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        <title>Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems | New and Recent Articles</description>
        <language>en-us</language>
        <generator>Frontiers Feed Generator,version:1</generator>
        <pubDate>2026-05-24T17:49:39.170+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
        <item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1786348</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1786348</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Solar energy transitions on agricultural land: soil health impacts from site construction and on-site sheep grazing]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Russell C. Hedberg</author><author>Sarah Thompson</author><author>Claire Jantz</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionUtility-scale solar energy infrastructure in the U.S. has rapidly expanded through the first decades of the 21st Century. In many regions, much of this development has taken place on agricultural land, in some cases billed as a means of preserving agricultural land for the future by removing the panels after retirement and returning the land to food production. While this may indeed be true, relatively little is known of the ecological effects of utility-scale solar development and land use, particularly those that pertain to future or concurrent agricultural uses.MethodsWe present the results of a two-year soil health assessment at three recent utility-scale solar facilities in Southern Pennsylvania. One of these sites uses sheep grazing to manage on-site vegetation, allowing us to also assess potential differences between agrivoltaics vs conventional site management during the early years of operation. We conducted a suite of soil health assessments (both in situ and in a lab) including labile carbon, respiration, wet aggregate stability, surface compaction, and earthworm abundance along transects at each site annually for two years. Identical assessments were also conducted along transects on adjacent land that remains in agriculture at each site for comparison.ResultsWe found that site construction has a clear, if modest, impact on soil health, particularly the labile carbon pool and water stabile soil aggregates (both decline), and earthworms, which are more abundant with solar facilities. Soil physical properties show signs of recovery in year 2, while assessed carbon fractions remain depressed throughout the study, with no significant differences found between agrivoltaics and conventional site management as assessed in our study.DiscussionOur results do not indicate that utility-scale solar is significantly detrimental to soil heath, yet it seems clear that site construction does degrade some aspects of soil health. Our results also expand our understanding of the ecological dimensions of solar grazing. While we did not find any increased degradation resulting from sheep grazing, neither did we detect any improvements to soil health as have been documented by other studies in temperate ecosystems. Our study indicates that site construction and management practices should continue to be refined to ensure future and concurrent agricultural land use is not only possible, but profitable.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1834704</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1834704</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Utilizing digital technology to achieve stable agricultural production: empirical analysis of the supply chain resilience of agricultural-related enterprises]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Yanglong He</author><author>Yong Li</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionIn the context of increasing global uncertainty, ensuring the stability and security of agricultural supply chains has become a core issue of national economic security. However, how digital technologies can enhance the resilience of agricultural supply chains is still an open research question. Therefore, this paper aims to systematically examine the impact of digital technology on the resilience of agricultural supply chain and its differentiated mechanism.MethodsThis paper uses the panel data of agriculture-related listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2011 to 2023, and combines the data of enterprise digital technology patents to empirically test the impact of digital technology on the resilience of agricultural supply chain. Two-stage least squares method and Heckman two-stage causal inference method are used to deal with endogeneity, and several robustness tests are carried out. At the same time, this paper explores its mechanism through causal mediation analysis, and carries out heterogeneity analysis based on urban administrative level and enterprise ownership nature.ResultsThe study finds that digital technology has significantly improved the risk resistance and resilience of the supply chain of listed agricultural companies. This conclusion is still valid after the two-stage least square method, Heckman two-step method and several robustness tests. The causal mediation analysis shows that digital technology improves supply chain resilience through two channels: promoting enterprise cooperation and enhancing information transparency. Heterogeneity analysis shows that at the level of urban administrative level, digital technology significantly improves the resilience of high-grade urban agricultural enterprises, but only enhances their risk resistance to ordinary prefecture-level urban agricultural enterprises. In terms of enterprise ownership nature, digital technology significantly improves the risk resistance and resilience of private agricultural enterprises, but unexpectedly weakens the risk resistance of state-owned enterprises, but has no significant impact on their resilience.DiscussionThis study not only deepens the understanding of the determinants of supply chain resilience in the era of digital economy, but also provides powerful empirical evidence and policy implications for promoting agricultural modernization and building a safe and controllable agricultural supply chain system.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1834082</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1834082</link>
