However, their adaptation behavior is fairly poor (< 50%) in both districts. Hence government policies should more focused on to coconut growers to have access to affordable credit to increase their ability and flexibility to change adaptation strategies in response to the changing climatic conditions. Increasing growers’ access to agricultural extension services and access to information on weather forecasting are very important. In addition, government should improve and promote off-farm income-earning opportunities during dry seasons.

Effect of Beneficial Soil Microbes on Growth and Yield of Celery in Volcanic Soil of West Java

Soil beneficial microbes have a critical role in plant growth. Inoculating biofertilizer is suppose essential for supporting the plant performance and hence plant yield. The objective of field experiment was to verify the growth and production of celery (Apium graveolens L.) after biofertilizers application. The experiment had been performed in a plastic house in the mountainous area of tropical volcanic soil of West Java, Indonesia. The field trial was carried out in a Completely Randomized Block Design to test two microbial-coated urea formulas and a mixed biofertilizer. The control treatment was Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium (NPK) compound fertilizer. All treatments were replicated three times. The celery was growing in low Nitrogen but high Phosphor and Potassium soil during the dry season. The field trial verified that plant height and biomass as well as yield of celery didn’t depend on fertilizer treatments. Nonetheless, this trial founded that both microbial-coated urea and mixed biofertilizer can replace the NPK fertilizer to produce a same yield of celery.

Effect of Mid-Term Cropping System Adoption on Soil Chemical Properties at Changunarayan Municipality, Bhaktapur, Nepal

Soil chemical properties plays a crucial role in crop yield. In this study, we evaluated the chemical properties of soils under three different cropping systems practiced for more than five years in Changunarayan municipality of Bhaktapur district of Nepal. The cropping systems includes- (i) cultivation inside polyhouse (Treatment A: polyhouse), (ii) paddy-wheat rotation (Treatment B: P-W), and (iii) paddy-wheat-vegetable rotation (Treatment C: P-W-V). Thirty-nine composite samples (13 replicates from each site) were taken from the area based on variation in landforms. Soil pH, organic matter (%), total nitrogen (%), available phosphorus (mgkg-1), and available potassium (mgkg-1) were evaluated for each sample. The study revealed that the soil pH was acidic and ranges between 4.71 and 5.39, organic matter (1.6-2.39%), total nitrogen (0.091-0.13%), phosphorus (4.48-29.24mg kg-1) and potassium (88.04-109.52 mg kg-1). A significant lower mean pH (4.71), and higher mean organic matter (2.39%), total nitrogen (0.13%) and available phosphorus (29.24 mgkg-1) were observed in cultivation under polyhouse. Incorporation of vegetable in paddy-wheat system gave significant (p<0.05) higher accumulation of soil phosphorus and consistently raised other nutrient status. Moreover, cultivation under polyhouse raised C:N ratio (10.55) significantly than other system. This finding can be relevant to wide range of readers that focus on soil chemical properties and can be used in developing future research strategy and sustainable soil management system in the area.

Constructed Wetland Effluent Irrigation as a Potential Water and Nutrient Source for Vegetables

Heat tolerance stability of bread wheat genotypes under early and late planting environments through stress selection indices, reliability of morphological characters in identification of olive (olea europaea l.) varieties in ex-situ conditions, cultivation and nutritional quality of moringa oleifera lam. produced under different substrates in semi-arid region in northeast brazil, bacteriological quality and cyanide contents of different cassava products processed in benue state for use as food for man or feedstock for animals, export citation format, share document.

Sustainable and modern bio-based technologies: new approachs to food safety and security

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• Published: 02 April 2024

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• Özge Demirel   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2485-8752 1 ,
• Hasret Güneş   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3155-2695 2 &
• Canan Can   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0473-1914 3  

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Two major challenges in the modern world are ensuring food security and using sustainability in limited areas, in the face of climate change and population growth. It is aimed to raise awareness on the importance of working from a multidisciplinary perspective, together with developing technology and science, in solving current problems/troubles, and that the simultaneous use of modern bio-based technologies with innovative techniques will ensure an effective role in overcoming many difficulties that future generations will face, as well as sustainability can be achieved. The review provides a detailed systematic review and analysis of the mutually supportive use of modern bio-based technologies and sustainable agricultural system technologies within the framework of this subject. The review, in which universally reliable databases were used, was carried out using information obtained from practice and approach-based articles (> 4000). The fact that the main topic has the lowest publication content in terms of "sustainability and biotechnology" according to the analysis carried out within the determined keywords indicates the need for additional research and applications and to contribute to the literature. Similar to review aim, it has also been concluded that the development of a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspective that provides a comprehensive and broader focus on eliminating the deficiencies in the fields will play a major role in solving problems related to the sustainability of food safety and security. Thus, contributing to the protection of world food security should be considered as another important outcome that should not be forgotten. In short, being aware that the world, especially its resources, are not infinite and for the continuity of healthy generations, the sustainability of the world, food and agriculture, food safety and security must be meticulously protected, developed with innovative technologies and also carried a step forward by developing more effective strategies in this field of work, which is of great importance for life.

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1 Introduction

Sustainability as a multidisciplinary concept is frequently used today and forms the basis of "good agricultural practices (GAP)" for agriculture. This term, which is the golden key of adequate and reliable food, integrates food and agricultural fields (Baran et al., 2021 ). In this context, instead of thinking that nature's enormous resources are endless and inexhaustible, this magnificent value should be embraced and protected within the framework of sustainability (Ranabhatt & Kapor, 2017 ). The duty of nature, which constitutes the most important link of the reliable food supply chain, in this holistic system is for all humanity to benefit from sustainable food systems equally. Thanks to the system, sustainability is ensured in an environmentally friendly way in terms of economic and sociocultural access to healthy foods.

Sustainable agricultural system technologies (SAST) are one of the first applications that come to mind in solving the troubles/problems brought by industrialization. Bioremediation (BR) has a very important place among these technological applications. Many different microorganisms and enzymes are used in this process, which ensures that the pollutants are partially or completely converted and destroyed. However, the fact that the problems experienced cannot be resolved reveals the necessity of developing improvement methods and utilizing innovative and holistic approaches. Nanobioremediation, tus born, is a current field that provides extra advantages to users (Singh et al., 2020b ). In this context, making use of current technological developments offers a natural, economical and sustainable approach to clean micropollutions of smaller sizes. The fact that this synergistic effect saves time and is eco-biological and economical within the framework of sustainability is one of the factors that increases the usage areas. Thus, the collaboration of biobased techniques with innovative technologies (i.e. nano) for cleaning toxic pollutants is a breakthrough in providing permanent solutions (Mishel et al., 2023 ).

On the other hand, biomaterials science has been used in many sectors with the development of biotechnological applications (Khan et al., 2022 ). The use of these environmentally friendly special materials together with biological improvement techniques reduces the effects of negativities in this area, provides advantages in the production of products suitable for the purpose, and contributes to the development of recyclable—biodegradable designs. The development of smart technologies and their integrated use with material science and especially nanotechnology, which is described as the most popular use of recent times, removal of organic pollutants, sensor systems, holistic recycling, advanced spectroscopic-microscopic detection systems, smart irrigation, etc., are some of the latest technological developments in the agricultural sector within the scope of sustainability (Medjili et al., 2023 ; Singh, & Kumar, 2023 ).

Finally, thanks to the handling of fuel technology from this innovative perspective, biofuel technology, which is frequently mentioned today, offers a very economical fuel opportunity with a sustainable ecobiological understanding (Ambaye et al., 2021 ). In particular, the widespread use of the latest technological hybrid and electric vehicles due to their efficiency has accelerated their production and caused the modification of vehicles using oil. Biodiesel fuel production, one of its most common applications, is defined as the production of plant-based oils (such as microalgae) that will not be used as basic food (Khoo et al., 2023 ). In short, the use of interdisciplinary studies (nanotechnology, food materials tissue engineering, synthetic biology, etc.) in agriculture provides economical-complementary-biological production within the scope of innovative-sustainable-ecological solutions and constitutes an important step in the protection of today's and future (Demirel et al., 2022 ).

Today's troubles/problems (climate changes, population growth, natural disasters, increasing pollution, keeping up with fast life, pollutants in agriculture, etc.) hinder the food field by affecting agricultural activities and the products obtained along with them. Additionally, failure to fully understand the steps determined within the scope of the sustainable development plan or incorrect implementation makes it possible to use sustainability in limited areas. To reduce similar causes and situations or to cope with global troubles and problems, investments in technological innovations are accelerating and continue to develop day by day. Since the continuity and protection of agriculture will also have effects on food, transferring theoretical knowledge to practical applications is one of the leading trends of the time. From past to present, many in vivo and in vitro applications have been carried out in the field of agriculture and food, such as increasing nutrients in foods, extending shelf life, obtaining low-cost and high-yield products, and producing products resistant to diseases and pests within the scope of modern biobased technologies (MBT) in the field of agriculture and food. However, as a result of the changing life, the need for the latest technological solutions is still essential. This review, written with the aim of raising awareness and developing a current perspective by advancing on a path illuminated by the light of science and technology in a sustainable world, assumes that working from a multidisciplinary perspective and using MBT simultaneously with innovative technologies along with developing technology and science can undertake effective duties in solving problems/troubles, and even overcoming many difficulties that future generations will face. This systemic study is based on a comprehensive, well-defined and distinguishable classification system prepared in accordance with research objectives. From the perspective of sustainability and protecting food in the future, this review includes a current and systematic approach to the impact of the use of biotechnological advances with innovative technologies on developments in agricultural activities and food safety and the effective role of MBT. The purpose of choosing this topic in particular is because many topics have been focused on within the scope of food, but a holistic approach has not been achieved and the details of the topics cannot be gone into there are very few studies and approaches in the literature (sustainability and biotechnology). In this context, it is thought that the increasing use of biological-based applications in agriculture will contribute to many areas such as meeting the food supply and obtaining healthy products that play a role in preventing hunger, as well as reducing pollution in the environment and treating plant diseases.

