tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/farmers-5802/articlesFarmers – The Conversation2024-03-19T14:03:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259922024-03-19T14:03:12Z2024-03-19T14:03:12ZCocoa beans are in short supply: what this means for farmers, businesses and chocolate lovers<p><em>A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/african-cocoa-plants-run-out-beans-global-chocolate-crisis-deepens-2024-03-13/">shortage</a> of cocoa beans has led to a near shutdown of processing plants in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the two countries responsible for <a href="https://theconversation.com/cocoa-prices-are-surging-west-african-countries-should-seize-the-moment-to-negotiate-a-better-deal-for-farmers-214305">60% of global production</a>. With chocolate makers around the world reliant on west Africa for cocoa, there is significant concern about the impact on the prices of chocolate and the livelihood of farmers. Cocoa researcher Michael Odijie explains the reasons for the shortage.</em></p>
<h2>Why has cocoa production declined sharply in west Africa?</h2>
<p>Three factors are at play: environmental, economic cycle related and human. </p>
<p>One environmental factor is the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has caused drier weather in west Africa. It has contributed to problems on farms, such as the swollen shoot virus disease. As a result, Ghana has lost harvests from nearly <a href="https://thecocoapost.com/ghana-loses-over-500000-hectares-of-cocoa-farms-to-swollen-shoot-disease/">500,000 hectares</a> of land in recent years.</p>
<p>The economic cycle of cocoa production refers to the inherent patterns of expansion and contraction in cocoa farming. For example, as cocoa trees age, they become susceptible to diseases, requiring high maintenance costs. Historically, farmers have tended to abandon old farms and start anew in fresh forests. Unfortunately, finding new forests is now increasingly difficult. Perhaps the most severe issue of all is the lack of fair compensation for sustainable cocoa production</p>
<p>The human factor includes challenges such as illegal mining, which has overtaken numerous farms in Ghana. Sometimes, farmers lease their land to illegal miners in exchange for payment. These mining activities degrade the quality of the land, making it unsuitable for cocoa cultivation. </p>
<p>The global market for chocolate and chocolate products is on the <a href="https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/cocoa-and-chocolate-market-100075">rise</a>. It is projected to grow faster than <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/chocolate-market#:%7E:text=The%20global%20chocolate%20market%20size,key%20driver%20of%20the%20market.">4% annually</a> over the next few years. This growing demand for cocoa underscores the urgency in addressing the intertwined issues that relate to the industry’s sustainability.</p>
<h2>Have west African governments intervened to help cocoa farmers?</h2>
<p>In February 2024, the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), regulator of the country’s cocoa sector, secured a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ghanas-cocobod-taps-200-mln-world-bank-loan-rebuild-disease-hit-cocoa-farms-2024-02-16/">World Bank loan</a> of US$200 million to rehabilitate plantations affected by the cocoa swollen shoot virus. The board will take over the disease-ridden farms, remove and replace the afflicted cocoa trees, and nurture the new plantings to the fruiting stage before returning them to the farmers.</p>
<p>This practice of Cocobod taking out loans to assist farmers is a longstanding one in Ghana. For instance, in 2018, Cocobod <a href="https://thecocoapost.com/cocobod-afdb-loan/">used part</a> of a $600 million loan from the African Development Bank to rehabilitate aging plantations and those hit by diseases. And at the start of the current harvest season in October, the <a href="https://www.cighci.org/ghana-announces-cocoa-producer-price-for-2023-24-crop-season/">producer price was raised</a>: farmers are paid more, a move made inevitable by the surge in global prices. Also, Ghana Cocobod has established a <a href="https://starrfm.com.gh/2024/03/cocobod-taskforce-arrests-illegal-mining-gang-leaders-in-atobrakrom/">task force</a> to shield cocoa farms from the harmful impacts of mining. It has cooperated with police to stem the smuggling of cocoa to neighbouring countries, particularly those that offer a stronger currency.</p>
<p>In Côte d'Ivoire, relatively little action has been taken. It appears the government is still assessing the situation. But there have been <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-02-16/ivory-coast-seizes-100-tons-of-cocoa-at-the-border-with-guinea">measures</a> to curb smuggling of cocoa, prompted by the fact that the shortage is driving up prices in neighbouring countries. Côte d'Ivoire does benefit from numerous sustainability programmes initiated by multinational corporations. The current shortage has accelerated these initiatives. Regrettably, some of the programmes do not disclose their data, making it difficult for academics to access and analyse their information.</p>
<p>African governments have yet to address significant structural issues in their interventions.</p>
<h2>How have cocoa farmers and cocoa-producing countries’ economies been affected?</h2>
<p>At the farm level, although the rise in prices may initially appear beneficial to farmers, the reality is not straightforward. A decrease in output leads to fewer harvests on average, which means that, overall, farmers are not earning more. This issue is compounded by recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanas-economic-crisis-expert-insights-into-how-things-got-so-bad-and-what-the-fixes-are-193153">economic challenges in west Africa</a>, such as high inflation and currency devaluation, particularly in Ghana. These factors have resulted in farmers becoming poorer.</p>
