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Abstract: As the global population grows and consumer demand for protein-rich foods increases, there is increased interest in exploring a wide range of innovative approaches for processing blue foods in ways that improve the efficiency, sustainability, and nutritional quality of these products and reduce the environmental impact of their production. Existing approaches to process blue foods including fishing and aquaculture for production and manual processing at landing are not sufficiently scalable, efficient, or environmentally sustainable for today’s global needs. Therefore, many new technologies are being developed and implemented to address these challenges. These technologies include advanced processing technologies such as high-pressure processing, freeze drying, and ultrasound-assisted extraction. New ingredients and additives that can enhance the nutritional and sensory qualities of blue food products, such as seaweed or algae-based antioxidants. Leading edge processing methods are increasing yields, speeding up production while enhancing product quality. The foundation is being established for the large-scale production of diverse, sustainable, nutritious blue food products. These foods will match the taste and appeal of traditional foods, but with quicker, more equitable production and broader economic, social, and environmental benefits, ensuring a consistent supply for the future. Evolution of blue food processing methods and a comparative analysis have been discussed in this review article.
Abstract: Agrivoltaic systems (AVS) – wherein solar photovoltaics (PV) and agriculture are co-located on the same land parcel – offer a sustainable approach to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enabling concurrent renewable electricity and agri-food production. Here, we elucidate plausible co-benefits and trade-offs of agri-food production and electricity generation in AVS across manifold socio-enviro-economic contexts, with the aim of understanding the contextualized interplay between AVS implementation and progress towards the SDGs. We modeled three AVS designs with varying solar panel densities (high, mid, low) at case study locations in Australia, Chad, and Iran using various models (System Advisor Model for PV and GrassGro for livestock systems). The findings suggest that in regions conducive to high biomass production per unit area, such as in parts of Australia, AVS design with high solar panel density can reduce meat production by almost 50%, which can jeopardize food security and impede achieving SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). In these regions, AVS design with low solar panel density enables meeting SDGs aligned with agri-food production and renewable energy generation. In contrast, in semi-arid regions, such as Iran, AVS design with a high density of solar panels can improve agricultural production via the alleviation of water deficit, thereby supporting the prioritization of solar power generation, with food production as a co-benefit. In developing countries such as Chad, AVS can enhance economic development by providing electricity, food, and financial benefits. We call for policymakers to incentivize AVS deployment in such regions and stimulate public and private investment to enable progress towards SDGs.
Abstract: Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2, zero hunger) highlights that global hunger and food insecurity have worsened since 2015, driven in part by growing imbalance. Addressing the challenge of achieving SDG 2 in the face of rapid global population growth requires sustained attention to global and national cropland changes. Accurately quantifying the correlation between population and cropland area (i.e., SDG 2.4.1 per capita cropland) and analyzing the trends of global cropland imbalance are essential for a comprehensive understanding of SDG 2. In this study, we utilized a new global 30 m land-cover dynamic dataset (GLC_FCS30D) to analyze cropland dynamics, quantify per capita cropland and its changes across various countries and levels of development. Our results indicate that the global cropland area expanded by 0.944 million km2 from 1985 to 2022, with an average expansion rate of 2.42 × 104 km2/yr. However, the global per capita cropland area decreased from 0.347 ha in 1985 to 0.217 ha in 2022, mainly due to a higher population increase of nearly 65 % in the same period. In the context of globalization, cropland expansion and per capita cropland exhibited spatial imbalances globally, particularly in developing countries. Developing countries saw an increase in total cropland area by 7.09 % but a significant decrease in per capita cropland area by 37.38 %. From a temporal perspective, the global imbalance has been steadily increasing with the Gini index rising from 0.895 in 1985 to 0.909 in 2022. Consequently, this study reveals an increasing imbalance of global per capita cropland across various countries, which threatens the attainment of the targets of SDG 2.