        <title><![CDATA[From institutional distance to development outcomes: responsible agricultural investment and legitimacy in Africa]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Community Case Study</category>
        <author>Jingyi Yang</author><author>Xiuwu Zhang</author><author>Xiaoyang Guo</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Overseas agricultural investment plays a crucial role in ensuring food security and accelerating the construction of agricultural powerhouses. Agricultural multinational enterprises (AMNEs) from emerging markets face significant challenges due to institutional distance in host countries, especially in African countries. A key concern in both theory and practice is how to address legitimacy pressures and achieve synergy between commercial and social value through responsible investment. Drawing on institutional theory and corporate social responsibility theory, this paper develops an analytical framework of “institutional distance–embedded responsibility–legitimacy acquisition.” Using the China National Agricultural Development Group (CADG) as the case study—specifically its sisal planting and processing project in Tanzania and its Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center project in Benin—the study examines the mechanisms and effects of responsible investment. The results show that the institutional distance faced by agricultural multinational enterprises is multidimensional and contextually embedded, particularly regarding land tenure systems and smallholder cognitive frames. Through a three-tier progressive strategy of “production embeddedness–community embeddedness–development embeddedness,” enterprises respond to regulatory, normative, and cognitive institutional pressures respectively, thereby obtaining legitimacy for their operations in the host country. Beyond legitimacy acquisition, the responsible investment model generates measurable development outcomes, including enhanced food availability, improved household income and food access, livelihood diversification through intercropping, and progressive gender inclusion. However, the translation of production gains into improved nutrition and dietary diversity is not automatic, and distributional challenges—including potential elite capture—warrant critical attention. The sustainability of responsible investment is constrained by the degree of coupling between corporate resource capabilities and the host country’s institutional environment, with land governance and financial viability posing persistent challenges. This study deepens the understanding of responsible investment in the internationalization of agricultural enterprises and provides theoretical insights and practical implications for agricultural foreign investment from emerging market countries.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1760101</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1760101</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Climate-smart agriculture adoption as a pathway to food security among smallholder farmers: a review paper]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Valentine Ngalame Alobwede</author><author>Daniel Muasya Nzengya</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionClimate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is crucial for addressing food insecurity, climate change, and rural poverty in developing countries. It is predominantly adopted by smallholder farmers who rely on rain-fed agriculture and are highly vulnerable to climate variability. This systematic review aims to identify empirical gaps in smallholder farmers' adoption of CSA practices and examine their implications for achieving food security.MethodsGuided by PRISMA standards, the review included empirical, peer-reviewed studies that clearly articulated dependent variables, research designs, theoretical frameworks, and inferential statistical methods. A total of 58 studies published between 2016 and 2025 were analyzed. These studies covered 18 countries and 5 multi-country contexts across Sub-Saharan Africa (78%, n = 45) and South Asia (22%, n = 13).ResultsThe findings indicate that food security (43%, n = 25) was the most frequently examined outcome, followed by CSA adoption (24%, n = 14), household income (19%, n = 11), and crop production (14%, n = 8). The CSA Framework was the most commonly applied theoretical approach (n = 8), followed by Diffusion of Innovation Theory (n = 4), although many studies lacked explicit theoretical grounding. Methodologically, cross-sectional surveys and econometric models dominated, offering strong quantitative evidence but limiting insights into temporal, systemic, and contextual dynamics. The limited integration of qualitative approaches constrained understanding of the complex and location-specific nature of CSA adoption and its impacts. Geographically, the evidence was unevenly distributed, with Ethiopia (n = 11), India (n = 8), and Ghana and Nigeria (n = 5 each) most represented, while other countries were underrepresented. Smallholder farmers were the primary study population (n = 32), and access to extension services emerged as the most frequently examined independent variable (n = 13).DiscussionThe review highlights significant theoretical, methodological, and geographical gaps in CSA research. To address these gaps, governments and development partners should co-design context-specific CSA programs with smallholder farmers. Strengthening extension services through participatory training that integrates indigenous and scientific knowledge is essential.