<p>Another impact of the output decline is a reduction in local processing. Major African processing facilities in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana have either ceased operations or reduced their processing capacity because they cannot afford to purchase beans. This likely means that chocolate prices worldwide will surge. This, in turn, adversely affects the local production units that have been emerging in recent years. </p>
<p>However, the bargaining power of west African cocoa-producing countries seems to have increased. Now is an opportune moment for these nations to unite and negotiate more favourable terms for their cocoa farmers. </p>
<h2>Will chocolate makers eventually turn to cocoa alternatives?</h2>
<p>It’s inevitable because continuing to cultivate cocoa under current conditions is unsustainable. I don’t perceive this negatively; I hope it occurs sooner rather than later. In fact, it is already underway with the rise of cocoa butter equivalents, cocoa extenders and artificial flavours (synthetic or nature-identical flavours that mimic the taste of chocolate without the need for cocoa). </p>
<p>The German company Planet A Foods is a leader in this area. It produces cocoa-free chocolate, using technology to transform ingredients such as oats and sunflower seeds into substitutes for cocoa mass and butter. </p>
<p>Overall, this is beneficial for everyone. The demand for cocoa has <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-cost-of-your-chocolate-habit-new-research-reveals-the-bittersweet-truth-of-cocoa-farming-in-africas-forests-206082">resulted</a> in mass deforestation and significant carbon emissions, issues that are likely to worsen due to climate change. Moreover, the push for cultivation has led to various forms of labour abuses. Exploring cocoa alternatives is certainly part of the solution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225992/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael E Odijie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Major African cocoa plants in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana have stopped or cut processing because they cannot afford to buy beans.Michael E Odijie, Research associate, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2245512024-03-05T15:56:29Z2024-03-05T15:56:29ZFrom the end of CAP quotas to the present day, 20 years of failed European agricultural policies<p>For days, those images of farmers were all you could see on TV. The script was well-worn one: farmers leaving their farms to block roads and roundabouts, and checking on refrigerated lorries. They converged in Paris or <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/crise/blocus-des-agriculteurs/direct-colere-des-agriculteurs-des-tracteurs-attendus-a-bruxelles-ou-les-dirigeants-europeens-se-reunissent-pour-un-sommet_6338776.html">Brussels</a>, but also set up shop throughout Europe outside government quarters, camping tractors and forestry trucks at junctions and on motorways.</p>
<p>Are these examples of yet another agricultural crisis? Or is it better to read them as a modern version of France’s <a href="https://www.sudouest.fr/economie/agriculture/colere-des-agriculteurs-le-cauchemar-de-tous-les-gouvernements-18306654.php">Jacqueries</a>, the peasants’ revolt against the nobles that took place in northern France in 1357–8? Perhaps not. It’s true that the anger of the farming community is expressed in waves, depending on price trends or climate disasters. But observers of the sector note that this crisis differs from previous ones for at least two reasons.</p>
<p>On the one hand, there has been a rather unusual convergence of <a href="https://www.publicsenat.fr/actualites/economie/colere-des-agriculteurs-fnsea-ja-coordination-rurale-qui-sont-les-syndicats-agricoles">all the farming unions</a> on the ground, with similar if not common demands. And for the first time in history, the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/protesting-farmers-jam-brussels-with-tractors-ministers-meet-2024-02-26/">demonstration is becoming “coordinated” at European level</a> since almost all the countries have experienced social movements linked to the agricultural world at the same time. Previously, these were often local and concerned only one sector (milk, meat, etc.): until now, no agricultural crisis has had such cohesion.</p>
<p>A cursory glance at the situation might lead us to believe that agricultural crises follow one another with varying frequency. In truth, <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-sesame-2017-1-page-60.htm">the agricultural world has been in a permanent crisis for the last 20 years</a>. At its root: the gradual dismantling of the original <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/politique-agricole-commune-pac-25756">Common Agricultural Policy</a> (CAP). Dating back to 1962, the CAP was set out in the Treaty of Rome of March 1957, one of the bedrocks of the European Economic Community (EEC). It had the distinctive feature of being genuinely common and, above all, of offering producers a steering wheel and safety nets.</p>
<h2>Fewer guarantees against unforeseen events</h2>
<p>At its beginnings, the <a href="https://agriculture.gouv.fr/la-politique-agricole-commune-pac-60-ans-dhistoire">European policy</a> had boasted ambitious goals: increased competitiveness, security of supply, more stable markets and decent incomes for farmers. It was a common policy because it had regulatory tools at European level that enabled the EEC Member States to think about their agricultural policy not only at a national level, but also <a href="https://www.touteleurope.eu/histoire/histoire-de-la-politique-agricole-commune/">supranational one</a>.</p>
<p>Market regulation was the first pillar of the CAP. Annual quotas were defined at a European level and then broken down by country and then by individual farms. These mechanisms offered farmers a degree of visibility and relative price stability, which was reassuring for a sector that was subject to <a href="https://www.pleinchamp.com/les-guides/le-guide-de-l-assurance-recoltes%7Esecuriser-l-agriculture-face-aux-aleas-climatiques">climatic hazards and diseases</a>. The European regulation also controlled <a href="https://www.ina.fr/ina-eclaire-actu/video/cnc9206141989/explication-de-la-reforme-de-la-politique-agricole-commune">production volumes and by extension, prices</a>. The theory was that policy-makers would chip away it year after year until quotas officially disappeared in 2015.</p>