2 Review methodology

The review's literature sources were selected based on a set of criteria and rules. (i) This review used the Web of Science, Springer, Science Direct, PubMed and Google Scholar databases to find scientific articles in English published in peer-reviewed journals without year restrictions. (ii) Keyword combinations common to the triangle of "sustainability", "agriculture" and "biotechnology", positioned at the center of food safety and security, were used in the literature collection (Fig.  1 ). After this literature search, the collection of > 4000 articles obtained was carefully examined, grouped in accordance with the questions determined in relation to the keywords, and classified according to whether they included an approach or an application. The resulting publications were taken into account or ignored in the focus on "How biotechnology can contribute to improving food safety and security, as well as promoting sustainable agricultural practices? ", which is the main purpose of the study.

Keyword combinations grouped by extracting the relationship between publications through network mapping

Additionally, the study adopted an "effect" and "correlation" perspective to draw a comprehensive and balanced conclusion on the current knowledge and research on these topics. To ensure the reliability and sensitivity of the information obtained as a result of the scans, all publications were grouped first on the basis of keywords and then on the basis of databases containing interdisciplinary and best publications, and Table  1 was obtained from all articles related to the target theme.

Thus, the existence of similar publications was prevented and the review study used a network mapping ( © Connectedpapers ) to make the database scans more effective and to make systematic comparisons. Accordingly, the publication most suitable for the main theme was determined from each database, and keywords or subtopics were limited (Fig.  2 ).

Network Mapping of the relationship between publications containing keywords. Each annular represents the publications, and the lines connecting the publications represent their relationship. It is visualized as the main publication selected with a red frame

Thus, 1942 publications specified in Table  1 were selected in terms of their compliance with the subject-scope content of the compilation and the selection criteria (Table  2 ). It should not be forgotten that these systemic analyses carried out within the scope of the study may cause small/large changes in the values of each criterion if the determined keywords are changed.

3 Results and discussions

The systematic review process for food safety and security within the context of contemporary biotechnologically based and sustainable agricultural practices in the agricultural industry is a very broad field that covers many unique issues related to food safety and security. Using the schematic road map specified in Table  2 developed in this context, certain keywords from many unique topics were obtained and evaluated by associating and grouping within the framework of the subject determined within the scope of the compilation (Table  1 ).

3.1 Sustainability and food safety and security in the changing natural life

3.1.1 sustainability.

Industrialization is the most important factor that changes the development, economy and technology of human beings. For this reason, unconscious industrialization has facilitated the release of unnecessary, unsuitable, chemical-containing materials to the environment, especially in a way that will adversely affect living life and disrupt the structure of natural resources (Singh et al., 2013 ). The proportional increase in diseases and damage brought about by this and indirectly global warming, climate change, insufficient food, decrease in agricultural activities, population growth, urbanization, migration, etc., negativities such as these have increased daily and have caused unavoidable problems (Moore, & Wesselbaum, 2023 ) (Fig.  3 ). In the universal sense, water contains very important meanings. However, as a result of the changes in the physicochemical properties of the water, many heavy metals that pollute the water rise to the upper layers of the water in response to the change (Yi et al., 2011 ). In addition, it has been reported that living spaces are also affected by these changes, and there is an increase in trace metal levels (Shahi et al., 2021 ). The release of toxic substances and heavy metals into the environment is one of the most important problems of today's societies.

Industrialization, which is one of the biggest obstacles to sustainable development, is not only the change in the quality of life of human beings, but also some of the problems ( a – l ) caused by excessive and rapid industrialization, which causes long-term damage to the environment

Waste, which is described as liquid waste, accumulates as a result of chemical leaks arising from domestic wastes and human activities, mixing with agricultural areas and underground waters and causing pollution of natural resources and many other water resources (Lin & Juang, 2009 ). Organic‒inorganic residues created by solid wastes (domestic and industrial) do not decompose in nature and pollute the environment. Thus, biological accumulations are formed, which brings many troubles and problems that are important for humanity as well as ecology. In this respect, the first problem that comes to mind will arise from the pollution of the environment with heavy metals. Although this directly affects plants and animals, it also negatively affects us, which feeds on them, and even the structure of the soil, which is the habitat of plants, and causes this pollution to enter the food chain (Abdel-Shafy and Mansou, 2018 ) (Fig.  4 ).

Some of the problems caused by cyclic liquid ( a ) and solid wastes ( b ), which can enter the food cycle and cause diseases in humans due to the ingestion of animals that feed on them (1–12)

While food forms the basis of human nutrition, agriculture is the largest source of food production (Gökçe, & Uzmay, 2015 ). There has been increasing interest in plant-based foods in recent years. First, being environmentally friendly and contributing to the health and sustainability of generations is one of the reasons why plant-based foods are preferred over animal-based foods. Moreover, the absence of many ethical issues in plant-based foods is the main reason why they attract great attention from the food industry and consumers, as well as reducing concerns (Lin et al., 2023 ). In addition, increases in agricultural production are not only essential for improving nutrition but are also key to economic and social development in addition to ending hunger, as they are the main source of income for many (Ritchie et al., 2023 ). In terms of sustainability, the share of this sector is quite high. In this way, a much more efficient, sufficient and quality food supply will be provided with the use of economically cost-free inputs and outputs and environmentally friendly-innovative technologies. In this respect, it allows the development of many applications where the producer-environment and ecosystem are all positively affected. Although it is known that its first aim was to protect and develop agriculture from the harms of industrialization, it currently carries a protective and eternal feature from production to consumption, that is, from soil to table and even afterwards. In short, the concept of “sustainability” is used not only for agriculture but also for other sectors that have direct or indirect connections with natural resources. However, the concept has gained an important place in agriculture due to some characteristics of this sector. The most important of these are the interaction of the agricultural sector with the environment and the use of natural resources in the sector (Gençler, 2009 ).

On the other hand, some troubles and problems in agriculture, which is a branch of science that protects the environment in an innovative and scientific nature and where alternative technological applications are gathered under a single roof, cause limitations (Ali et al., 2023 ). The decrease in agricultural arable land is affected by many factors (earthquakes, erosion, contamination with diseases and pests, use outside of agricultural activities and sharing for heritage purposes, etc.) as well as global warming. Thus, the rate of inefficient agricultural lands decreases or may be out of use (Nguyen et al., 2023 ). As a result, the usability of agricultural areas, availability of fertile-healthy soil and plant biodiversity are important criteria for food production, especially within the framework of sustainable agriculture (Akbaş, 2019 ; Cappelli et al., 2022 ).

Agriculture is an area that requires management, such as a complete balance game, and recently, sustainable development goals need to be implemented. Sustainable agriculture has three important dimensions (economic, environmental and sociocultural) (Bathaei, & Štreimikienė, 2023 ). In this respect, sustainable agriculture offers a unique opportunity for multidisciplinary studies, as it focuses on reducing the negative effects on the environment and health, revitalizing, developing and using the local ecosystem, and ensuring the protection of biological diversity. One of the premises of progress and development in agriculture, which is a part of sustainable development covering all ecological, economic and social aspects, is ensuring the applicability of innovative and scientific outputs. In particular, the agricultural sector, which is at the base of the food chain, has a strategic position for the latest technological applications and innovations (Mahapatra et al., 2022 ). The difference between the wild ancestors of many of the products we eat today is due to many selections made by human beings knowingly or unknowingly. This and many similar practices are also very important for Turkey, which is an agricultural society (von Wettberg et al., 2018 ). Accordingly, ensuring the sustainability of all components of agriculture by following and understanding technological developments well is one of the first and main premises in solving problems and even development.

3.1.2 Food safety and security

Food, which is necessary for the continuity of life, forms the basis of nutrition. Agricultural activities, intense population growth as a result of human development and practices in today's world, and negatively changing climate, environmental conditions and many other compelling factors threaten food safety and security/ethics and agricultural practices (Barrett, & Lentz, 2010 ) (Fig.  5 ).

While food security is an integral term that covers all stages of the food cycle from soil to table, food security is the functioning stage of two processes of phenomenas defined as ensuring people's access to adequate and balanced food

It is thought that the threat that occurs/will begin to emerge as a result of the increasing continuation of the current situation will exponentially create much bigger problems in the following years. In addition, the food sector has been adversely affected by the price increase in recent years. In contrast, it is necessary to meet the increasing demand for food (Bayramoğlu et al., 2018 ). For this purpose, food resources are in a much more important and strategic position for today's societies than many other resources. However, there is an unbalanced distribution in food sources as in other sources. Moreover, sufficient quantity and quality of food cannot be reached. Thus, societies face hunger and obesity, and these concepts constitute a common problem within the scope of food security (Gökırmaklı, & Bayram, 2018 ) (Fig.  6 ).

A state of unbalanced food distribution caused ( a , b ) by global hunger, also defined as malnutrition. In the unbalanced distribution of food access caused by today's climate crises, societies are faced with hunger and obesity, and these concepts pose a common problem within the scope of food security

Food safety and sustainability are universal concerns, apart from the troubles/problems experienced. The uneasiness caused by the decrease in arable land and the troubles/problems in current agricultural activities reveal the difficulties in meeting the food supply in production.

Problems can be solved by associating technological developments in food and agriculture with sustainability. At this point, it is necessary to use a crop such as chickpeas to overcome many difficulties. Chickpea is the third-ranked grain legume in the world in terms of production (area and yield) and is one of the most prominent crops in terms of food safety (von Wettberg et al., 2018 ). In this respect, there is no doubt that the use of biotechnology in the context of world food security, in addition to the use of innovative technologies to provide sufficient food for future generations, will make tremendous contributions. Reducing food waste will also provide an alternative contribution to sustainability in the food sector. In short, the use of MBT together with innovative technologies will accelerate the development of new varieties and diversify agricultural production.

The information obtained from the systematic study for the protection and continuity of food safety and security and sustainability, which is the main subject of the compilation, is collected under two important main headings: "modern bio-based technologies-MBT" and "sustainable agricultural systems technology-SAST".

