Impact of cropping system diversification on productivity and resource use efficiencies of smallholder farmers in south-central Bangladesh: a multi-criteria analysis

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for sustainability assessment in food sector. A systematic literature review on methods, indicators and tools

In the last decades, several studies have highlighted the significant impacts of the food sector. Therefore, enhancing sustainability within this sector has become of paramount importance. A crucial step towards achieving this goal involves the definition and implementation of effective sustainability metric and measurements. In this regard, the adoption of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods can be seen as one of the most suitable and promising approach to comprehensively capture the complex and broad-ranging effects of agricultural practices and food supply chains. In such context, a systematic review of the scientific literature on multi-criteria approaches and tools for measuring the sustainability of food supply chains (harvest and post-harvest stages) has been carried out, resulting in the selection and analysis of 42 articles. To delve into the selected articles, three main areas of focus have been identified. The first about MCDA methods and their features, revealing the most adopted methods for sustainability assessments of food supply chains. The second, focusing on the participatory approach, led to the definition of a stakeholder's engagement map, highlighting the typology of stakeholders involved, the reasons of their involvement and engagement methods. Lastly, the third focus is related to the analysis and classification of indicators adopted in each study and the sustainability dimensions to which they refer to. The results of the present review study provide a comprehensive overview of the essential aspects to be considered when developing a MCDA for sustainability assessment in the food sector, serving as a valuable resource for both scholars and practitioners.

Profit efficiency among kenyan maize farmers

The profit efficiency (PE) of maize farming and its determinants are estimated using the true random effect (TRE) approach. A survey of maize farmers was conducted in Uasin Gishu, one of Kenya's top maize-producing regions. Clearly, maize farmers can increase their profits based on the mean PE of 0.62. In terms of profitability, maize farming is elastically affected by the price of maize, but inelastically affected by the price of inputs. In households where the head of household is male, household sizes are larger, and farm sizes are larger, inefficiencies of profit are significantly reduced. Despite this, factors such as the distance between home and the maize farm, soil characteristics, maize diseases, along with natural disasters significantly increase profit inefficiency. According to the findings of the study, maize prices are more effective targets for developing supportive policies than input prices. To significantly increase PE, farmers would benefit from programs designed to improve their production and management skills to preserve soil health and minimize damage caused by disease and natural disasters. Furthermore, increase in PE would be achieved by improving farm size through land-use policies.

Diversifying agrifood systems to ensure global food security following the Russia–Ukraine crisis

The recent Russia–Ukraine conflict has raised significant concerns about global food security, leaving many countries with restricted access to imported staple food crops, particularly wheat and sunflower oil, sending food prices soaring with other adverse consequences in the food supply chain. This detrimental effect is particularly prominent for low-income countries relying on grain imports, with record-high food prices and inflation affecting their livelihoods. This review discusses the role of Russia and Ukraine in the global food system and the impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on food security. It also highlights how diversifying four areas of agrifood systems—markets, production, crops, and technology can contribute to achieving food supply chain resilience for future food security and sustainability.