<p>Accounting for a quarter of the CAP budget, the second pillar of agricultural policy supports rural development and occasionally helps to influence production through aids and subsidies. The last sectors to be governed by quotas were <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/replay-radio/histoires-d-info/quand-les-agriculteurs-manifestaient-contre-les-quotas-laitiers-1984_1774893.html">milk</a> and sugar, while the fruit and vegetable sectors abandoned them much earlier. This deprived the CAP of a powerful lever. Europe, now having embarked on a more liberal path, has in fact favoured a more open and deregulatory approach that, for many observers, has given way to <a href="https://www.liberation.fr/futurs/2015/03/29/la-fin-des-quotas-laitiers-une-mesure-vache_1230958/">more volatility</a> in agricultural commodity markets.</p>
<p>As a result, European agricultural markets have <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-l-homme-et-la-societe-2012-1-page-181.htm">slackened</a>, with the lack of regulation at a European level (particularly on volumes) prompting <a href="https://www.lesechos.fr/2015/08/agriculture-le-grand-tournant-1107922">intra-European competition</a> that can be damaging. Farmers, pitted against each other when they used to know who would produce what volume for what remuneration, have been unable to compensate for the erosion of prices and have had to grapple with more uncertain incomes. In concrete terms, Irish milk found itself in direct competition with Danish, Belgian and French milk. As our <a href="https://www.quae.com/produit/1699/9782759233588/gouverner-les-cooperatives-agricoles">research</a> shows, this has led the major cooperatives and manufacturers to enter into a race for size in order to pre-empt markets and <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-recma-2020-4-page-23.htm?ref=doi">take up positions</a>.</p>
<p>Some sectors have subsequently experienced crises of overproduction, leading to a collapse in prices. What’s more, since Europe no longer allows strategic food stocks (<a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/eu-food-stocks-should-gear-up-for-a-rise-of-food-protectionism/">even though their usefulness was demonstrated during the Covid crisis</a>) markets are left without the buffering or cushioning mechanisms that existed in the past.</p>
<h2>Forcing to negotiate (in an unfavourable position)</h2>
<p>The destabilisation of the market impacts upon all the links in the agricultural chain: each player will have a strategic interest in hedging its position by shifting part of its problems and the risks inherent in the sector to another player (for instance in grain or milk markets, <a href="https://www.farmersjournal.ie/dairy/news/report-recommends-more-milk-price-volatility-tools-for-farmers-793519">industrial or distributors tends to deport the volatility of international prices on farmers</a> since they are not able to bargain on prices and volumes). This goes some way to explaining why trade negotiations within agricultural sectors <a href="https://www.rtl.fr/actu/debats-societe/colere-des-agriculteurs-derniere-ligne-droite-tendue-dans-les-negociations-commerciales-7900347658">are often tense</a>, with everyone trying to preserve their margins at someone else’s expense.</p>
<p>The centre of gravity of market regulation has thus shifted from Europe and its common tools to national and international markets, giving free rein to unbalanced power relations. Take a dairy farmer producing one million litres of milk will generate between €400 and 500,000 euros in revenue for his farm. He may have to “negotiate”, for example, with the dairy company Lactalis, which is worth 25 billion euros and which itself negotiates with the Leclerc group, which is worth 45 billion euros. In other words, the balance of power is clearly in favour of the downstream sectors (processing and distribution) and farmers have <a href="https://www.ladepeche.fr/2023/12/23/prix-du-lait-la-colere-sexprime-devant-lactalis-11660564.php">no power</a> to negotiate or influence discussions.</p>
<h2>Insufficient responses</h2>
<p>Faced with this unequal balance of power, both Europe and France have tried to respond. The first response was fairly mechanical and consisted of beefing up the upstream sector by allowing producers to group together so that they could carry more weight. We have therefore seen some <a href="https://www.artisansdumonde.org/documents/organisationsprod_oct2015.pdf">producer organisations</a> emerge, but they typically suffer hostility from some manufacturers in particular.</p>
<p>The second response compelled distributors to cover farmers’ costs (more than income). In France, the 2019 <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/crise/blocus-des-agriculteurs/on-vous-explique-les-lois-egalim-qui-cristallisent-la-ranc-ur-des-agriculteurs_6332368.html">Egalim laws</a> include a concept (the threshold of resale at a loss) which is supposed to guarantee a floor price to farmers so that they do not lose money. But it has to be said that some players are trying <a href="https://www.lefigaro.fr/societes/ces-centrales-d-achat-a-l-etranger-accusees-de-contourner-les-regles-pour-ecraser-les-prix-20240129">above all to get round these laws</a> in order to maintain their negotiating position and be able to preserve their margins.</p>