3.2 Modern bio-based technologies

Benefiting from today's technological developments and multidisciplinary use of biotechnology provide great advantages in increasing agricultural production (McCullum et al., 2019 ; Wieczorek, 2003 ). With the use of different disciplines in agriculture and plant biotechnology and developments in world-directed technology, developments in agriculture will be accelerated, and problems will be solved in a short time by developing different perspectives. For example, agricultural products are affected by some stress factors (abiotic and biotic) (Gunes et al., 2023 ; Kocalar et al., 2020 ). In this respect, disease-related effects from biotic factors cause reductions in product yield and quality (Altınok et al., 2023 ; Polatbilek et al., 2017 ). To cope with such negativities, producers overuse pesticides and fertilizer additives with chemical contents such as pesticides-fungicides-herbicides, poisoning the waters and soil in the environmental sense. Instead, by making use of MBT, which is also very important in terms of sustainability, a healthier measure can be taken, the restrictions in growing crops can be resolved, and a yield increase can be achieved (Durak et al., 2021 ; Hamid et al., 2021 ). In addition, each application and all technologies to be developed must be in harmony with sustainability in the field of agriculture. Similarly, Gaikwad et al. ( 2023 ) stated that modern biotechnological techniques contribute to the management of the disease caused by Phytophthora spp. As a result, reducing the rate of fungicide use against fungal diseases that cause problems in citrus cultivation provides benefits for breeding programs.

As mentioned under the heading of sustainability ( 3.1. Sustainability and food safety and security in the changing natural life ), pollution can occur for many reasons, but its effects and results are generally similar. Technological strategies should be developed to clean up the pollution caused by all these factors, as well as to develop low-cost, innovative applications. Although traditional methods are currently used, new approaches that are unique, effective, eco-biological and purchasable need to be developed. Within this scope, the combination of innovative technologies and biobased SAST has tremendous potential to be effective and sustainable (Durak et al., 2022 ).

While the main idea of green biotechnology is the adequately balanced nutrition of societies, sustainability is a very comprehensive concept that includes the protection of the environment-human and the product to be grown in product cultivation. For this reason, “increasing crop productivity for food production or producing products with desired properties” is of great importance in terms of green biotechnology (Nasser et al., 2021 ). For the concept of sustainability, which is a holistic agricultural system in which technological applications are used, it is much more valuable to meet the needs of today's and future generations by using natural materials and to protect natural assets (soil, water and biodiversity, etc.) and human-animal health. Thus, it is crucial to fully understand the concept of sustainable agriculture and to provide appropriate technological developments for the sustainability of agriculture with the support of a technological infrastructure. Akaniro et al. ( 2023 ), with an innovative perspective on biomanufacturing and environmental sustainability, stated that as a result of detailed examination of the biosynthetic feature of Penicillium , which is found everywhere in nature and known to have many species, its use together with biotechnology provides great benefits in terms of environmental benefits.

Under the term “sustainable agriculture”, there are definitions that represent many different approaches. Today, making it a reality is seen as a chance (Hansen, 1996 ; Smith, & Mcdonald, 1998 ; Velten et al., 2005 ). How sustainable agriculture is perceived, its application methods, possible approaches to evaluation and the methods used reflect the understanding of “targeting” and “recognizing the system” of sustainability (Siebrecht, 2020 ). Sustainable agriculture is expressed as a set of systems that include production systems that protect human health and the environment, as well as balanced use of technology and correct business management (Eryılmaz et al., 2019 ; Hess, 1991 ). Market-oriented innovation and MBT are needed in agriculture to ensure the long-term viability of sustainable agricultural activities. Biotechnology combines many modern techniques, including genetic engineering (de Souza, & Boncıu, 2022 ), and can provide innovative solutions to agricultural problems. Agricultural biotechnology is a subbranch of biotechnology in which modern biotechnological techniques are used to increase the suitability of plants for agricultural, industrial or therapeutic purposes. Today, the increase in the demand for biotechnological applications has enabled its widespread use and acceleration in many areas. Obtaining high value-added products with biotechnological cycles, reducing carbon footprints with biomass, environmentally friendly new generation packaging with biodegradation, biorefining-bioactive material production and reducing waste with nanobiotechnological applications can be given as examples of current MBT that are extremely important for agricultural biotechnology. In short, innovative technological developments such as tissue culture, hybridization, recycling of agricultural waste materials, and using organic wastes as an energy source have an extremely important place for genetic protection, promoting plant growth under disease, insect and stress conditions, and biodiversity strategies (Güneş et al., 2021 ; Özkan et al., 2022 ). Consequently, modern agricultural biobased technologies play a major role in tackling a number of important problems/troubles in agriculture (Fig.  7 ).

Some modern biobased technologies that constitute agricultural biotechnology ( a molecular biology, b bioinformatics and biostatistics, c synthetic biology, d plant tissue culture, e research and development and f genetic engineering). The use of some modern biobased technologies in solving today's problems and problems with various biobased technologies and techniques

Studies comparing the usability of MBT in terms of empirical results clearly demonstrate the necessity and importance of the applications. It used to improve the quality of silages obtained using lactic acid bacteria allows the discovery of much new information as well as the complexity of the microbial content of bacteria (Okoye et al., 2023 ). In another study, the most suitable method for secondary metabolite production was determined by utilizing MBT integrated with tissue culture, and the production of specific secondary metabolites was achieved (Ozyigit et al., 2023 ). Moreover, the use of agricultural biotechnology, which is one of the subtopics of this review, for enzyme encapsulation in the food industry is very important in terms of obtaining specific products from natural products in the desired proportions (Dale, 2023 ).

MBT has an important and current role in many fields, as offers various benefits. It is expected that the synthesis and production of biologicallybased products and technologies will be useful in many areas in the future for different purposes, especially improving soil quality. Furthermore, the use of innovative developments with an interdisciplinary approach for a clean and sustainable future can create new hope (Chauhan et al., 2020 ). Additionally, the conservation of many endemic or endangered plants with biotechnological applications is also crucial for plant diversity (Doğan et al., 2022 ). Hence, the adoption of novel agricultural systems and contemporary biotechnology methods will be highly effective for attaining a sustainable environment (Corral-Bobadilla et al., 2019 ).

3.2.1 Clean renewable fuel of the future: biomass technology

A great example of biotechnology in agriculture is the development of biomass technologies that can be used to create a clean new world characterized as volatile fuel produced from organic waste. Biofuels are fuel types that can be produced using natural inputs such as algae, corn cobs, and sugarcane meal instead of petroleum products.

For biogas production, not only agricultural wastes but also industrial wastes are needed. There is a significant possibility of biogas production by collecting urban wastes separately and collecting sewage wastes in treatment plants. Thus, this unique technology, which contributes to sustainability by preventing environmental pollution in every aspect, is referred to as the technology of the future (Üçgül, & Akgül, 2010 ).

On the other hand, they also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as they do not release any carbon when burned. They also do not cause any reduction in the food supply, as some inputs, such as algae, can be grown in wastewater or on arable land that is not suitable for growing crops (Genel et al., 2023 ). Thus, more options are offered about the fuel source, and prices are lowered by increasing competition. In addition, biofuels are in high demand for reduced greenhouse gas emissions (Jeswani et al., 2020 ).

The common view of the empirical studies carried out in this field within the scope of the information obtained from the literature reviews is on the necessity of switching to new bioecologically based technologically innovative fuels that can replace fossil fuels. Within the scope of the study, where it was stated that wheat straw ( Triticum aestivum ) could be used for biofuel production due to its lignocellulosic properties (Fatma et al., 2021 ), a combination of Trichoderma reesei and Monascus purpureus fungi, was used and a more effective method and result was obtained compared to their single use. Moreover, they stated that within the framework of sustainability, renewable energy production (i.e. bioethanol) without any pretreatment will be a very cheap and much more promising field for the economy of today and the future with the development of the field of biotechnology. According to Majidian et al. ( 2018 ), obtaining sustainable energy from algae as a result of the multidisciplinary use of advances and developments in metabolic engineering of microorganisms, especially in recent years, is one of the popular fields of study. Similarly, technological developments and advances in synthetic engineering reveal that their importance in understanding and using enzymes should not be ignored. Kudo et al. ( 2019 ) explained that the biosynthesis of hydrocarbons provides benefits in the production of new energy products and that it is possible to produce biohydrocarbons in high yield by determining the best method by using cyanobacteria.

In today's conditions, protecting the environment along with the sustainable use of energy clearly indicates the need to discover new ways in the fields of energy production for biofuels, bioproducts, etc. With the aim of protecting future generations, reliable, sustainable and renewable biotechnological outputs are near the top among the most preferred ones in today's world (Francisco et al., 2010 ). In addition to deriving biofuel resources, biofuel production has become a popular trend in recent years. Biofuels are more reliable than fossil fuels, renewable thanks to their technological infrastructure, and a highly sustainable biotechnological breakthrough. As a result, the use of advanced biotechnological methods to develop biofuels will enable the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, providing a more reliable fuel source potential and a brand new sustainable world.

3.2.2 Protecting future food and increasing biodiversity

3.2.2.1 fortification of crops.

Currently, when food shortages are experienced, increasing the value of nutrients for developing countries provides the necessary building blocks for uniform nutrition. This increase in unique nutrients, which are considered an excellent source of nutrition in some developed countries, affects the development of malnourished children living in developing or underdeveloped countries (Sinha et al., 2019 ). In addition, most food crops lack the micronutrients needed for growth (Garg et al., 2018 ). Thus, it can be an important potential food source in countries where some nutrient-enriched crops are staple foods.

The majority of consumers are concerned and worried about consuming food items, especially those with high bioavailability and long shelf life. According to İkram et al. ( 2021 ), in today's healthy food demand, the consumption of sprouted legumes is becoming quite widespread, and in addition, many processes, such as extrusion, shelling and fermentation, can be applied to legumes. This eating trend, which especially attracts the attention of the young generation, is a research topic in the field of food engineering within the scope of green and sustainable food, with the aim of increasing the nutrition of legumes such as grains and strengthening their potential for use in different areas. During the sprouting process, the molecular composition needed for seed germination is revealed, and after the processes are carried out under appropriate conditions, the nutritional content is increased, and the harvested sprouts are made ready for consumption. By applying the production of these foodstuffs to many different products, adequate and balanced nutrition can be provided in terms of nutritional content. Similarly, Peñas and Martínez-Villaluenga ( 2020 ) state that such changes are very important in terms of increasing the nutritional content of foods, as well as their positive effects on human health.

