Understanding the associations between climate variability and crop productivity is necessary to improve climate resilience and food security in rainfed agricultural systems. Soybean is one of the most important sources of edible oil and plant-based proteins in India today, where it now plays an important role in food security for the most populated country in the world, and where it is cultivated under rainfed conditions. This study investigates the climatic factors associated with soybean yield variability across the major soybean-producing states of India: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. District-level soybean yield data were analysed using a multiple-step analytical framework, combining correlation analysis, stepwise regression, panel fixed-effects regression, elasticity estimation, and attribution analysis. A combination of monthly and seasonal weather variables, extreme weather indices, and large scale ocean-atmospheric indices were used to identify the main climatic variables associated with soybean yield variability. Correlation analysis enabled detecting significant associations of heat stress, rainfall distribution, and ENSO variability with soybean yield. District-level regression models across the 67 districts considered in the study accounted for a substantial fraction of yield variability, however in variable proportions (R2 = 0.20 to 0.78), indicating spatially heterogeneous climate-yield relationships. The analysis further suggested that soybean yield is strongly associated with (1) dry spells, rainfall variability, and heat stress in the early development stage; (2) rainfall frequency, rainfall intensity, and heat waves in the vegetative to flowering stages; and (3) temperature extremes in the reproductive stage. Attribution analysis indicated that climatic variability offsets a fraction of the yield gains that would otherwise be generated by technological improvements, although improved varieties and crop management practices contributed positively to soybean productivity. These findings highlight the importance of region- and crop stage-specific climate risk assessment and management to improve the resilience of soybean production under increasing climate variability, thereby supporting food security through enhanced production, improved protein availability, and greater production stability. The analytical framework used here has broader value for application to different crops and regions of the world.
Current dietary patterns in China are placing increasing pressure on both human health and water resources. This study examined the relationship between dietary transitions and diet-related water demand over the period 1981 to 2023 using food consumption data, Water Footprint (WF) method and Structural Decomposition Approach (SDA) for both urban and rural populations. A multi-objective optimisation model was developed to identify alternative dietary patterns with higher nutritional quality that minimise dietary water requirements, without raising dietary costs. Results showed that per capita water demand from food consumption in urban areas rose from 480.6 m3 in 1981 to 682.8 m3 in 2023 (a 42.1
Pumpkin holds significant potential to improve food security, nutrition, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa, yet is one of many neglected and underutilized crop species which has received limited attention from researchers and policymakers. This scoping review synthesizes findings from 44 peer-reviewed and grey literature sources across multiple disciplines to appraise the state of research on pumpkin within sub-Saharan African food systems. It explores value chain dynamics, dimensions of the food environment, consumer behaviour, and policy factors, alongside outcomes for nutrition, health, economic development, environmental sustainability, and social equity. The evidence base is geographically concentrated – with 41 studies (93
Reliable and affordable energy supports agricultural production directly and through energy-dependent inputs and services, while energy shocks can also affect farm profitability and the resilience of agricultural systems. Recent global energy crises highlighted the important role of energy in agricultural sustainability and food security. However, energy is not comprehensively included into current measurement frameworks of agricultural sustainability. This article revisits the role of energy in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 2.4.1 (‘proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture’), which is a globally agreed indicator for monitoring agricultural sustainability. It discusses the current representation of energy in SDG Indicator 2.4.1 in light of energy’s increasingly recognised role in agricultural sustainability and food security, and attributes this to three main practical considerations during indicator development. This article suggests that future reviews and refinements of SDG Indicator 2.4.1 provide opportunities to further strengthen the representation of energy through incremental and evidence-based refinement.
While minimum wage policies are widely implemented to improve workers’ welfare, their effects on household food security remain underexplored. This study examines the role of district-level minimum wages in shaping household food security in Indonesia, focusing on Java Island. We employ unconditional quantile regression with recentered influence functions to capture distributional effects across different types of households. To address omitted variable bias of minimum wages, we apply a modified two-way fixed effects model incorporating district fixed effects and district-pair-year fixed effects to account for structural differences and shared regional economic shocks. Using annual household data from the Susenas, we assess two dimensions of food security: access to food, proxied by per capita food expenditure, and food utilisation, measured by per capita daily consumption of calories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The estimation results indicate that increases in minimum wages have not been effective in improving households’ access to food or food utilisation. The observed increase in food expenditure primarily reflects rising prices of calories and macronutrients rather than an improvement in dietary quality. The modest gains in fat intake are largely driven by a reduction in protein consumption. The situation for poor households is even severe because, although some adjust their nutrient allocation, protein consumption declines in other households. However, this is likely a matter of choice. Poor households have the flexibility to reduce their non-food expenditures, but they choose not to. These findings imply that raising and refining minimum wage policies alone is insufficient to strengthen food security. Additional interventions integrated with minimum wage policies, such as the provision of food vouchers, are highly recommended.