Abstract: Solar-powered water desalination offers a sustainable solution to two of today's critical challenges: climate change and water scarcity. This review article critically examines various solar desalination technologies, focusing on technical complexities, environmental impacts, and practical challenges. The analysis highlights solar desalination's role in achieving key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): No Poverty (SDG 1), Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), and Climate Action (SDG 13). Additionally, the review examines economic and social benefits, highlighting how solar-powered desalination can contribute to resilient, sustainable communities worldwide. By exploring strategies to overcome environmental and technical barriers, this study provides a comprehensive perspective on integrating solar desalination technologies across diverse geographical and socio-economic contexts. This current work is focused on in-depth analysis, underlining the desalination powered by solar energy in the frame of possible solutions for developing resistant and durable communities and ecosystems.
Abstract: The unsustainable nature of prevailing food systems contributes to drive humanity out of a safe operating space. Despite recognising the need for food systems transformation, its direction diverges into different sustainability narratives and conflicting objectives resulting in disjoint policy agendas and problem definitions. While few studies compared and identified gaps and trade-offs in food systems frameworks, systematic reviews for conceptualising sustainable food systems remain scarce. Focusing on the European context, we investigated how academics framed sustainability narratives and their role in advancing Sustainable Development Goals targets, exploring lock-ins and leverage points for food system transformation. By conducting a PRISMA systematic scoping review and analysing 94 documents, we found disparities in current research with socio-economic and cross-cutting aspects comparatively overlooked to environmental and health ones. Linking sustainability objectives to 55 SDG targets we demonstrated their potential contributions to sustainable development by addressing systemic conceptualisations and acknowledging trade-offs. We identified lack of vision and coordination among stakeholders and institutional framework shortcomings as barriers to change. Analysis of leverage points suggested stakeholder engagement and system transparency as pivotal for transformation. Last, we draw concrete implications for science and policy agendas to shape a food systems transformation grounded in a shared sustainability paradigm forged through collaborative efforts among scientific, policy, and societal domains.
Abstract: The world is facing a critical challenge: ensuring adequate food production and supply to meet the needs of a rapidly growing global population. Food insecurity is on the rise, exacerbated by factors such as skyrocketing food prices, prolonged conflicts, climate disruption, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the FAO and its partners report some stabilization in the rate of undernourishment, hunger has increased in regions like Western Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa. Conflict and violence are particularly concerning, acting as a primary catalyst for severe food and nutrition insecurity. This study reviews recent trends in hunger, poverty, and food insecurity, utilizing established metrics like the Global Hunger Index (GHI), World Poverty Clock, and Global Food Security Index (GFSI). It specifically assesses the interplay of conflict using recent data from The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) on these issues in Africa. The study utilizes country-level data from Africa to assess correlations between conflict index scores and indicators of poverty, hunger, and food security. The results underscore the substantial impact of conflict on food security across the continent. The study presents country-level evidence of clear links between conflict index scores and indicators of poverty (r = 0.31), hunger (r = 0.47), and food security (r = -0.58) in Africa. The research sheds light on the dire food security situations in African hotspots and offers crucial considerations for addressing the intertwined challenges of conflict, hunger, poverty, and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. The study highlights the critical need to address the interconnected challenges of conflict, hunger, poverty, and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding the complex interplay of these factors and prioritizing conflict mitigation and resolution strategies as a crucial step towards achieving sustainable food security in the region. Further research and collaborative efforts are necessary to develop effective and long-term solutions to this pressing global challenge.