Functional foods, known as genetically modified or fortified products, are used worldwide to improve one or more target functions of the body, as well as the appropriate nutritional qualities of a food product (Rajasree, & Pugalendhi, 2021 ). In addition, the use of these nutritional supplements, which are enriched depending on nutrient intake, also has a special place for alternative treatment. However, thoughts about BPs (Biotechnology Products), known as Genetically Modified Products, raise many more questions, problems and issues such as ethical issues in addition to environmental and economic effects. Apart from these problems, the most important issue is whether it is safe and healthy to consume these products (Abushal et al., 2021 ).

Aggarwal et al. ( 2023 ) stated that production can be made with urban agriculture practices to meet the food demand caused by rapid population growth and that biotechnology can be useful not only to enrich nutritional content but also to provide efficiency and sustainability in urban agriculture. Another research opinion (Corlett, 2017 ) about the potential of modern biotechnological tools to contribute to biodiversity conservation states that a much larger biotechnological tool and study is needed to overcome these challenges. Thanks to the development of next-generation sequencing technologies in this context, sensitive, accurate and reliable results can be obtained. Currently, metabarcoding and whole-genome sequencing can help preserve biodiversity by simplifying traditional evaluation practices. Although working with many other biotechnological tools, such as omics technologies, gene editing and gene control applications, is not yet very practical in terms of applicability, it has an important place within the scope of biodiversity protection for the future (Demirel et al., 2022 ).

Fortification of crops is a set of applications with increased bioavailability for human beings, developed and cultivated as a result of the use of modern biotechnological techniques in combination with traditional or contemporary plant breeding and agricultural practices (Shahzad et al., 2021 ). In conclusion, this innovative application, which refers to nutrient-enriched food crops, is one of the most promising biotechnological approaches today, as it is a promising, cost-effective and sustainable technique.

3.2.2.2 Disease-free plants

The importance and continuity of sustainability in agricultural production is an issue that is important in protecting the present and the future. Continuity of agricultural sustainability is a new field whose importance is beginning to be understood, especially due to changing climate and conditions, and biotechnological developments are used for this purpose. To ensure the continuity of sustainable agriculture, other important issues include obtaining disease-free plants, protecting the genetic resources existing in plants, developing new plant varieties, and growing plants that are resistant to stress conditions (biotic and abiotic). In this context, biotechnological tools offer new and complementary options for plant protection, including short, medium and long-term strategies, and are a technological requirement that has high applicability for many other issues, especially the protection of plant species, and whose importance has increased significantly in recent years.

Plant tissue culture technique, which is used especially in the production and propagation of disease-free plants, is the most widely used and very practical application of biotechnology. Agarwal et al. ( 2021 ) stated that the use of micropropagation in combination with other methods in plant tissue culture for plants and their derivatives can provide easy production and indirectly protect biodiversity. They explained that this technique begins with the use of a very small amount of plant tissue taken from a carefully selected and prepared mother plant. They reported that new disease-free plants could be obtained by growing these tissue pieces under appropriate conditions in laboratories. Plant tissue culture, a revolutionary technique that is relatively inexpensive and easy to use compared to many other applications, provides many benefits to agricultural fields and is widely used to obtain disease-free plants in all fields, especially in commercial horticulture. Supportingly, Behera et al. ( 2022 ) suggest that so-called "superfood" can be obtained by increasing the nutritional value with the plant tissue culture technique used in disease-free propagation of the highly nutritious and economically valuable sweet potato. Moreover, they also mention that it can be used pharmaceutically.

Tissue culture studies are seen as an economical and up-to-date biotechnological technique that enables the development of healthier and stronger plants in addition to preserving plant genetics (Mukerji, & Garg, 2023 ). Using it together with other techniques also contributes to the continuity of economically important endemic plant species with innovative strategies. Given that endemic plant species are quite vulnerable and have a much higher risk of extinction, Coelho et al. ( 2020 ) state that recent environmental pollution and changes in climate have caused the loss of genetic diversity, especially in endemic plant species. Thus, with increasing concerns and anxiety, they also emphasized that in situ conservation and plant tissue culture techniques will not be sufficient to protect plant genetic resources and contribute to biodiversity. They also pointed out the importance of using biotechnological techniques as an alternative approach for more effective and holistic protection. Accordingly, utilizing the impressive power of combining in vitro propagation with cryopreservation is considered within the scope of innovative biotechnological strategies to ensure the future preservation of endemic species, and reviews within the scope of the literature, where there are few studies yet, are also observed.

The fact that traditional plant breeding is long and laborious in growing and producing disease-free plants has enabled the use of various innovative advanced SAST developments and modern biotechnological techniques to gain a great place in agricultural practices. Many techniques based on genetic engineering help to produce or develop products with desired characteristics (i.e., BPs). All these and similar methods are promising for obtaining safe, disease-free plants for human consumption and other applications.

3.3 Sustainable agricultural system technologies

Sustainable agricultural system technologies are a collection of holistic applications that meet the needs of present and future generations, technological applications are handled from a multidisciplinary perspective, and natural life and human health are protected (Güneş et al., 2022a ) (Fig.  8 ). Technological development, in which soil and water pollutants are partially or completely transformed, is also defined as biodegradation based on the principle of soil sustainability (Nayak, & Nanda, 2021 ). In this process, microorganisms (fungi, bacteria, cyanobacteria, worms and yeasts) and enzymes can restore contaminated soil, surface water and groundwater, and a natural, economical and sustainable approach is adopted (Kumar et al., 2018 ).

Some sustainable agriculture system technologies ( a biochips, b smart farming and c artificial intelligence) that are involved in providing the infrastructure needed for a sustainable life. In today's agriculture, which is described as the age of technology, the use of sustainable agricultural system technologies to provide a sustainable life for future generations

Intensive tillage, increases in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and practices based on industrial agriculture are other important factors that negatively affect the balance of soils. In addition, agricultural activities are damaged by water pollution day by day, a decrease in biological diversity, and a decrease in the number of agricultural areas. Natural assets, which are the basis of agriculture, are indispensable for life in the future as they are today and are considered essential in raising healthy generations. In this respect, the sustainability of the soil offers many advantages to biodiversity, with a holistic ecosystem as the main basis of agriculture. In fact, with the protection of the soil, which forms the basis of sustainability, the protection of life is ensured and provides a great commission to the present and future. According to Singh et al., 2020a , 2020b , numerous microorganisms form CO 2 and CH 4 by metabolizing toxic substances to maintain the sustainability of the soil. The combination of microorganisms with soil, heavy metals, and solid‒liquid waste creates a natural bioremoval system for enzymatic decomposition and/or removal of these pollutants. In addition, the use of solid‒liquid wastes produced as a result of this process as organic fertilizer has a significant effect on the values of macro micro nutrient elements in the soil.

Many different agricultural practices are used in areas where urbanization is intense. It is very important for sustainability that it is possible to use renewable natural resources in organic farming practices that have never lost popularity. The environmental perspective and innovation are among the indispensable stakeholders in these agricultural systems where biodiversity is protected. In particular, the creation of multidisciplinary working networks to keep up with developing technology enables the advancement of many such areas as well. However, applications such as GMO, synthetic seed coatings, seed improvement, and prevention of diseases and pests with the help of genetic engineering have been confusing everyone and creating question marks since the first day of agriculture. Faced with these and many similar problems, agricultural sustainability is mainly looking for the golden key to providing social-cultural, economic, healthy, environmental and eco-biological agricultural practices.

Ensuring food safety and security in agriculture and many related activities, as well as ensuring its sustainability today, are two key facts for the protection and continuity of the future. The increasing complexity of the challenges and their reaching insurmountable dimensions have a compelling impact on these phenomena and require the use of today's scientific and technological developments in their solutions. At this point, the results of each study that has been carried out or will be carried out for sustainability, similar to MBT, should be carefully examined to determine its applicability and to reveal the mistakes made. Understanding the definition of sustainability and at the same time, its correct applicability enables its widespread use within the scope of economic benefit and environmental improvements. Effective use of sustainability enables today's farmers to develop their self-sufficiency, to provide facilitating solutions in the face of challenging conditions thanks to their knowledge and experience and to obtain efficient products in response to food demands. The empirical results within the scope of the investigations show that the situation has not changed much and that sustainability is still a complex concept for those working in agricultural fields. The necessity of holistic evaluation of studies related to sustainability, in particular, is at the root of troubles and problems in terms of applicability (Syan et al., 2019 ).

The richness of soil content at macro and microscales is one of the important parameters that determines, supports and regulates the properties of the ecosystem. BR technique systems are among the current systems with the greatest potential in realizing the positive relationships between ecosystem and food in a sustainable manner. Proper functioning of this system ensures the creation of healthy ecosystems and the observation of positive effects on food along with efficient and quality products. There is still not much evidence in the empirical results in the literature that these positive effects may affect the food and security of the future. Especially for reasons such as these, which were determined as the starting point of the compilation, despite the continuous research of MBT on agricultural production, a clear answer cannot be given to questions such as how much and in what way the benefit of the soil properties to plants in terms of the ecosystem affects the content and safety of food products. Moreover, similar to El Mujtar et al. ( 2019 ), the results of empirical studies remain only at the plant or environmental protection stage, indicating the need for more detailed examinations. On the other hand, the fact that smart agricultural systems are innovative and have enormous impacts in terms of agriculture-food is one of the current potentials behind important revolutionary changes. In this context, the lack or scarcity of empirical results on the relationship between the agricultural supply chain and smart agricultural systems reveals the need for more studies on this issue and the need to achieve sustainability by choosing the right methods (Sharma et al., 2022 ).

In the modern world, it is important to grow good, quality and productive products for producers and societies. The increase in environmental pollution and incorrect agricultural practices cause modern farmers to want to obtain more efficient products by using less land. Such factors paved the way for the adoption of sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in agriculture (Shamshiri et al., 2018 ). Recently, innovative eco-biological methods, including "systems of BR technique ( Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi -AMF, Trichoderma, Rhizobacteria, biochar and worms ) and smart farming systems", which are included in SAST, have gained popularity day by day and led to the development of many applications, such as precision agriculture, digital agriculture, smart agriculture, and artificial intelligence in agriculture (Ağızan et al., 2022 ; Purakayastha et al., 2023 ).