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1839929</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1839929</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Cognitive and structural social capital in farmers’ adoption of plant protection drone technology: evidence from Henan Province, China]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Liu Xinyi</author><author>Zhang Yutian</author><author>Zhao Kai</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionExploring the influence of social capital on farmers’ adoption of plant protection drone technology is crucial for guiding mechanized plant protection practices and achieving high-quality agricultural development.MethodsBased on survey data from farmers in Henan Province in 2024, this study employs an ordered probit model to empirically investigate the impact of social capital on farmers’ adoption of plant protection drone technology and its underlying mechanisms.Results and discussionBaseline regression results indicate that social capital positively influences farmers’ adoption of plant protection drone technology, with cognitive social capital playing a more significant role than structural social capital. Mechanism analysis reveals that social capital affects adoption behavior by improving farmers’ access to credit and non-farm employment opportunities. Heterogeneity analysis shows that social capital’s influence is stronger among households with joint male–female decision-making, smallholder farmers, and those engaged in single-grain cropping, compared to male-dominated decision-making households, large-scale farmers, and those practicing diversified cropping. The study concludes with recommendations to enhance the promotion of plant protection drone technology and to recognize the role of social capital in shaping farmers’ technology adoption decisions.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1814448</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1814448</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Electrochemical biosensors for food spoilage, quality monitoring, and food safety: recent advances, sensor performance, and smart packaging integration]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Sunil Pipliya</author><author>Jaspreet Kaur</author><author>Abhinandan Pal</author><author>Dibakar Saha</author><author>Jyotsana Patel</author><author>Subhradeep Samadder</author><author>Rakesh Kumar Gupta</author><author>Kanishka Bhunia</author><author>Prem Prakash Srivastav</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Ensuring food safety and preventing spoilage are major challenges in today’s globalized food supply chain. Conventional detection methods, such as microbial culture, dye reduction tests, and sensory evaluation, are often slow, labour-intensive, and unsuitable for rapid on-site applications. This highlights the urgent need for real-time, accurate, and user-friendly technologies to monitor food quality and protect consumer health. Electrochemical biosensors have emerged as next-generation tools for detecting food spoilage and monitoring food safety. These devices combine biological recognition elements with electrochemical transducers to convert biochemical interactions into measurable electrical signals. This review summarizes recent advances (2023–2025) in electrochemical biosensing systems tailored for food applications. Various sensor types, detection mechanisms, and their performance in identifying spoilage indicators, pathogens, toxins, and chemical contaminants across different food matrices are systematically discussed. Specific spoilage and safety-related analytes, including L-lactic acid in milk and wine, histamine and putrescine in fish, volatile organic compounds such as hexanal and 1-octen-3-ol, deoxynivalenol in cereal products, pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus, pesticide residues, antibiotic residues, and heavy metals, are discussed across meat, seafood, dairy, fruit, vegetable, grain, and beverage matrices. Reported sensor performances demonstrate high sensitivity, with examples including L-lactic acid detection at 1 μM, histamine detection around 0.97 mg/L, VOC detection at 0.1 μM, and deoxynivalenol detection down to 0.24 mg/L. Innovations such as nanomaterial-modified electrodes, flexible and microfluidic platforms, and integration into intelligent packaging are highlighted as key contributors to enhanced sensitivity, portability, and real-time data analytics. Electrochemical biosensors show strong potential to reduce food waste by enabling early spoilage detection and timely intervention. While challenges in cost, long-term stability, regulatory validation, and industrial standardization remain, continued technological development and interdisciplinary collaboration will drive their adoption in sustainable and digitalized Food Safety 4.0 systems.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1801506</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1801506</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Media sentiment in anaerobic digestion coverage: a quantitative content analysis]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Forrest Stagner</author><author>Chris Morris</author><author>Michael Helbing</author><author>J. Arbuckle</author><author>Frank Montabon</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Background/IntroductionAnaerobic digestion has been posited as a win-win solution for managing waste on livestock farms, promising reduced odors and greenhouse gas emissions, increased renewable energy production, and beneficial farm co-products. On-farm anaerobic digestion has its detractors, however, who argue that digesters primarily benefit energy companies and large, concentrated animal feeding operations.MethodsTo better understand public sentiment regarding on-farm anaerobic digestion, we conducted a quantitative content analysis of sentiments expressed in newspaper, television, and radio coverage. We searched the LexisNexis database for transcripts related to on-farm anaerobic digestion, identifying 475 transcripts meeting inclusion criteria over the period 1979–2023.ResultsWe found that (1) media coverage has become more negative over time, (2) increased presence of digesters is negatively associated with media sentiment, and (3) media sentiment is weakly and positively associated with increased digester presence two years later.DiscussionThese findings suggest a potentially contentious relationship between digester adoption and public sentiment, with implications for how the industry and policymakers communicate about on-farm anaerobic digestion.