<p>So part of the answer to the farmers’ malaise seems to lie halfway between Europe, which needs to regain a much stronger capacity to regulate, or even intervene, and the Member States, which need to rebalance, even artificially, the <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8rxxcf">negotiating powers between players in the various agricultural sectors</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224551/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xavier Hollandts ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The end of CAP quotas has forced European farmers to compete with each other. The result: lower incomes, greater uncertainty and less bargaining power with distributors.Xavier Hollandts, Professeur de stratégie et entrepreneuriat, Kedge Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229492024-02-12T16:15:17Z2024-02-12T16:15:17ZEuropean farmers are angry: addressing root causes would overcome polarisation<p>On Thursday February 1, I stood side-by-side with the farmers who had taken over Place Luxembourg and the streets adjacent to the European Parliament in Brussels. On my way, long lines of tractors with Belgian, French and Dutch plates could be seen almost a kilometre away from the square. As I drew closer to the scene, the sound of their horns and the smell of burned tires saturated my ears and nose. </p>
<h2>Farmers’ multiple voices</h2>
<p>As a legal scholar who had spent the past years researching how EU and international economic law may undermine attempts at building sustainable food systems, I was keen to join that day’s ‘farmers’ protest’. However, once I entered the square the idea that I was participating to such an event became much more nuanced and complex. Behind the uniformity of tractors, the square revealed itself as an assemblage of different identities, each one maintaining their specificity while contributing to the action’s visibility. From above, the square would have looked like a patchwork of blue, yellow, and green jackets, shot through with yellow balloons and splattered, here and there, with copious piles of manure. Green and yellow banners of left-wing unions and groups, along with Belgian and Flemish flags crying out their nationalist aspirations.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575019/original/file-20240212-22-3jkw1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575019/original/file-20240212-22-3jkw1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575019/original/file-20240212-22-3jkw1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575019/original/file-20240212-22-3jkw1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575019/original/file-20240212-22-3jkw1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575019/original/file-20240212-22-3jkw1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575019/original/file-20240212-22-3jkw1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some of the more progressive farmers take to the stage on February 1 in Brussels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tomaso Ferrando</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
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<p>In truth, there were at least two squares in one. Close to the entrance, a banner cloaking the statue of English-born industrialist John Cockerill called on farmers to “Say no to despotism” and organize against environmental measures. Further down to the central garden, members of an Italian farmers’ confederation gave interviews on the need to liberalize New Genomic Technologies to boost productivity, and yet others discussed the limitations of animal welfare laws, while lining up to eat a sandwich with some grilled meat. </p>
<p>But there was also a second area that looked and sounded differently. Close to the Parliament fluttered flags of organic organisations such as La Via Campesina, La Confédération Paysanne and Boeren Forum alongside those of Extinction Rebellion and Grandparents for Climate. From the stage, speakers urged the public and policy-makers to address retailers’ power, market concentration, cheap prices and exploited labour. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575025/original/file-20240212-16-q3b7b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575025/original/file-20240212-16-q3b7b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575025/original/file-20240212-16-q3b7b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575025/original/file-20240212-16-q3b7b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575025/original/file-20240212-16-q3b7b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575025/original/file-20240212-16-q3b7b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575025/original/file-20240212-16-q3b7b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A view of Place Luxembourg in Brussels on February 1.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tomaso Ferrando</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Far from a mere matter of urban landscape, understanding the complexity of the struggles that day matters for politics. If we truly want to learn from what is happening and elaborate policy responses, it is essential we acknowledge that <a href="https://vientosur.info/el-enfado-en-el-shared">there was not one uniform square</a> but rather diverging visions for the future likely stemming from the same structural weaknesses. </p>
<h2>Farmers’ doppelgangers?</h2>
<p>In her latest book <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/in-doppelganger-naomi-klein-says-the-world-is-broken-conspiracy-theorists-get-the-facts-wrong-but-often-get-the-feelings-right-209990">Doppelganger</a></em>, Naomi Klein suggests that the Covid-19 crisis and its associated state of uncertainty led to exceptional manifestation of care and solidarity, but also to an entrenchment into individualism, competitiveness, and fear of the other. Although incompatible, both responses arose from a common sense of isolation, dissatisfaction, frustration, and realisation that society – and its economy – had failed many of us. According to Klein, the two reactions act as each other doppelganger, but we tend to look at our ‘double’ (the other) as different or separate, to the point of mocking them. Rather than confronting and identifying the common origin of our condition, we fight. And this can only lead to further divergence and conflict that favours the far right. </p>