3.3.1 Systems of bioremediation technique

Bioremediation (BR) is a method that uses microorganisms to transform pollutants from soil, water and different types of sources (Huda et al., 2021 ). BR is the most well-known within the scope of sustainable agriculture practices among the remediation techniques that have emerged to solve the problems of industrial agriculture (Altieri et al., 2017 ; Tomich et al., 2011 ). It has been recognized as one of the most sought-after techniques for environmental restoration (Adams et al., 2015 ). In this technique, microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoans are often used to breakdown organic matter in a polluted environment (Mandal, & Das, 2021 ; Rizwan et al., 2014 ). These microorganisms, which are especially used in genetic engineering and other molecular biological techniques, can be applied to breakdown pollutants and consume toxic chemical agents (Enamala et al., 2019 ). In some studies, it has been determined that the use of microbial cells/inoculum for BR has a positive effect (Labana et al., 2005 ; Santos et al., 2003 ). It has also been reported that the survival and activity of microorganisms such as bacteria in natural conditions can be used to maximize sustainable bioremediation.

Ecological sustainability monitoring is needed for the successful implementation of the BR process (Paul et al., 2006 ). In other words (Meraklı, & Memon, 2020 ; Pandey et al., 2009 ), the biological remediation process evaluates the ecological perspective, efficiency of pollutant degradation, ecotoxicity of residues, environmental factors, and ecological consequences of a technological intervention. Such an assessment requires the simultaneous application of principles and technologies from various scientific fields in an integrated manner. It has been reported that this assessment will contribute to ecological sustainability as well as the use of integrated methods.

The BR method is a highly efficient recovery application. It is also a great advantage to perform BR techniques in unclean open environments, which contain many microorganisms (Huang et al., 2013 ; Sivakumar et al., 2012 ). Sometimes the BR process can also occur unnaturally, as defined as a congenital reduction or natural BR (Kungwani et al., 2022 ). Different types of technologies, such as biostimulation, hemofiltration, land farming, composting, phytoremediation, bioreactors and bioaeration, are very common processes of BR (Thomassin-Lacroix et al., 2002 ).

This technique is generally divided into three groups. These are in situ BR, ex situ BR (Boopathy, 2000 ; de Lorenzo, 2008 ; Lemming et al., 2009 ) and combined BR (Shukla et al., 2010 ). In situ BR includes processing contaminated materials in the same place and removing harmful and toxic chemicals from the area (Karlapudi et al., 2018 ). Ex situ BR requires the elimination of contaminated materials that have been processed elsewhere and the soil digging treatment of contaminated materials or toxic materials. Combined BR is a recommended method for hazardous wastes (hazardous waste areas, hospital wastes, radioactive wastes, sewage sludge dumps) (Sharma, 2020 ). These hazardous areas contain complex mixtures of inorganic compounds that do not decompose easily and are only removed by combined treatment (Qian et al., 2022 ).

Although BR applications have been seen as an alternative for a while since it is a green and sustainable method and the most known of the SAST, it cannot cope with the current problems (Azubuike et al., 2016 ). For this purpose, technologies that detect, reduce, prevent and improve the cause of pollution are needed (Güneş et al., 2022b ). The main factors in choosing the appropriate strategy for remediation of contaminated areas are efficiency, cost, effectiveness, simplicity, time consumption and nontoxicity. As a result, many highly polluted areas are transformed into reusable areas with the right strategic choice.

3.3.2 The essential role of developing sustainable agriculture: smart farming

The rapid increase in the world population has brought the search for a sustainable solution to the problem of nutrition, which is one of the most basic needs of humanity, on the agenda. Due to the aim of meeting the nutritional needs of the rapidly growing world population, agriculture has strategic importance for the nutrition of society. However, agricultural production is in the group most affected by changing climatic conditions. In addition, how to increase agricultural production and how to use it for sustainability reveals important problems today. Moreover, the agricultural sector, which is an indispensable part of the economy today, is in a great transformation with the effect of developing technology, and now, the future of the agricultural sector is shaped by technological applications. It is also very important to examine the technological transformation process of agriculture to reveal the practices used today more clearly.

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in agriculture, which has been the main occupation and livelihood of people from ancient times to the present, is the clearest indication that a new revolution has entered. With today's technology, many agricultural digital transformation methods are being developed for farming purposes, such as autonomous, robotic vehicles, mechanical sorting, fertilizer application and fruit harvesting (Walter et al., 2017 ). Thus, technology users engage in a dialogue about the future development of farming in the digital age (Güneş, & Demirel, 2023 ).

“Precision agricultural technologies”, which means the use of developing technologies by integrating them with agricultural production, refers to all agricultural activities on a sectoral basis, where smart agriculture applications are actively used. Farming in the digital age is called “smart agriculture” if farming is considered together with technology for institutions (markets and policies) as well as creating an information network related to the diversity of livestock systems. Smart farming techniques can be used at almost every stage of production, from tillage to harvest. Thus, smart agriculture, as an improved form of precision agriculture, reduces the ecological footprint of farming. The "smart agriculture" era has begun, with information technologies becoming a part of agriculture with "Agriculture 4.0". These innovative sustainable systems are a set of technologically based applications where information technologies, also known as “Industry 4.0”, have become a part of agriculture (Mazzetto et al., 2020 ).

Today, with 5G, a new era has come to life in which machines are in constant communication with each other. Of course, the agricultural sector will inevitably also be affected by such developments. For example, as a result of the use of new fertilizer types developed by measuring and monitoring carbon emissions, much less carbon emissions can be provided. Thus, all direct agricultural activities are protected under the umbrella of sustainability, and environmentally friendly innovations can be developed.

The agricultural sector has undertaken very important tasks in the economic and social development of the country and has continued this task until today. Many technological and sustainable innovations sometimes reflect a fashion rather than endorse a new technological principle. In contrast, keeping up with this agricultural transformation offers many opportunities and provides significant benefits to the added value of agriculture. In this way, technology in all areas of the agricultural food sector offers a path towards sustainable agriculture through the diversification of crop and livestock production system networks. Therefore, the appropriate use of information and communication technology will identify the dominant mechanisms that restrict or threaten sustainable agriculture and will assist in the selection of the most appropriate methods in developed or developing countries (Sachs, 2015 ).

As a result, there is no doubt that the technologies that will facilitate the work of producers with productivity, profit and quality increases in agriculture will become much smarter with Agriculture 4.0 and more innovative technologies (Ciruela-Lorenzo et al., 2020 ; Rao et al., 2019 ). It is thought that minimizing inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides or applying site-specific inputs in precision agriculture systems will reduce agricultural problems and greenhouse gas emissions (Schulze et al., 2009 ). With applications for sustainable agriculture, technical improvements can be used much more effectively, economic improvements can be achieved by ensuring the sustainability of resources, and most importantly, the door to environmentally friendly agricultural production will be opened. In addition, there are many areas where 5G technologies can be used and many unique opportunities to offer us. As the demand for food continues to rise, 5G will help farmers produce the highest possible crop yields and make the most of their land.

4 Conclusion and recommendations

In ancient times, people used to obtain their nutrients from plants and animals in their natural environments, but in the hunter-gatherer period, agricultural culture developed due to the adoption of a settled order, and as a result, significant increases were observed in the world population. Thus, together with the diversity in agricultural products, the concepts of agricultural biodiversity have emerged. Although it has created positive developments in many areas such as the effective use of natural resources, increasing the welfare level of producers, and preferring domestic production, people can always cause indirect or direct damage, especially to agricultural areas, in this process from past to present. Accordingly, modern biobased technologies (MBT) offer various science-based approaches to reduce the effects of global problems, and sustainable agricultural system technologies (SAST) these approaches in a holistic manner, which is the basis for the rapid progress of both. The fact that MBT represents a unique scientific application and approach(es) that can be used for the benefit of society, and that SAST is a combination of reason and science, reveals that multidisciplinary studies will be possible with the integrated use of the two premises. The compilation, which presents the relationship between food safety and security and issues such as agriculture, biotechnology and sustainability, etc., with a comprehensive and balanced overview of current knowledge and research, shows that sustainability is still not used effectively with biotechnology. Moreover, from the data obtained, it was also determined that there were very few studies on bioremediation and smart agriculture related to food.

In this context, a comprehensive understanding of the impact of contemporary biobased technologies in agriculture will enable biological control practices to be used much more effectively together with SAST without posing a risk to people and the environment. Thus, while the time to benefit from technology will increase, there will be an undeniable increase in the number of good agricultural practices as well as many techniques within the framework of sustainability, and a holistic development plan will be created. In short, it should not be forgotten that every study and contribution to the safety of today's and future food will provide an opportunity for the sustainability footprint to become much more evident. For this purpose, it should be known that the need for more studies/research and the development of multidisciplinary working networks will increase daily to make new biotechnological methods effective, safe and quite suitable.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on request.

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The authors thank the reviewers for their thorough reading of the drafts and their beneficial comments, expert biologist Oğuz Akveç for all his support, and also Assoc. Prof. Dr. Metin Aytekin & Mustafa Başdaş for the support and information they provided.

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Demirel, Ö., Güneş, H. & Can, C. Sustainable and modern bio-based technologies: new approachs to food safety and security. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04683-6

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Cultivating the Future: Agricultural Innovations for Climate Resilience

As the world grapples with the impacts of climate change, extreme temperatures and tragic weather events tend to dominate the news. But a slower moving, less conspicuous threat looms in our future: the challenge of maintaining a sustainable, resilient agricultural system. 

Supported in part by funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture as well as funding from other federal agencies, the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ (AGNR) research and Extension programs take a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to that challenge. 

“Climate smart agricultural practices that reduce environmental impact while also building system resilience will ensure that we maintain productive agricultural and forestry systems,” said Dr. Rachel Melnick, division director for Global Climate Change in NIFA’s Institute of Bioenergy, Climate and Environment.  “The work highlighted by the University of Maryland are some excellent examples of how Land-grant Institutions are addressing the climate crisis.”   

This following article was published by the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and is reprinted here with permission.  