Abstract: African food systems are increasingly challenged by climate change, market instability, globalization, urbanization, and recent global crises. Such challenges, along with a mismatch between consumers’ preferences and production opportunities, are generating vulnerabilities in the local food systems and exacerbating food insecurity and environmental problems such as land degradation, water scarcity, and loss of biodiversity. In response to these challenges, this study investigates the concept of Food Hubs as a potential adaptive governance mechanism. By analyzing and comparing information collected from 12 Food Hubs across five African countries, the research aims to uncover how local actors design and implement Food Hubs alongside the governance structures and mechanisms they adopt. Our results show that the 12 Food Hubs hold the potential to respond effectively to contemporary food system challenges, promote resilience in food systems, and enable more sustainable use of environmental resources. In particular, we point to the role played by the context in which they operate, its impact on their organizational structures, public/private stakeholders’ involvement, and the array of formalization procedures, ranging from loosely binding agreements to the implementation of ad hoc institutions. This study contributes to an in-depth understanding of Food Hub development and governance, offering both empirical insights into their role in building sustainable and adaptive food systems in the African context and a theoretical contribution to the design, development, and implementation phase of Food Hubs (and similar organizations).
Abstract: Food insecurity remains a global challenge, with differing narratives shaping interventions in sub-Saharan Africa. The “crisis narrative,” favored by aid agencies, links insecurity to production issues, advocating agricultural innovations. Meanwhile, the “chronic poverty narrative,” reflected in African policy, ties insecurity to farmer poverty, emphasizing livelihood and economic solutions. Narrative subjectivity can lead to uncritical privileging of certain understandings and solutions, necessitating a critical exploration of contexts, causes, and solutions to food insecurity in the region. Our research addresses the need to understand and illustrate the complex problem of food insecurity in the region. This study employs a mixed-method approach, combining collaborative storytelling, model exploration, and scenario analysis, to investigate food security, agricultural innovation, and climate adaptation in Mali, West Africa. We developed a three-stage methodology represented as a story arc: beginning (exposition and problem statement), development (action), and completion (solution), providing a cohesive narrative framework. The arc unfolds with the story exposition introducing characters, plot, and problem statement. The story development includes participant-led model simulations and modeler-led scenario analysis. The story completion integrates insights from model simulations and scenario analysis to develop the collective understanding of the narratives surrounding food (in)security. [...]
Abstract: The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprising of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal is meant to bridge the South Asia and Southeast Asia region. The 2030 SDG Goal 2 agenda aims to ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’. The countries are putting the SDG 2 into practice by changing the priorities and capacity of the food system to ensure that nutritious food is available, affordable and accessible to everyone. What is needed may be a transformative action to beat the gaps in achieving the SDG. Some countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Thailand have made headway in reducing malnutrition. Investing in women empowerment and agency, water and sanitation, and healthy diets are key to achieving food security. A holistic approach to improve women’s health and nutrition that is scalable and replicable for other countries to learn is required. Investment in agriculture, being the most important economic sector for the BIMSTEC countries could pave way for availability, and accessibility of food and address malnutrition. This might also accelerate progress across SDGs on poverty, health, gender, inequality, and global climate change.
Abstract: Saudi Arabia confronts major challenges in ensuring food security amid sustainability constraints that are exacerbated by freshwater scarcity and a dependency on food imports. This study seeks to holistically assess the Kingdom's agricultural landscape in light of its Vision 2030 objectives as well as broader global sustainability initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Drawing from a review of agricultural reports, including the 2015 Agricultural Census and Agricultural Production Survey Publications spanning 2025–2021, the research relies on a two-pronged methodology focused on scenario and policy analyses. By envisioning possible future agricultural scenarios grounded in present-day data and contrasting Saudi Arabia's efforts with global examples, we provide comprehensive policy and extension service recommendations. A separate focus has been placed on technological modernization and the key role of agricultural extensions in actualizing policy directives. The study culminates by discussing areas of concern for Saudi Arabia's agricultural sector, complemented with constructive suggestions for deeper research pursuits. Our findings stress the significance of water-saving technology like hydroponics and greenhouse farming for efficient Saudi agriculture. Moreover, a strengthened, science-based extension system integrating policies with global sustainability goals is vital for climate-resilient food security. This research serves as a foundation for scholars and stakeholders aiming to navigate Saudi Arabia's path toward a sustainable and resilient food future.
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