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This research focuses on assessing the social resilience of potato farmers in Iran, specifically their ability to tackle the challenges associated with climate change. A quantitative approach was employed using a descriptive survey and cross-sectional design to investigate potato farmers in Kermanshah City, Iran. The study selected a sample of 277 participants through cluster random sampling with proportional allocation. Data was collected using a researcher-made questionnaire based on the S5 model, which was validated by experts from Razi University and Jahad Keshavarzi Organization. Reliability of the data was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, and the analysis was conducted using SPSS. The findings highlight the influence of social structure, social equity and beliefs, social mechanism and social capital on social resilience in the family farming system and rental farming system. Non-indigenous rental farmers prioritize these dimensions as crucial for resilience, with the non-indigenous rental farming system demonstrating the highest social resilience score (18.89), followed by the indigenous rental farming system (15.59), and the family farming system (14.36). Factors contributing to the higher social resilience of non-indigenous rental farmers include better education, transportation access, a capable workforce, higher revenue, job diversity, larger farms, financial stability, a favourable cost-to-income ratio and familiarity with climate changes. On the other hand, the family farming system shows relatively higher resilience (score: 2.19) despite facing limitations due to an ageing population. Previous studies have established a negative relationship between age and resilience, as younger individuals with greater physical capabilities tend to exhibit more flexibility and adaptability. In conclusion, non-indigenous rental farmers demonstrate the highest overall social resilience, while the family farming system exhibits the lowest resilience. To enhance social resilience in diverse farming systems, the study suggests the establishment of small-scale processing industries, promotion of social participation, provision of support during emergencies and implementation of income improvement programmes. These recommendations are crucial for strengthening the adaptive capacity and long-term sustainability of agrarian systems, enabling them to effectively tackle challenges arising from climate change and other factors. The implications of this study offer valuable insights for researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, emphasizing the significance of tailored strategies, community-based initiatives and collaborative approaches in fostering resilient farming communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of commercialization of agricultural products the household farming system and the factors affecting it in Khalkhal county. This study was performed from the preliminary data collected using a questionnaire from a stratified random sample of 368 smallholder farmers. The Household Commercialization Index was used to assess the level of commercialization. A multiple regression model was used to estimate the factors associated with small-scale agricultural commercialization. The average household commercialization index is 39.94%. The results of multiple regression showed that the variables that significantly and positively affect commercialization are the number of available markets, membership in cooperatives, non-agricultural income, and amount of livestock production, crop production, and horticultural production. On the other hand, the variables that significantly and negatively affect commercialization are the age of the head of the household, production costs and distance from the market. This study showed that the farmers of this region are mostly subsistence. In order to increase the commercialization of smallholder farmers, special attention is recommended to educate farmers to look at agriculture as a business and equip farmers with marketing and negotiation skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present descriptive correlational study focused on assessing the social sustainability of intercropping-based family farming systems and agricultural cooperative systems with a systemic approach. The statistical population was composed of the villages in Shiraz County of Fars Province, Iran that were engaged in intercropping and production cooperative systems. In the first step, 186 farmers who were using intercropping-based family farming system were taken by enumeration technique. In the second step, 200 members of the agricultural cooperatives of this county were sampled by the stratified random sampling technique with proportional allocation. The research instrument was a self-designed questionnaire, and data were analyzed by the SPSS22 software package. The results showed that the components of existence and effectiveness were assigned with the highest weight in family farming systems and the components of coexistence and adaptability were allocated with the highest weight in the cooperative systems. The results of the assessment by Morris' model implied that none of the components of social sustainability was at a sustainable level. The results of discriminant analysis of farmers' characteristics in terms of social sustainability level revealed that nine components could account for social sustainability level: literacy level, coexistence, family size, income, freedom of action, existence, equality, accountability, and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural diversification with neglected and underutilized species is a viable way to sustainably increase the productivity of agrosystems. Understanding the social, cultural, and ecological roles of these species is crucial for their promotion. White fonio (Digitaria exilis), a neglected cereal endemic to West African Sahelian countries, is recognized as a crop for the future due to its cultural, nutritional, and economic values. In this study, we described fonio farming systems in Senegal through an ethnobotanical approach. As expected in family farming systems, farmers largely practiced diversified subsistence agriculture on small plots and relied on local seed exchange networks. The importance of fonio varied among agroecological zones, ethnic groups, and gender. In the Groundnut Basin, where agriculture is more mechanized, latematuring landraces of fonio are cultivated as a cash crop rather than a staple crop. However, in southern Senegal, where food shortages are recurrent, fonio is more widespread and the cultivation of both early- and late-maturing landraces contributes to local food security. These differences also reflect the cultural status of fonio: different among ethnic groups and more important for women than for men. Finally, the regressive dynamics of fonio cultivation in most regions emphasizes the need to develop integrated conservation and promotion strategies that take into account the diversity of social and agronomical roles of the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the world population growth and increasing energy demands, renewable energy sources are seen as valid fossil fuel alternatives that could guarantee environmental benefits. In this context Jatropha curcas L. has been identified as a promising feedstock for biofuel production and promoted as a sustainable biofuel crop. This paper analyzes the creation of a Jatropha-o'û chain in a rural area in north-eastern Brazil (Ceará State) utilizing the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. The aim of this study is to evaluate the energy sustainability expressed as cumulative energy demand (CED) and carbon footprint expressed as global warming potential (GWP) of a Jatropha-o'û chain in comparison with fossil fuel (diesel). The component with most impact on the Jatropha-oû chain was electricity consumption, which accounted for 42% and 63% of CED and GWP, respectively. The analyzed Jatropha biofuel-chain presented a more favourable energy balance (94% of CED saved) and a lower effect on global warming (77% of greenhouse gas emission, GHG, avoided) in comparison with diesel fossil fuel. If the biofuel produced, instead of being used locally, was exported over a long distance (i.e. to the European Union), the energy and environmental benefits obtained were completely nullified. Crop management practices based essentially on manual labour of family farming system, as in the present study, determined a positive influence on the energy balance and carbon footprint in the Jatropha-oil chain. On the contrary, a crop management practices making high use of inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation ...) on large areas of monoculture, could negatively affect the socio-economic sustainability of the whole Jatropha-biofuel chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the year 2050, agriculture will have to provide the food and nutrition requirements of some 9 billion people. Moreover, to maintain that level of productivity indefinitely it must do so using environmentally sustainable production systems. This task will be profoundly complicated by the effects of climate change, increasing competition for water resources and loss of productive lands. Agricultural production methods will also need to recognize and accommodate ongoing rural to urban migration and address a host of economic, ecological and social concerns about the 'high inputs/high outputs' model of present-day industrial agriculture. At the same time, there is a need to confront the unacceptable levels of continuing food and nutrition insecurity, greatest in the emerging economy countries of Africa and Asia where poverty, rapid population growth and climate change present additional challenges and where agriculture is practiced primarily by small-scale farmers. Within this context, we here review science-based evidence arguing that diversification with greater use of highly valuable but presently under-valorised crops and species should be an essential element of any model for sustainable smallholder agriculture. The major points of these development opportunity crops are presented in four sections: agricultural farming systems, health and nutrition, environmental sustainability and prosperity of the populations. For each section, these crops and their associated indigenous knowledge are reported to bring benefits and services when integrated with food systems. In this paper, we conclude that not only a change in policy is needed to influence behaviours and practices but also strong leadership able to synergize the various initiatives and implement an action plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]