Slowing the Burn 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture of all forms accounts for approximately 10-11% of the total U.S. contribution to the greenhouse gasses that are heating Earth’s atmosphere. Finding ways to reduce emissions from agriculture while maintaining, and even increasing, yields is crucial to helping slow the warming process. 

With over $1 million in funding from NASA, Associate Professor Stephanie Yarwood is leading an effort to use satellite data in unraveling the complex relationship between farming practices and nitrogen emissions. The primary contributors to greenhouse gasses from farmland0 are nitrogen compounds from animal waste and fertilizers. But the effects of different farming practices on nitrogen loss from farms, at various times and under diverse conditions, remains unclear. Yarwood’s project uses satellite data to identify “hot spots” and “hot moments” in time, when nitrogen compound levels rise in the atmosphere above farmlands. Her team will then examine the soil microbes to determine how they control the amount and kind of nitrogen released into the air and water, and the effect of various conservation practices on those processes. 

“As a microbial ecologist who often thinks in scales no bigger than a shovel full of soil, it is exciting to be working with collaborators using satellites to think at much larger scales and understand these large, atmospheric effects,” Yarwood said. 

The team’s ultimate goal is to create models to guide policymakers and stakeholders in reducing nitrogen emissions through climate-smart farming. 

Meanwhile, Professor Richard Kohn is tackling farm emissions from another angle. Kohn is studying exactly how metabolism works in the guts of cattle, which burp up methane and account for nearly half of U.S. agriculture’s contribution to greenhouse gas. 

Kohn’s lab has looked at alternative feeds, like algae that is purported to reduce methane from cows. But algae may just shift the composition of cow’s waste products away from methane to toxic compounds that are harmful to the cows and the environment. Kohn and his colleagues are evaluating different algae supplements to see if they can help cows produce less waste overall and convert more food to muscle, or meat. 

“The goal is ultimately to feed cattle better, so we decrease methane emissions and at the same time make digestion more efficient,” Kohn said. 

Adapting To Change 

Already feeling the impacts of climate change, many farmers need help adapting to unpredictable conditions now, as well as in the future, because climate change not only brings new temperature and moisture levels, but it allows pests and diseases to spread into new territories. Researcher Chris Walsh began thinking about that decades ago. Now, through years of careful crossbreeding, he has developed two new breeds of apples that address a growing suite of problems for apple growers. His apples are heat-tolerant, blight-resistant, low-maintenance, and delicious-tasting. 

While orchard fruits play a significant role in the world’s economy and diet, wheat and corn fill the nation’s granaries and provide a significant portion of the world’s calories. Both are facing environmental threats around the world. 

After thousands of years of breeding for large grains and high yields, modern wheat lacks the genetic diversity essential to adapt to those emerging threats. Fortunately, an international team led by Professor Vijay Tiwari has sequenced the complete genome of an ancient variety of wheat known as einkorn. This breakthrough allows researchers to identify genetic traits like disease- and drought-tolerance, and potentially reintroduce those resilience genes into modern bread wheat. 

When It’s Time to Pivot 

Even with adapted crops and more efficient growing methods, there are places where change has already happened too fast to continue supporting crops. Across the globe, sea level is rising, and in the mid-Atlantic region, land is also sinking due to large geological shifts caused by climate change. The result is that saltwater intrudes into surface and groundwaters in low-lying areas, making the soils too salty for farming. 

Alongside collaborators at University of Delaware and George Washington University, AGNR researchers Kate Tully and Rebecca Epanchin-Neil recently found that the area covered by visible salt patches on Delaware, Maryland and Virginia farmland nearly doubled from 2011 to 2019. 

They estimated economic losses from the salt patches to be over $427,000, and what’s more, high salinity soils within 200 meters of salt patches accounted for an estimated crop loss of between $39-70 million annually. This is an especially acute problem for corn farmers, because corn is not very salt tolerant, yet it makes up a substantial portion of the crops grown in the region. 

“Saltwater intrusion often happens in advance of sea level rise,” said Associate Professor Tully. “This research is the first visualization of this often-invisible symptom of climate change.” 

Epanchin-Niell, also an associate professor, said their study can “help identify high risk areas and better target resources and support to regions where transitions are occurring.” 

A Grassroots Solution 

In the meantime, finding crops that can withstand salty soils could help keep agricultural lands profitable. And AGNR Extension agents are helping with that. Sarah Hirsh and Haley Sater just completed a two-year experiment planting Giant Miscanthus in fields belonging to a soy farmer who had three consecutive years of failed crops. Miscanthus is a tall, perennial grass that is often used for bedding in poultry operations, but it could be marketed for other animals, and for making paper and biofuels. 

“Our experimental plots yielded successful harvests,” said Sater, “suggesting this could be an alternative crop that is easy-growing and low-maintenance.” 

As a perennial, miscanthus doesn’t need replanting, and once it gets established, it outcompetes weeds and isn’t eaten by deer.  

It sounds like a perfect solution, but of course, there is no silver bullet to solving the diverse and complex problems brought on by climate change. Miscanthus is just one tool among many that can help farmers stay profitable and sustainable. Whether it’s through a new view of satellite data, innovative cattle feed, genetically informed breeding, or a host of other initiatives, AGNR is helping pave the way for a resilient and adaptable agricultural future. 

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Small changes can yield big savings in agricultural water use

While Hollywood and Silicon Valley love the limelight, California is an agricultural powerhouse, too. Agricultural products sold in the Golden State totaled $59 billion in 2022. But rising temperatures, declining precipitation and decades of over pumping may require drastic changes to farming. Legislation to address the problem could even see fields taken out of cultivation.

Fortunately, a study out of UC Santa Barbara suggests less extreme measures could help address California's water issues. Researchers combined remote sensing, big data and machine learning to estimate how much water crops use in the state's Central Valley. The results, published in Nature Communications , suggest that variation in efficiency due to farming practices could save as much water as switching crops or fallowing fields.

"There's an opportunity for less obtrusive methods of saving water to be more important than we originally thought," said lead author Anna Boser, a doctoral student at UCSB's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. "So we might not have to make as many changes in land use as we originally thought."

California's fertile soils and Mediterranean climate enable farmers to cultivate high-value crops that just aren't viable in the rest of the country. Over a third of the country's vegetables, and nearly three-quarters of fruits and nuts, are grown in California, according to the state's Department of Food and Agriculture.

But many of these crops are quite thirsty. Agriculture accounts for around 80% of water used in California, explained co-author Kelly Caylor, a professor at the Bren School. "Declining groundwater levels and a changing climate put pressure on the availability of irrigation water, making it critical to determine how we can 'do more with less.'"

In 2014, Sacramento passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to secure California's water resources. SGMA mandates that every groundwater basin in the state must be sustainable by 2040. Each basin created a local agency tasked with developing a plan to meet this goal. Mostly, that means ensuring that we don't pump more water out of the ground than what seeps in. We will need to reduce total groundwater use by 20% to 50% by 2040, depending on the basin, Boser said. But to accomplish this, we need an idea of how much water farms use, and what fraction of that actually makes it to crops.

Modeling water use

Scientists have a variety of methods to estimate the amount of water ascending from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere due to evaporation and transpiration through plant leaves. Notably, evaporation cools things down. "When we get hot, we sweat to cool off. The Earth does something similar," Boser said. Scientists look at how warm the ground is and see how much energy it's getting from sunlight and the atmosphere. If the ground is cooler than expected, it means some of that energy was used to turn water into vapor, which cools down that spot.

An evapotranspiration database called OpenET became publicly available in early 2023. It provides satellite-based evapotranspiration estimates for the western United States. But Boser was interested in the water being used specifically by crops. So, she compared transpiration in fallowed fields to active fields across the Central Valley. Subtracting evapotranspiration in fallow fields from total evapotranspiration yields the amount of water that crops are actually consuming.

Unfortunately for Boser, farmers don't fallow fields randomly. Often they'll take their lowest-yielding fields out of production. That creates systematic differences between fallowed and cultivated fields, which could skew Boser's analysis. So, she created a machine-learning model to conduct a weighted comparison between active and fallowed land, accounting for factors like location, topography and soil quality.

She trained the model on 60% of the areas and tested its results on 30%, fine tuning the algorithm until its predictions matched the actual conditions in these fields within 10 milliliters per square meter per day, on average. Now confident in her model, she applied it to the rest of California's Central Valley.

Encouraging results

Crop type only explained 34% of the variation in water consumption. "What that means is maybe we're overlooking some other ways that we could save water," Boser said. She continued to investigate the model, controlling for factors like location, topography, local climate, soil quality and orchard age (when applicable). Ultimately, a full 10% of crop transpiration could be saved if the top 50% of water users reduced their water consumption to match that of their median-consuming neighbors. Boser attributes these savings to differences in "farming practices."

Now, 10% might not sound like a lot, but it's comparable to a number of other interventions. The authors also estimated the effect of switching crops. If the same 50% of farmers switched to the median water-intensive crops for their area, agricultural evapotranspiration would drop by 10%.

Meanwhile, if the state took the top 5% most water-hungry fields out of production, the model says agricultural evapotranspiration would drop by, you guessed it: 10%. This suggests that addressing inefficiencies in farming practices could save as much water as switching crops or taking fields out of cultivation.

To be fair, the results from fallowing would affect only 5% of cultivated land, as opposed to 50% for crop changes and improved farming practices. "We're probably going to have to fall back on fallowing at least a little bit," Boser said, "but hopefully not as much as we were originally expecting."

The authors want to figure out what practices farmers are using that account for the 10% differences in crop water usage. Some examples include mulching, no-till planting, using drought-tolerant varietals, and deficit irrigation -- where you provide less water than the crop could theoretically consume. Deficit irrigation already yields good results in viticulture, where vintners find it can improve the quality of wine.

Changing irrigation practices could also help reduce water use. Irrigation efficiency accounts for the fraction of water a farm uses that actually gets consumed by crops. Inefficiencies include leakage, weed growth and evaporation in transport and in the field. These weren't within the scope of Boser's model, which only considers transpiration by the crops themselves. Inefficiencies happen before the water even gets to the plants.