<p>And yet, we are not doomed to polarisation, Klein tells us. If we recognise the shared origin of apparently opposite responses, we can begin to create a common space of understanding and thus, in this case, to carve out a long-term vision for the EU food system, away from quick fixes such as watered down <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/von-der-leyen-to-withdraw-the-contested-pesticide-regulation/">pesticide regulation</a> or l’<a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240202IPR17320/new-genomic-techniques-meps-back-rules-to-support-green-transition-of-farmers">New Genomic Technologies</a>. In Place Luxembourg, I believed I could trace back the common origin of farmers’ grievances to one slogan above all: “Free Farmers! Stop Free Trade!”. </p>
<h2>‘Free Farmers! Stop Free Trade!’</h2>
<p>Regardless of their political leanings, most farmers appeared to agree that a food system that treats food like any other tradable commodity was at the root of all ills. Hence the renaming of the Mercosur trade agreement: “<a href="https://www.veblen-institute.org/The-draft-trade-agreement-between-the-EU-and-the-Mercosur-countries-remains-a.html">cars for cows</a>” deal. In agriculture, untrammelled free trade and the obsession with competitiveness have led to lower income, market concentration, dependency on powerful buyers, exploitation of nature, animals and labor, <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2021/652241/IPOL_ATA(2021)652241_EN.pdf">and land abandonment</a>.</p>
<p>There are other reasons why the Covid pandemic mentioned by Klein may offer a useful blueprint for us to analyse the farmers’ crisis. At the outset of those months, farmers and food workers were recognized as essential and celebrated for their bravery and role in feeding Europe. In fact, essential often meant exploited, and they were highly exposed to the virus, to the fragility of the market and the lack of long-term strategies to consolidate their position and their livelihood. Time may have come to treat essential pillars of the our society in the way they deserve.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575054/original/file-20240212-18-jef0q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575054/original/file-20240212-18-jef0q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575054/original/file-20240212-18-jef0q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575054/original/file-20240212-18-jef0q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575054/original/file-20240212-18-jef0q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575054/original/file-20240212-18-jef0q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575054/original/file-20240212-18-jef0q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=641&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tractors line up in central Brussels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tomaso Ferrando</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tangible policies to overcome polarisation</h2>
<p>If we want to overcome the current polarisation, it is key that we adopt policies that address the root causes of the problem. From 2020 to 2023, I led a research-action project <a href="https://fassfood.eu/">FASS-Food EU </a>, which brought together farmers, consumers, workers, environmental organizations and EU policy makers to unpack and improve the EU’s agri-food system. The aim was to collectively reflect on the regulatory and policy obstacles prevented the bloc from enjoying food chains that are Fair, Accessible, Sustainable and Short (FASS-Food). </p>
<p>The first lesson is that it is essential to recognise that it is not only farmers who are suffering, but the whole food system that lives in a state of permanent crisis and requires rapid transformation. How long can the EU accept a system that drives <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/meps-call-for-mental-health-initiative-in-farming/">farmers suicides</a>, food insecurity and unhealthy diets, environmental degradation, animal sufferance and precarious work conditions from farm to fork? The discussion around a <a href="https://foodpolicycoalition.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SUSTAINABLE-FOOD-SYSTEMS-LAW-Recommendations-for-a-meaningful-transition.pdf">Sustainable Food Systems Framework Legislation</a> was a first attempt by the EU Commission to enrich the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-eu-common-agricultural-policy-56329">Common Agricultural Policy</a> with a piece of legislation that would favour the sustainable transition of both production and consumption of food in the EU. However, following months of delays and frictions between different Directorate Generals, the proposal and the possibility of a systemic discussion around food systems lie forgotten in a drawer at <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/departments-and-executive-agencies/health-and-food-safety_en">DG-Sante</a>. On the contrary, we are back to square one with a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_417">Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture</a> that reinforces the separation between agriculture and food.</p>
<p>The research for FASS-Food project identified other starting points, some of which were mentioned on Place Luxembourg: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Revising the 2019 <a href="https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/agri-food-supply-chain/unfair-trading-practices_en">Unfair Trading Practices Directive</a> could give the EU and Member States the possibility of sanctioning large commercial players that purchase food at a price that does not guarantee living wage of farmers and workers.</p></li>
<li><p>Via competition law, EU and national authorities can break up the trade and distribution oligopolies, while trade law can also be deployed to rethink existing trade agreements and the impact of global competitiveness on food systems both in Europe and among trading partners. </p></li>