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1830027</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1830027</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Emergence pathways of organic livestock systems in arid environments: a longitudinal systems analysis of Saudi Arabia]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Mohammed S. A. Abdalla</author><author>Bashir Salim</author><author>Abdullah Sheikh</author><author>Abdullah D. Alanazi</author><author>Omer Elmahi Mohamed Osman</author><author>Khalid G. Biro Turk</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionOrganic livestock systems are well documented in temperate regions, yet their emergence in arid agro-ecosystems remains poorly understood. Environmental constraints such as water scarcity, heat stress, and limited forage availability may influence species adoption pathways and production dynamics, but longitudinal empirical evidence from dryland regions is limited.MethodsThis study uses official organic certification records from Saudi Arabia covering the period 2019-2023. The dataset includes all certified and in-conversion livestock projects and associated production outputs acrosscattle, sheep and goats, camels, poultry, beehives, and organic fodder systems. A descriptive system-based analytical approach was applied, combing trend analysis, structural indices, exploratory assessment of associations among variables.ResultsOrganic livestock development showed differentiated species trajectories. Poultry and apiculture expanded rapidly and accounted for most numerical growth, whereas ruminant systems showed more gradual and variable changes. Increases in fodder area coincided with subsequent livestock expansion, while growth in animal numbers was not consistently accompanied by increases in productivity. Development was spatially concentrated in a limited number of regions, and trend-based projections indicates continued expansion of the beekeeping sector under current conditions.DiscussionThe findings suggest that organic livestock systmes in arid environments follow a pathway distinct from temperate systems. Emergence appears to be associated with species differentiation, resource constraints, and spatial clustering, with expansion linked to fodder availbility and institutional context. These results provide empirical insights for designing context-adapted organic livestock strategies in arid and semi-arid agro-ecosystems.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1830476</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1830476</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Towards sustainable agricultural systems: a TOE-based configurational analysis of sports-tourism-agriculture integration]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Qianlan Chen</author><author>Guiping Zhu</author><author>Xiaowei Yang</author><author>Lin Li</author><author>Yuelin Ren</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The integration of sports, tourism, and agriculture is a vital pathway for diversified, sustainable rural economic development and rural revitalization. To explore the multi-condition synergistic mechanisms behind the coordinated development efficiency of the three sectors within sustainable agricultural systems, this study adopts the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. Combining necessary condition analysis (NCA) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we use 2019–2023 conditional panel data and 2020–2024 outcome data across 20 Chinese provinces (100 province-year observations) with a one-year lag for empirical analysis. The results show that digital technology innovation (d = 0.305, p = 0.005) and resource endowments (d = 0.329, p = 0.040) act as significant necessary-but-insufficient bottleneck constraints, requiring minimum thresholds to achieve high coordination efficiency. Specifically, reaching 100% efficiency demands at least 81.8% for digital innovation and 77.2% for resource endowments. No single condition alone is sufficient to generate the outcome, as all necessity test consistency values are below 0.9. This study further identifies three equivalent pathways driving sustainable integration, with overall solution consistency of 0.813 and coverage of 0.570: (a) the resource endowment–driven path, which offsets weak policy and market conditions via superior natural and cultural resources (unique coverage = 0.101); (b) the technology–market synergy path, where digital innovation paired with market demand substitutes for a solid regional economic foundation (unique coverage = 0.021); and (c) the digital innovation–resource compensation path, where technological empowerment makes up for human capital scarcity (unique coverage = 0.058). Further analysis reveals distinct regional adaptability among these pathways: China’s eastern regions primarily rely on dual drivers of technology and market demand (62.5% follow the technology–market synergy path), while central and western regions of China depend more on resource endowments and emerging digital capabilities, with 80% of central provinces and 100% of western provinces following the resource endowment–driven path (Fisher’s exact p < 0.001, Cramér’s V = 0.662). These findings validate the TOE framework’s applicability in cross-industry integration and offer differentiated policy insights to advance sustainable agricultural systems and rural economic resilience across China’s regions.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1768902</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1768902</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Leveraging digital tools for sustainable precision in Agriculture 3.0–5.0: a scoping review of trends, benefits, and challenges]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Rendani Humphrey Khwidzhilli</author><author>Enioluwa Jonathan Ijatuyi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionAgriculture is experiencing a major transformation driven by rapid advancements in digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things. This study reviews the evolution of digital agriculture from Agriculture 3.0 to Agriculture 5.0, focusing on technological developments, sustainability outcomes, and socio-economic implications. The review also examines the opportunities and challenges associated with integrating advanced digital technologies into modern agricultural