According to Boser, up to 60% of the water a farm uses actually passes through the roots of its crops. Clearly there's plenty of potential gains in this area, though it isn't clear what efficiency is actually attainable, she said. "Irrigation efficiency is actually quite poorly understood."

Better characterizing this is on the team's to-do list. They hope to identify the causes of irrigation inefficiencies, quantify the efficiencies of different types of irrigation, and learn how climate and geography affects irrigation efficiency. All this will require collecting empirical data.

California is at a critical crossroads in water management. For the first time in its history, the state is putting in place regulations that require substantial reductions in groundwater extraction, including in regions where livelihoods depend on thirsty agricultural production.

"This paper uses novel, data-driven methods to show that, contrary to popular belief, there is large potential to cut water use in California agriculture without fallowing fields," said co-author Tamma Carleton, an assistant professor at UCSB's Bren School. "This raises the possibility that the state can continue its role as an agricultural powerhouse while also sustainably managing an essential natural resource."

• Agriculture and Food
• Food and Agriculture
• Drought Research
• Sustainability
• Resource Shortage
• Environmental Policies
• Land Management
• Agriculture
• Shifting cultivation
• Slash and burn
• Agroecology
• Winter storm
• Golden Retriever
• Organic farming

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of California - Santa Barbara . Original written by Harrison Tasoff. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Anna Boser, Kelly Caylor, Ashley Larsen, Madeleine Pascolini-Campbell, John T. Reager, Tamma Carleton. Field-scale crop water consumption estimates reveal potential water savings in California agriculture . Nature Communications , 2024; 15 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46031-2

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The Effects of Climate Change

The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible for people alive today, and will worsen as long as humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

• We already see effects scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves.
• Scientists predict global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases will continue. Severe weather damage will also increase and intensify.

Earth Will Continue to Warm and the Effects Will Be Profound

Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth’s climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment: glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking, river and lake ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges are shifting, and plants and trees are blooming sooner.

Effects that scientists had long predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring, such as sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.

The magnitude and rate of climate change and associated risks depend strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions, and projected adverse impacts and related losses and damages escalate with every increment of global warming.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change — modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for many decades, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report, published in 2021, found that human emissions of heat-trapping gases have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since 1850-1900. 1 The global average temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades. These changes will affect all regions of Earth.

The severity of effects caused by climate change will depend on the path of future human activities. More greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more climate extremes and widespread damaging effects across our planet. However, those future effects depend on the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit. So, if we can reduce emissions, we may avoid some of the worst effects.

The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.

Here are some of the expected effects of global climate change on the United States, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:

Future effects of global climate change in the United States:

U.S. Sea Level Likely to Rise 1 to 6.6 Feet by 2100

Global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since reliable record-keeping began in 1880. By 2100, scientists project that it will rise at least another foot (0.3 meters), but possibly as high as 6.6 feet (2 meters) in a high-emissions scenario. Sea level is rising because of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms. Image credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

Climate Changes Will Continue Through This Century and Beyond

Global climate is projected to continue warming over this century and beyond. Image credit: Khagani Hasanov, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Hurricanes Will Become Stronger and More Intense

Scientists project that hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates will increase as the climate continues to warm. Image credit: NASA

More Droughts and Heat Waves

Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves (periods of abnormally hot weather lasting days to weeks) are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense and less frequent. Image credit: NOAA

Longer Wildfire Season

Warming temperatures have extended and intensified wildfire season in the West, where long-term drought in the region has heightened the risk of fires. Scientists estimate that human-caused climate change has already doubled the area of forest burned in recent decades. By around 2050, the amount of land consumed by wildfires in Western states is projected to further increase by two to six times. Even in traditionally rainy regions like the Southeast, wildfires are projected to increase by about 30%.

Changes in Precipitation Patterns

Climate change is having an uneven effect on precipitation (rain and snow) in the United States, with some locations experiencing increased precipitation and flooding, while others suffer from drought. On average, more winter and spring precipitation is projected for the northern United States, and less for the Southwest, over this century. Image credit: Marvin Nauman/FEMA

Frost-Free Season (and Growing Season) will Lengthen

The length of the frost-free season, and the corresponding growing season, has been increasing since the 1980s, with the largest increases occurring in the western United States. Across the United States, the growing season is projected to continue to lengthen, which will affect ecosystems and agriculture.

Global Temperatures Will Continue to Rise

Summer of 2023 was Earth's hottest summer on record, 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (0.23 degrees Celsius (C)) warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record and 2.1 degrees F (1.2 C) warmer than the average summer between 1951 and 1980. Image credit: NASA

Arctic Is Very Likely to Become Ice-Free

Sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is expected to continue decreasing, and the Arctic Ocean will very likely become essentially ice-free in late summer if current projections hold. This change is expected to occur before mid-century.

U.S. Regional Effects

Climate change is bringing different types of challenges to each region of the country. Some of the current and future impacts are summarized below. These findings are from the Third 3 and Fourth 4 National Climate Assessment Reports, released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program .

• Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose increasing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Farmers can explore new crop options, but these adaptations are not cost- or risk-free. Moreover, adaptive capacity , which varies throughout the region, could be overwhelmed by a changing climate. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.
• Northwest. Changes in the timing of peak flows in rivers and streams are reducing water supplies and worsening competing demands for water. Sea level rise, erosion, flooding, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire incidence and severity, heat waves, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread forest die-off.
• Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.
• Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes.
• Southwest. Climate change has caused increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks. In turn, these changes have made wildfires more numerous and severe. The warming climate has also caused a decline in water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, and triggered heat-related health impacts in cities. In coastal areas, flooding and erosion are additional concerns.

1. IPCC 2021, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis , the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

2. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

3. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment .

4. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment .

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A Degree of Difference

So, the Earth's average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century. What's the big deal?

What’s the difference between climate change and global warming?

“Global warming” refers to the long-term warming of the planet. “Climate change” encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.

Is it too late to prevent climate change?

Humans have caused major climate changes to happen already, and we have set in motion more changes still. However, if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the rise in global temperatures would begin to flatten within a few years. Temperatures would then plateau but remain well-elevated for many, many centuries.

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• Published: 26 March 2024

Digital Regenerative Agriculture

• Tom O’Donoghue   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1483-7023 1 ,
• Budiman Minasny   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1182-2371 1 &
• Alex McBratney   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0913-2643 1  

npj Sustainable Agriculture volume  2 , Article number:  5 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Environmental biotechnology
• Environmental impact

Intergovernmental organisations are pushing for ecological renewal with ever-increasing urgency. The trinity of Precision, Digital, and Smart (Ag 4.0) Agriculture encapsulate the tools best positioned to quantify the contributions farmscapes make towards these ends. However, work under these banners to date has rested on productivity and efficiency. Limiting negative environmental outcomes, when acknowledged as an objective, is most often presented as possible through ex-post evaluations. Conversely, Regenerative Agriculture champions environmental renewal as the pathway to more resilient and consistent production systems but currently lacks scientific validation. A synergy of the two will enhance both by (i) developing data on environmentally forward systems, (ii) presenting new challenges for monitoring, and (iii) by laying a foundation for the farmer-led data-driven site-specific refinement of management systems that prioritise outcomes for production through enhanced environmental function. All of which, when passed through a digital supply chain, will contribute substantially to product provenance and, in turn, consumer confidence.

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What is Regenerative Agriculture?

While having earlier origins 1 , 2 , over the last decade Regenerative Agriculture has come to occupy a considerable position on the global agricultural stage 3 , 4 . Though this rapid increase in interest has not occurred without conflict between its primarily grassroots supporter base, more conventional farmers, and established agricultural science 5 , 6 . While disagreements focus on the applicability of practice, scalability, and the impact associated yield reductions could have on feeding the growing human population 3 , 6 , the idea of regenerated agricultural landscapes, without a formal definition 4 or centralised supporting body, has captured global interest within and outside agriculture 7 . The collection of farmer leaders, non-farming/farming supporters, and the systems they manage are now best viewed as an agricultural movement 8 .

As a movement, Regenerative Agriculture seeks to address crises of soil health, biodiversity, and food security 3 . Concerns are shared by intergovernmental organisations and reflected in several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Despite initial trepidations academics have begun to engage with and even sought to clarify the movement’s direction 4 . Formal definitions were put forward, in 2020 by Schreefel et al. 9 .

An approach to farming that uses soil conservation as the entry point to regenerate and contribute to multiple provisioning, regulating, and supporting ecosystem services, with the objective that this will enhance not only the environmental, but also the social and economic dimensions of sustainable food production .

And in 2022 by O’Donoghue et al. 8 .

Any system of crop and/or livestock production that, through natural complexity and with respect to its inherent capacity, increases the quality of the product and the availability of the resources agriculture depends upon, soil, water, biota, renewable energy, and human endeavour .

These definitions present regenerative systems as those that rebuild depleted natural resources and enhance ecosystem service delivery by reinstating natural cycles. This intention echoes those of the movement’s early proponents 1 , 2 and its current farmer leaders 10 , 11 , 12 . As the above definitions were drawn from existing literature, it follows that others have come to similar conclusions 5 .

To support and connect interested producers and consumers, two leading regenerative agriculture organisations have established performance (Savory Institute) and practice (Regenerative Organic Alliance) based certification programmes 13 , 14 . While both acknowledge that practice suitability will vary with soil type, climate, regional biota, socioeconomic, and political factors; established agricultural science offers potentially more rigorous methods of identifying differences in the capacity and changing condition of those systems. Quantifying both will dispel disagreements, guide practice adoption, and tend toward better outcomes for the environment, product quality, and the confidence of both farmers and consumers.

What is Digital Agriculture?