<li><p>Governments initiatives can help citizens to better feed themselves. Belgium’s <a href="https://www.fian.be/+-Sociale-Voedselzekerheid-+?lang=fr">Sécurité sociale de l'alimentation</a> is one such example: drawing from fiscal revenues, public administrations issue food vouchers for citizens, which can be used to purchase food that respects social and environmental standards.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Whichever solutions we opt for, we will not find them in more of the same market dynamics or in another round of technological fixes. A vast toolbox exists, but unlocking it requires that we accept that food is not just like any another global commodity, with farmers’ protests just the tip of the iceberg.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222949/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tomaso Ferrando ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>At the farmers’ protests in Brussels in February, there were some who demanded for authorities to cut back red tape, while others rallied against market concentration. But such a polarisation isn’t insurmountable.Tomaso Ferrando, Research Professor of Law, University of AntwerpLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221422024-01-29T19:05:19Z2024-01-29T19:05:19ZStop killing brown snakes – they could be a farmer’s best friend<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571808/original/file-20240129-27-4fxoz7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4245%2C2819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Australians who work outdoors – especially farmers and graziers – attempt to kill every snake they encounter, especially those thought to be venomous. In fact, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1565247">research</a> in one part of rural Australia found 38% of respondents tried to kill snakes wherever possible.</p>
<p>This attitude is misguided and dangerous. Despite their fearsome reputation, venomous Australian snakes pose little risk to human health. And snakes are hugely beneficial on farms by consuming pests such as rodents. </p>
<p><a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/acv.12925">New research</a> by myself and colleagues estimated the magnitude of that benefit. We found adult eastern brown snakes can collectively remove thousands of mice per square kilometre of farmland each year, which substantially increases farm productivity. </p>
<p>Our study suggests the benefits of snake populations on agricultural land far outweigh the potential costs, and farmers should tolerate rather than kill them.</p>
<h2>A persecuted serpent</h2>
<p>Brown snakes are the most common deadly snake species found in disturbed agricultural habitats in the southern half of Australia. </p>
<p>The snakes are fast-moving and active during the day. Brown snakes are generally persecuted in rural areas because the danger of fatal snake bites is seen to outweigh their benefits as pest controllers.</p>
<p>It’s true that brown snakes are the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320947425_Australia%27s_Dangerous_Snakes_Identification_Biology_and_Envenoming">most common</a> <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/eastern-brown-snakes-expert-reveals-what-makes-australias-deadliest-snake-so-lethal-what-to-do-if-bitten/9b454663-011e-4fa5-85a2-9d92888d0b30#:%7E:text=However%20according%20to%20statistics%20released,across%20most%20of%20eastern%20Australia.">cause</a> of fatal snake bite in Australia. But the bites are rarely fatal. Statistics show snakes of any species kill <a href="https://www.museum.qld.gov.au/learn-and-discover/animals-of-queensland/snakes#:%7E:text=Even%20dangerously%20venomous%20species%20pose,three%20snakebite%20deaths%20a%20year.">fewer than three</a> people per year in Australia, on average.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/qld/news/outback-survival-snakes-and-snakebites/">Around 3,000</a> snake bite cases are reported annually – a high proportion of which occur when a snake <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2017/207/3/australian-snakebite-project-2005-2015-asp-20">retaliates</a> to being attacked by a person.</p>
<p>Australian snakes, including brown snakes, <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/responses-of-free-ranging-brownsnakes-ipseudonaja-textilisi-elapi">generally retreat</a> rather than attack, even when provoked. Eastern brown snakes, in particular, tend to dwell in places where they are unlikely to be encountered by people. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/good-luck-fella-stay-safe-a-snake-catcher-explains-why-our-fear-of-brown-snakes-is-misplaced-150783">'Good luck fella, stay safe': a snake catcher explains why our fear of brown snakes is misplaced</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>An upside to venomous snakes</h2>
<p>The most obvious benefit of maintaining brown snake populations is to reduce rodent numbers. Introduced species of rats and mice are a <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=nwrchumanconflicts">major cost</a> to Australian agriculture. In extreme cases, mice can destroy most or all of a crop.</p>
<p>We wanted to calculate the number of rodents removed from Australian farmland by brown snakes. </p>
<p>First, we drew on <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3892162">work</a> I had done in the 1980s, which involved dissecting museum specimens to find out what proportion of brown snake diets consisted of rodents.</p>
<p>We then estimated the number of prey consumed each year by brown snakes. This was based on the feeding rates of captive snakes, data from commercially farmed pythons in farms in Thailand and Vietnam, and studies on a species of North American snake which is similar to brown snakes.</p>
<p>To estimate the abundance of brown snakes on farms, we consulted previous research on brown snake abundance, and rates of capture from fieldwork involving red-bellied black snakes. We also obtained data from the Atlas of Living Australia, an online compendium of information about the continent’s plants and animals.</p>