systems.MethodsThe study employed a scoping review approach using interdisciplinary literature from peer-reviewed journal articles, policy reports, and scholarly publications related to digital agriculture, precision farming, AI applications, and sustainable agricultural systems. Relevant studies were analyzed to identify key technological trends, sustainability impacts, adoption barriers, and policy implications associated with Agriculture 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 frameworks.ResultsThe findings indicate that Agriculture 3.0 introduced precision agriculture technologies such as GPS-guided systems, geographic information systems, and variable-rate technologies aimed at optimizing agricultural inputs and improving efficiency. Agriculture 4.0 advanced digital transformation through interconnected systems involving IoT devices, robotics, drones, cloud computing, and real-time data analytics. Agriculture 5.0 represents a human-centric paradigm integrating AI-driven decision-support systems, digital twins, automation, and ethical governance frameworks to support regenerative, climate-smart, and sustainable agriculture. However, major barriers to adoption remain, including high implementation costs, digital inequality, inadequate infrastructure, data governance concerns, and limited technical capacity, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).DiscussionThe study concludes that achieving sustainable digital agriculture requires more than technological innovation alone. Effective implementation depends on coordinated policy frameworks, inclusive innovation strategies, investments in digital infrastructure, and capacity-building programmes. Addressing ethical concerns related to data governance, digital inequality, and technological accessibility is essential for ensuring that digital agriculture contributes to equitable and sustainable agricultural development.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1827152</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1827152</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Quantum ensemble regression using entanglement-aware variational circuits for food crop yield prediction]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Abdel-Haleem Abdel-Aty</author><author>Ali Jaber Almalki</author><author>Sara A. Ghorashi</author><author>Betty Wan Niu Voon</author><author>Mohamed Hafez</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Crop yield forecasting is critical for agricultural planning, resource distribution, and global food security. Nevertheless, the available literature is largely based on classical machine learning models or isolated simulation methods, which are not always effective at modeling the intricate non-linear processes between climatic variability, soil characteristics, and environmental conditions. To overcome these shortcomings, this study presents a superior predictive model, Entanglement-Aware Variational Quantum Ensemble Regression with Uncertainty-Aware Ensemble Weighting (EA-UAQER). The given approach will combine reference to quantum-inspired ensemble learning and uncertainty-sensitive weighting schemes to improve predictive generalization, stability, and resilience to heterogeneous data regimes. An experimental assessment was conducted using a publicly available Kaggle crop yield dataset with a variety of soil and meteorological characteristics. Computational libraries were developed in Python to train, validate, and assess model performance. The EA-UAQER model produced better results with an Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) of 0.124, Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.089, R2 of 0.985, and finally Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 1.84% as compared to other traditional benchmark models such as the Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Network. These findings indicate that the framework can model complex non-linear relationships with lower prediction variance and uncertainty. Through the integration of quantum-inspired optimization with ensemble intelligence, the project will provide a scalable, robust solution for next-generation intelligent agricultural forecasting systems to enable data-driven decision-making and sustainable crop management and food production strategies.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1790760</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1790760</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Agricultural productivity is linked to children’s nutritional status: evidence from small-scale cocoa production systems in Côte d’Ivoire]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Sibylle Lustenberger</author><author>Bassirou Bonfoh</author><author>Dominik Schwarzkopf</author><author>Siaka Koné</author><author>Jürg Utzinger</author><author>Günther Fink</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Child undernutrition remains an important public health problem in low- and middle-income countries. Rates of undernutrition are often disproportionally high in rural populations that primarily rely on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. We aimed to assess the relationship between agricultural income and child nutritional status in a rural setting of Côte d’Ivoire. In 2022, we collected anthropometric data from 2,472 cocoa-farming households living in the Taabo Health and Demographic Surveillance System in the south-central part of Côte d’Ivoire. Nine hundred and fifty-three households had 1,157 children aged 2–5 years and were included in the analysis. We divided households into agricultural productivity quintiles and compared child nutritional outcomes across these groups using regression analysis. Agricultural productivity and income varied widely in the study population. Households in the top quintile earned, on average, USD 6,041 per year, as compared to less than half in the bottom quintile (USD 2,755). We observed substantial child growth faltering across the entire income range. Compared to children in the lowest income quintile, their peers in the highest quintile had 0.27 standard deviation (SD) higher height-for-age z-scores [95% confidence interval (CI): (0.01, 0.54)] and 57% lower odds of stunting [OR = 0.42, (0.23, 0.80)]. Similarly, weight-for-age z-scores were 0.21 SD higher [(0.00, 0.42)], and the odds of being underweight were 62% lower [OR = 0.38, (0.14, 0.98)]. Underweight gradually decreased in the 4 months after the main cocoa harvests income. Our findings suggest that increasing small-scale cocoa farming productivity is not only contributing to households’ financial well-being and nutritional diversity, but also to reducing child undernutrition.