The terms Precision Agriculture, Digital Agriculture, and the more recent Smart Agriculture or Agriculture 4.0 are sometimes conflated in the literature 15 , 16 or presented as sequential technologically enabled evolutions of one another 17 , 18 . Like Regenerative Agriculture, Precision Agriculture also originated in the 1980’s but followed a very different uptake trajectory. Initially, Precision Agriculture was implemented through soil mapping, variable rate technology (VRT), and vehicle guidance through global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Uptake across Northern America, Europe, Brazil, Japan, and Australia was considerable but piecemeal 19 . Shortly after the turn of the millennium, the introduction of wireless sensor networks (WSN) through the internet of things (IoT) enabled real-time monitoring of certain farm attributes. This saw some promote the transition from precision to “decision” agriculture 20 through a new Digital Agriculture. However, with the proposal of Industry 4.0 by the German government 18 and the vision of increasingly informative analysis through ever larger data streams, Smart Agriculture or Agriculture 4.0 is being positioned to eclipse its predecessors. Currently, all terms persist, along with Climate-Smart Agriculture and “farming” suffixed variations of each 15 .

Early definitions that captured the scope of Precision Agriculture proved elusive 21 . As a result, for some, it was reduced to the practices mentioned above and the narrative of evolution was established, see Fig. 1 . However, prior to the perpetuation of the subsequent (potentially auxiliary) terms, the broad goal of Precision Agriculture was to increase the number of correct decisions per area and over time 21 . Within this vision, the introduction of wireless sensor networks (WSN), the internet of things (IoT), big data, and robotics were predicted to contribute to this goal by enabling regular environmental auditing and triggering or carrying out management activities 21 . At the same time, these regular measures of environmental condition, partnered with similarly attained measures of product quality, were envisaged being passed to consumers through a digitally enabled supply chain—contributing substantially to product provenance 21 . This vision has persevered through Digital Agriculture and Agriculture 4.0 22 , 23 . Though currently, environmental monitoring, in this space, is typically poised to minimise or limit negative impacts from agriculture 16 , 22 rather than to support or synergise through one another. Figure 2 places practices associated with each phase of the evolution narrative into the broader context of applying digital technologies to agricultural spatial and temporal decision making.

Acronyms: Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Variable Rate Technology (VRT), Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), and Internet of Things (IoT).

This view sees the introduction of new technologies to farmscapes as having continued to inform decision-making regarding the targets of optimisation production and input efficiency. Acronyms: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), Internet of Things (IoT), Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Variable Rate Technology (VRT), and Autonomous Vehicles (AV).

While digital technologies have opened new avenues of communication, ensuring fit-for-purpose information reaches farm decision makers requires further work. This is the prescribed domain of Agriculture 4.0 15 . Despite the ongoing nature of this process, Agriculture 5.0, heralded by the introduction of automatisation via autonomous aerial and ground-based vehicles (AV), is already materialising 17 . Will each technological step or leap require a new agricultural iteration? Taking an unindoctrinated perspective, that of consumers, funders, or even farmers—the intended end users and benefactors of these “agricultures”—unnecessary technical complications can lead to disengagement as has been seen with greenwashing in Organic Agriculture 24 and donor fatigue surrounding Sustainable Agriculture Alternatives in the 1990’s 25 . To stem complication, Digital Agriculture will here refer to the application of digital technology in crop and livestock systems to gather, interpret, and communicate data in order to guide decision making on farms and along the supply chain—or simply data-driven agriculture 21 .

What could a Digital Regenerative Agriculture look like?

A Digital Regenerative Agriculture through quantification, evaluation, and peer-to-peer collaborative innovation will further the goals of both Digital and Regenerative Agriculture. Quantifying the capacity and condition of environmentally forward agricultural systems will not only validate the efforts of individual farmers; it will also allow for the meaningful comparison of agricultural systems and ensure that new adopters take on practices that are appropriate for their systems. The quantified changes in condition and management information will, through a digitally enabled supply chain, present several additional layers of product provenance for consumer evaluation. Thus, the regenerative will bring to the digital an enhanced environmental direction and, through engaged consumers, an environmental monitoring programme that could become self-sustaining; while the digital will validate regenerative performance, ensure consumers are empowered, and that new adopters are supported. Challenges to effective quantification, evaluation, and communication exist, though much work towards solutions has already been completed under a variety of agricultural banners.

Precision agriculture introduced the idea of management zones, “farming by soil”, a term coined by Roberts in 1993 26 . This concept provides the basis upon which the monitoring of crop, water, belowground biodiversity, energy capture/consumption, and other soil chemical and physical properties can begin. Nesting these traditional management zones within zones scaled relevantly to other farmscape attributes, above-ground biodiversity and human endeavour for example, will allow for the quantification of natural and human capital within elements and across farmscapes. Not just zones in fields but also hedgerows, watercourses, and reserves. The carefully considered comparison of the resulting farmscape elements will provide insight into potential capacity and relative current condition. Work in this vein has been explored for soil 27 and is becoming more accessible through digital methods 28 . Spatial-temporal monitoring and comparison at this resolution, as supported by remote and proximal sensing 29 , will strongly support on-farm experimentation and the drive towards site-specific management systems 21 . Practices like integrated pest management will introduce new sensing challenges and pose the need for inter-farmscape-element interactions, for example, between hedgerows/refuges and fields. These evaluations will likely be guided by Landscape Ecology 30 and the science of Agroecology 31 . The integration of these approaches, to enable a Digital Regenerative Agriculture, is visualised in Fig. 3 .

Digital methods offer the means to quantify a farmscape element’s inherent capacity and changes in condition, while regeneratively aligned systems of thought, will guide data interpretation, offer another mode of automatisation, and provide wider measures of evaluation. Acronyms: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), Internet of Things (IoT), Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Variable Rate Technology (VRT), and Autonomous Vehicles (AV).

Communication between farms, farmers, and the supply chain will be complicated by data volume and security. Methods for data evaluation have been and continue to be explored through Smart Agriculture 32 . These volumes can significantly be reduced by filtering for relevancy to the end user. For a farmer filtering could be based on the capacity and condition of their system, while for a consumer along or at the end of the supply chain, information could be provided at varying layers of detail to satiate respective levels of interest. Security through this process, in terms of resistance to data breaches and ensuring that data owners have control over how and who their data is shared with, will be of the utmost importance 16 . Distributed ledger systems such as blockchain technology appear to be the most viable option at present, it allows for more transparent, reliable, immutable, and decentralised data storage 33 . While such technology was previously the domain of large corporate farming, smaller-scale farmers are beginning to incorporate similar technologies 22 . A digitally enabled regenerative farmscape and supply chain is pictured below in Fig. 4 .

From left to right, a mixed farming system incorporating several practices associated with Regenerative Agriculture, rotational grazing, cover cropping, nature refuges, and crop rotation. The respective farmscape elements are digitally monitored for changes in condition. Data is passed to the cloud and, at farmer discretion, shared with subsequent stages of the supply chain and farming communities of practice. Communities of practice gain system-relevant information, and the process enables data-backed collaboration. Subsequent stages of the supply chain add their own packets of data to the end-product by similar processes. A data interface makes relevant information available to end consumers and enhances product provenance.

Acquiring the vast quantity of data required to realise a Digital Regenerative Agriculture presents a considerable challenge. In technologically enabled environments, labour and coordination will be the primary issue 16 . In less technologically enabled environments, access to digital methods of measurement presents a more comprehensive barrier to engagement 34 . Agronomists may be the best candidates to resolve the question of on-the-ground labour 35 . Agronomists frequently visit farms, have close knowledge of individual systems, wider knowledge of the region, and considerable scientific training. Some already offer on-farm Precision Agriculture services 36 , 37 . Increasing the number of system attributes to, or which can be, monitored will further diversify the offerings of this sector. Coordination of monitoring efforts through multiple service providers and inaccurate reporting presents a secondary problem 16 . Quantified performance-based consumer markets provide an incentive, while temporal, spatial, and management-system-capability-based auditing offers a potential solution.

Where access to technology is limited, due to local infrastructure or individual farm capital, products may be excluded from certified markets for being unable to conform with reporting methodologies. Where mobile phone or web-based applications are available 34 , but farm capacity and condition have not been confirmed, the specificity of information accessible to farmers will be limited. Conversely, in such systems, which often coincide with less socio-economically advanced regions, price premiums and eco-credits will have the greatest impact. To ease the barrier to engagement, some monitoring equipment could be collectivised. However, a more forward-thinking approach could see support from more socio-economically advanced regions directly justified through homo- or future-clime research 38 . In such a situation careful consideration of investment sources will be needed to ensure local data, knowledge, and business sovereignty is maintained.

This is not the first time technology has been proposed as a means of progressing the ecological renewal of our farmscapes; Organic Agriculture 39 , Agroecology 40 , Precision Agriculture 21 ; nor the amalgamation of movements generally; Organic-Agroecology 39 or Regenerative-Permaculture 41 . These movements have different knowledge pools and intended outcomes, hence their varied uptake. As a movement Regenerative Agriculture focuses on restoring the immediate and wider environment an agricultural system operates within. When defined in terms of performance, it is positioned well as an umbrella term, under which, different approaches to agriculture and specific management practices can be appraised with reference to the systems in which they are applied. Digital Agriculture offers the current best opportunity to validate that performance spatially and temporally while also providing the means to share outcomes appropriately. A synergy of the two presents the opportunity to systematically and with greater confidence, tackle some of the most wide-reaching challenges facing Agriculture and humanity.

Regenerative agriculture focuses on enhancing natural cycles on farms to stabilise production. It has a large public and farming following but currently lacks scientific validation.

Digital agriculture has here been defined as data-driven agriculture. In this light, it encompasses practices that some associate exclusively with Precision Agriculture, Smart Agriculture, and Agriculture 5.0. Regardless of terminology, in this domain, environmental impacts have been secondary to evaluations of productivity and efficiency.

A Digital Regenerative Agriculture would prioritise farm environmental performance as a driver of productivity and provide the means to effectively quantify system capacity and condition. This, in turn, would streamline currently separate but aligned research efforts, improve farmer-to-farmer collaboration, and through a digitally enabled supply chain, improve consumer assurance, be they purchasing environmental services, surveying natural capital, or buying groceries from a supermarket.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Australian Government’s Landcare Smarter Farming Partnership Program known as DigiFarm and by the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship on Soil Security.

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Tom O’Donoghue, Budiman Minasny & Alex McBratney

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O’Donoghue, T., Minasny, B. & McBratney, A. Digital Regenerative Agriculture. npj Sustain. Agric. 2 , 5 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-024-00012-6

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-024-00012-6

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