<p>Based on the combined data, we found a square kilometre of farmland can contain 100 adult eastern brown snakes, even where rates of encounters between people and those snakes are low. If each adult brown snake consumes around 100 wild mice each year – which is likely an underestimate – together this must equate to about 10,000 mice per square kilometre. Each mouse removed by a brown snake may eat several kilograms of grain crops over its life. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4ITgdgPUMuY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<h2>Give snakes a chance</h2>
<p>Agricultural productivity gains are not the only benefits of tolerating brown snakes on farmland.</p>
<p>It would also allow a reduction in the use of chemical methods for rodent control, which can be expensive and ineffective. The chemicals can also threaten the <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8044n35x">health</a> of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9759690/">humans</a>, livestock, scavenging wildlife and pets.</p>
<p>Tolerating brown snakes might also reduce the incidence of snake bite. <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/animals/living-with/snakes#:%7E:text=Snakes%20usually%20prefer%20to%20retreat,the%20snake%20to%20move%20away.">Most snake bites</a> are inflicted when people are trying to catch or kill the reptile.</p>
<p>What’s more, one study <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320947425_Australia%27s_Dangerous_Snakes_Identification_Biology_and_Envenoming">suggests</a> snakes that are long-term residents of an area are less agitated by close encounters with people and know the location of nearby safe havens, and so pose relatively little threat. Culling snakes may create an influx of new animals unfamiliar with the location and not used to humans.</p>
<p>The obvious rebuttal is that killing snakes reduces the incidence of future snake bite, by reducing overall snake numbers. However, data suggests this is not necessarily the case. For example, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0158397">one study</a> in Indonesia showed reticulated pythons remained abundant despite millions of individuals being removed over decades.</p>
<p>Maintaining viable populations of snakes has an ecological benefit. Removing high-level predators destabilises food webs and disrupts the way ecosystems function.</p>
<p>Finally, conserving snakes has merit in its own right. Many species of snakes are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001371/#:%7E:text=Although%20there%20is%20little%20evidence,(Mullin%20%26%20Seigel%202009).">in decline</a>, including in Australia, and should be protected.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest the need for a more balanced view of the costs and benefits of snakes, including brown snakes. Tolerating them may bring benefits that outweigh the already low chance of life-threatening snake bite. </p>
<p><em>The author would like to acknowledge the contribution of Peter Mirtschin, Nathan Dunstan and Jeff Abraham to the research underpinning this article.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-reveals-these-20-australian-reptiles-are-set-to-disappear-by-2040-145385">New research reveals these 20 Australian reptiles are set to disappear by 2040</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: A figure relating to mice per square kilometre has been amended from 1,000 to 10,000.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Shine receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>The benefits of snake populations on agricultural land far outweigh the potential costs, and farmers should tolerate rather than kill them.Rick Shine, Professor in Evolutionary Biology, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2206382024-01-16T22:32:37Z2024-01-16T22:32:37ZWheat Pool 2.0: The time might be ripe for a revival of Prairie co-ops<p>When <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/bunge-merge-with-viterra-form-18-billion-agriculture-trader-2023-06-13/">Bunge announced its intention to purchase Viterra</a> — the Regina-based grain handling subsidiary of Swiss mining giant Glencore — in June 2023, it represented another milestone in the slow, but steady, erasure of Saskatchewan’s long history with the wheat pool co-operative.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the once-mighty agricultural co-operative that became Viterra, is remembered by its iconic, but decaying, grain elevators that still dot much of the province’s rural landscape.</p>
<p>The timing of the announcement is ironic for two reasons. First, it coincides with what would have been the Wheat Pool’s 100th anniversary. </p>
<p>Second, it’s occurring during a period when Saskatchewan and Prairie farmers are facing power imbalances in the market not dissimilar to those that gave rise to co-operative wheat pools in <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/saskatchewan-wheat-pool">Saskatchewan</a> and <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alberta-wheat-pool">Alberta</a> in 1923, and <a href="https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/business/manitobapool.shtml">Manitoba</a> in 1924.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool’s origin story is instructive. As journalist Garry Fairbairn described in the preface to his <a href="https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/36552">book on the Pool’s 60th anniversary</a> in 1983, the Pool was founded by 45,000 farmers engaged in “individual acts of desperation, hope, and faith (that) combined to create an enduring co-operative empire and corporate democracy.” </p>
<p>As Fairbairn goes on to note:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Some organizations, like some calves, are born with casual ease, their arrival scarcely noticed until one sunny morning finds them already routinely grazing on a gentle sloe. Others come only after a raw, hard struggle, a grim rancher straining to pull the calf from a desperate cow. The birth of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was definitely in the second category.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As different as the wheat pool’s origins and Bunge’s purchase may seem, they both represent a response to the same underlying desire: control. Bunge, headquartered in Missouri, wants more of it; the wheat pool founders, based all over the province, wanted some of it.</p>