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1822098</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1822098</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Development and nutritional analysis of functional sweet potato beverage through response surface optimization]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Meng Cao</author><author>Yuxuan Hu</author><author>Fei Song</author><author>Feifei Cao</author><author>Ruoxi Bao</author><author>Shuolin Li</author><author>Weitao Niu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This paper has designed a working sweet potato drink with hawthorn added to it and has optimized the formula of the hawthorn added to the drink through response surface methodology. The base material was fresh sweet potato and it was processed through the stages of washing, peeling, thermal softening, pulping, blending and lab bottling. The effects of sweet potato, dried hawthorn, sucrose, citric acid and xanthan gum on product performance were initially screened in single-factor experiments. This was followed by a four-factor Box–Behnken design where DPPH radical scavenging rate was used as the response variable. The optimal formula was 25.19% sweet potato, 2.06% dried hawthorn, 7.14% sucrose, 0.79% citric acid, and 0.80% xanthan gum. In these conditions, the beverage had a DPPH inhibition rate of 81.37, a content of ascorbic acid of 38.16 mg/100 mL, a reducing sugar content of 7.85 and a starch content of 9.62. Descriptive quality screening in the laboratory was a bright golden-yellow in color, balanced sweet–sour in flavor, balanced sweet potato-hawthorn aroma and acceptable physical stability with a total quality score of 85.3 ± 4.5. The findings suggest that optimization of response surface can be applied to develop nutritionally relevant sweet potato beverage with positive antioxidant properties and product quality. Stability of storage and pilot-scale processing should be confirmed in the future work.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1816110</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1816110</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition: reclaiming Intertribal food sovereignty in the Great Lakes Region]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Community Case Study</category>
        <author>Gary Besaw</author><author>Karaline Black</author><author>Daniel Cornelius</author><author>Stephanie Dodge</author><author>Carolee Dodge Francis</author><author>Jennifer Falck</author><author>Joseph Jean</author><author>Erin Barnes Lowe</author><author>Amy Meinen</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This case study details the historical context, formation, growth, and impact of the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition (GLIFC), a Tribally-led coalition dedicated to strengthening Intertribal foodways and trade routes across the Great Lakes Region. GLIFC's governance, which is founded on trust and collaboration between Tribal nations and partners and strong cross-sectoral leadership, has supported the restoration of a complex Intertribal food system that had not existed in the region for a 100 years. GLIFC offers several key takeaways for others engaged in similar efforts. These include the importance of trust-building through incrementally scaling intertribal collaboration, implementing a collaborative and Tribally-led governance model, and establishing cross-sectoral partnerships that support the use of existing resources and diverse funding sources and policy pathways. GLIFC's collaborative, values-centric, and holistic approach to food systems planning and governance demonstrates the economic, social, and cultural benefits of building food systems that center responsibility to community and to the earth and reunite traditional foodways with land-based identity. GLIFC's success demonstrates that food sovereignty is a viable governance model that can build equity and prosperity and contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG 3), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), and Life on Land (SDG 15).]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1846994</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1846994</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Market-segmented target product profiles for realigning sorghum breeding, seed systems, and value chains in Eastern Sudan]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Aisha Abdalhady Ahmed Abdalla</author><author>Shamaa Abdo</author><author>Manhal Gobara Hamid</author><author>Fadulelmola Mohammed</author><author>Mahbubjon Rahmatov</author><author>Mohammed Elsafy</author><author>Tilal Abdelhalim</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionSudan is a global center of sorghum origin and diversification, hosting extensive genetic diversity and strong culinary traditions. However, protracted conflict, climatic instability, and institutional fragmentation have weakened the coordination among breeding programs, seed systems, and differentiated market demand for grain quality and processing performance. Despite the abundance of genetic resources, systemic bottlenecks limit varietal uptake and sector performance. This study developed and tested a market-segmented Target Product Profile (TPP) co-design framework to realign sorghum breeding with seed system capacity and value-chain demand in Eastern Sudan.MethodsA structured multi-stakeholder workshop (n = 49) representing breeding, seed enterprises, traders, processors, finance, policymakers, and producers conducted quantitative trait prioritization using a standardized Likert scale (1–5). Complementary focus group discussions with women sorghum processors (2 groups × 30 participants) identified end-use functionality and processing constraints shaping varietal demand. Trait rankings were synthesized into market segments and translated into segment-specific TPPs and cultivar-positioning profiles.Results and discussionFive actor segments were identified: rain-fed smallholders, urban processors, seed enterprises, industrial processors, and humanitarian programs. Drought tolerance, Striga resistance, and yield stability received the highest mean priority scores (4.8), indicating climate resilience as a cross-cutting, baseline requirement. Functional differentiation emerged across segments: pasting quality dominated household staple markets, fermentation strength defined beverage markets, and light-grain color structured commercial trade. Seed availability (4.5) and storage-related traits (4.3) reflect systemic delivery constraints. Cultivar differentiation revealed distinct culinary, fermentation, commercial, and nutrition-sensitive niches aligned with humanitarian procurement and health-sensitive objectives.Conclusions and policy implicationsThe underperformance of the sorghum system in Sudan appears to arise less from genetic limitations than from weak alignment among breeding objectives, seed delivery mechanisms, and segmented market signals. A market-segmented, gender-inclusive TPP framework provides an operational pathway for integrating resilience, functionality, and institutional coordination into breeding pipelines. This approach offers transferable insights for designing demand-led crop improvement strategies in conflict-affected and climate-stressed regions.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1836671</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1836671</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Sustainable food packaging from meat and seafood waste: bioactive compounds, extraction, and innovation]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Review</category>
        <author>Pratikshya Oli Chhetri</author><author>Vinay Balodi</author><author>Abhishek Dutt Tripathi</author><author>Alisha Nandan</author><author>Muskan Kumari Gupta</author><author>Subodh Kamalakar Juikar</author><author>Aparna Agarwal</author><author>Veena Paul</author>
        <description><![CDATA[BackgroundThe growing demand for sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics has intensified research into food packaging materials derived from meat and seafood processing byproducts. These wastes are rich in biopolymers and bioactive compounds, such as proteins (gelatins, collagen, meat protein) and polysaccharides, which can be valorized into biodegradable and functional packaging systems.Scope and approachThis review highlights recent advances in the extraction and functionalization of these biomolecules, emphasizing the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and film-forming properties that make them suitable for active and intelligent packaging applications. Particular attention is given to innovative strategies for film development, including blending with polysaccharides (pullulan, starch, cellulose) and complementary proteins (soy, whey, zein), as well as the incorporation of bioactives to enhance packaging performance. Emerging technologies, such as electrospinning and multilayer laminate architectures, are also discussed in the context of improving mechanical, barrier, and controlled-release functionalities.Key findings and conclusionMeat and seafood-derived biopolymers demonstrate excellent potential as sustainable packaging materials, offering desirable mechanical strength, barrier properties, and bioactivity. Blending strategies and active agent incorporation significantly enhance film functionality, while intelligent packaging applications add value by enabling real-time food quality monitoring. However, challenges remain regarding large-scale production, stability of incorporated actives, regulatory acceptance, and end-of-life biodegradability. Overall, the valorization of meat and seafood wastes into bio-based packaging represents a promising route toward a circular bioeconomy, contributing to both environmental sustainability and food quality assurance.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1829332</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1829332</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Weathering the storm: climate risk perception and digital innovation in firms with exposure to the grain sector]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Yueting Liao</author><author>Jing He</author><author>Xu Zhang</author><author>Jian Zhao</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionGlobal climate change has increased the frequency of extreme weather events, making climate risk a salient external shock to firms’ sustainable operations. Firms with exposure to the grain sector, as key actors in the food security system, rely heavily on natural conditions and therefore tend to be more sensitive to climate variability.MethodsUsing panel data on A-share listed firms in China with exposure to the grain sector from 2016 to 2024, this paper employs a fixed-effects model to examine the effect of climate risk perception on digital innovation in firms with exposure to the grain sector and its underlying channels.ResultsClimate risk perception has a positive and statistically significant effect on digital innovation among these firms, and the estimates are robust to a range of alternative specifications. Mechanism tests suggest that the effect operates primarily through increased R&D investment and improvements in human capital. Moderation analysis further shows that managerial myopia attenuates, whereas organizational responsiveness strengthens, the positive relationship between climate risk perception and digital innovation in firms with exposure to the grain sector.DiscussionThese findings offer theoretical and empirical insights for emerging market economies aiming to manage climate risk and enhance food security.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1798389</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1798389</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Model of multiperiod allocation and prioritization of crops for production units of family agriculture via the CRITIC-TOPSIS mixed method]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Dayhanna Stephania Vargas Mesa</author><author>Juan José Bravo Bastidas</author><author>Juan Carlos Osorio Gómez</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Family agriculture faces multiple challenges that affect the performance of its production chains, including climate change, pests, diseases, and production costs, highlighting the need for decision-support tools based on multiple criteria. This study evaluates the factors influencing crop selection in family farming systems in Tuta, Boyacá, Colombia, a rural area where agriculture and livestock are the main economic activities. The intercriteria correlation (CRITIC) method was used to determine the relative importance of decision criteria, and the TOPSIS method was applied to prioritize crop alternatives under variable climatic conditions affecting water availability, soil requirements, yield, and crop quality. The results indicate that potato and bulb onion are the most suitable crops, consistent with current local production patterns, while fruit crops such as cape gooseberry, strawberry, and blueberry show strong potential for diversification and export. Sensitivity analysis, based on variations of up to ±30% in criteria weights, revealed low variability in rankings, confirming the robustness and stability of the model. These findings demonstrate that the proposed CRITIC–TOPSIS approach is an effective and reliable tool for supporting agricultural decision-making and promoting more resilient and sustainable planning in family farming systems.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1743135</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1743135</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Do elderly farmers have different expectations regarding land rent compared to other farmers? An analysis of farmers’ expected land rents in Heilongjiang Province, China]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Li Qing</author><author>Guan Pengfei</author><author>Sun Kangjie</author><author>Yang Zhiwu</author>
        <description><![CDATA[A core issue in agricultural land transfers is land pricing. This paper primarily analyzes differences in expected land lease price among various types of farmers. The results show that technical efficiency, soil fertility, the number of household agricultural laborers, ownership of fixed assets, and regional variables significantly influence farmers’ expected land lease price. Furthermore, whether regarding expected land lease-in price or expected land lease-out price, elderly farmers’ expected land lease price levels are significantly lower than those of other farmers. Whether the cross-coefficient between elderly farmers and technical efficiency is significant and positive indicates that older farmers with higher technical efficiency are more willing to increase their expected rent to gain a competitive advantage in agricultural production. Based on these findings, although elderly farmers set lower expected land lease price than other farmers, they are willing to transfer land at higher prices as their efficiency improves. Under competitive market conditions, cultivated land transfers tend to flow toward younger farmers offering higher bids and elderly farmers with superior technical skills. Future research should further explore the impacts stemming from differences in farm scale, operational methods, and management models between elderly and younger farmers.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1816287</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1816287</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Mitigated nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions in the composting of tail vegetables by co-application of biochar and complex microbial agents: performance and microbial mechanisms]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Shuangshuang Li</author><author>Xiangwei You</author><author>Xiao Wang</author><author>Yiqiang Li</author><author>Xueyang Yu</author><author>Yan Li</author><author>Yanmin Yue</author><author>Xingsheng Yin</author><author>Jiantao Liu</author><author>Yang Zhang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionAerobic composting is a mainstream strategy for harmless disposal and resource recycling of massive tail vegetables generated in the global vegetable industry. However, substantial emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and ammonia (NH3), the dominant nitrogenous gaseous pollutants during composting, cause severe nitrogen loss, compromised compost fertilizer quality, and aggravated atmospheric pollution. To date, most nitrogen mitigation measures in composting are applied as single strategies, and the synergistic effect and underlying microbial mechanism of combined biochar and functional complex microbial agents on controlling N2O and NH3 emissions remain largely unclear.MethodsIn this study, four treatments were established to explore the effects of different amendments on nitrogen dynamics during tail vegetable composting: additive-free control (CK), single biochar amendment (BC), single inoculation with a homemade ammonia-oxidizing and cellulose-degrading complex microbial agent (M), and co-application of biochar and the microbial agent (BCM).ResultsThe results showed that BCM exerted a prominent synergistic effect, achieving the maximum reduction in cumulative NH3 (78.76%) and N2O (28.66%) emissions, with the highest inorganic nitrogen retention in the final compost across all treatments. Microbial analysis revealed that BCM significantly enriched key nitrifying Ureibacillus and nitrogen-fixing Paenibacillus, enhanced the complexity and stability of the microbial co-occurrence network, and identified keystone species with dual lignocellulose degradation and nitrogen transformation functions. Redundancy analysis confirmed pH as the key driver shaping nitrogen-transforming bacterial communities.DiscussionThis study provides a promising technical approach to mitigate full-process compost nitrogen loss and improve product quality, with important implications for sustainable vegetable waste management.]]></description>
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