<h2>Increasingly consolidated industry</h2>
<p>The logic that compels a company like Bunge to integrate Viterra into its supply chain is the same logic that evokes nostalgia among farmers old enough to remember the wheat pools, and action among younger farmers with the energy to do something about it.</p>
<p>Once the Viterra takeover is complete, Bunge will be the top player in Canada’s grain trade (and third in the world), joining a small — <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/bunge-viterra-merger-has-drastic-implications-for-cdn-farmers/">and shrinking</a> — number of companies with market power and the ability to impose prices and shift the risks of the market onto producers.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/bunge-viterra-merger-has-drastic-implications-for-cdn-farmers">top five companies already control 90 per cent</a> of the global grain trade; six of them sell 70 per cent of all agrochemicals and four of those also sell 60 per cent of all the seed.</p>
<p>Already, there are indications — albeit anecdotal — that grain handling firms are exerting market power, with many farmers feeling like they have no choice but to <a href="https://apas.ca/news/listing/one-sided-grain-contracts-need-to-change">sign grain delivery contracts</a> where they end up bearing significant financial risks and most of the costs of climate change and market uncertainty.</p>
<p>The result? Farmers <a href="https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/2023/07/29/read-the-fine-print-caution-needed-in-grain-contracts">owing money on contracts they were unable to fulfill because of events out of their control</a>. </p>
<p>With the rise of <a href="https://www.fao.org/digital-agriculture/en/">digital agriculture</a> and <a href="https://www.itworldcanada.com/article/data-governance-and-regulating-data-in-agriculture/536332">little to no regulations or laws for agricultural data governance in Canada</a>, we could see agricultural data issues as well, as supply firms amass and use data from customers to exert market power.</p>
<h2>The view from Australia</h2>
<p>To get a glimpse into what was lost when the Wheat Pool became Viterra, we can look to Australia. Like Canada, farmers in Australia no longer have a national wheat marketing board. It was eliminated in 2008, a few years before Canada’s. Unlike in Canada, however, <a href="https://www.country-guide.ca/guide-business/australias-approach-to-grain-pools/">Australian farmers held on to their co-operative grain handling company</a>, Co-operative Bulk Handling (CBH).</p>
<p>Well into its 90th year, CBH has prospered despite a difficult operating environment not dissimilar to Canada’s, as well as periodic <a href="https://bccm.coop/about-co-ops-mutuals/case-studies/cbh-group/">challenges to its mutuality</a>. With a 62 per cent share of the grain handling business and AU$4 billion in annual revenue, CBH had a record annual profit of $497 million in 2022 and has reported <a href="https://www.cbh.com.au/media-releases/2023/10/best-year-on-record-for-cbh-supply-chain">record-breaking supply chain performance</a> for its 2023 harvest.</p>
<p>Those results belong to CBH’s Australian farmer-members. <a href="https://www.cbh.com.au/our-co-operative/what-we-do">CBH’s success</a> can be attributed to its efforts to support its members by investment in the infrastructure — rail transport, port terminals, marketing, exporting and processing — needed to lower grain handling costs for its producer members. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in shorts, a tee-shirt and a baseball hat standing in a field of wheat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569151/original/file-20240112-19-32g57e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569151/original/file-20240112-19-32g57e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569151/original/file-20240112-19-32g57e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569151/original/file-20240112-19-32g57e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569151/original/file-20240112-19-32g57e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569151/original/file-20240112-19-32g57e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569151/original/file-20240112-19-32g57e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A grain farmer tests wheat for moisture before harvest in Moree, a major agricultural area in New South Wales, Australia, in November 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a result, CBH says average post-farmgate costs for its members are <a href="https://www.country-guide.ca/guide-business/australias-approach-to-grain-pools/">15 per cent lower</a> than for Australian farmers who rely on multinational corporations — including companies like Bunge and Viterra — for storage, movement, marketing and export. </p>
<p>Through CBH, Australian farmers don’t just have a powerful corporate entity looking out for their financial interests, but a company that can help them navigate government lobbying and relationships with agricultural input providers and their growing arsenal of data being used to power artificial intelligence applications.</p>
<h2>Co-operative green shoots</h2>
<p>Of course, Canada’s agriculture sector today is vastly different than it was when the wheat pool came into being. While there are places in rural Prairies Canada that are prospering — especially those proximate to urban centres — the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220511/dq220511a-eng.htm">long-term trends remain</a>. </p>
<p>These trends include dwindling populations, aging farmers, increasing farm size as producers pursue scale to amass some negotiating power (competing with <a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-farmland-inequality-in-the-prairies-poses-problems-for-all-canadians-196777">investors buying up shares of farmland</a>), and increasing challenges for anyone or any producer left behind.</p>
<p>But while perhaps dormant, the co-operative impulse is not gone and may indeed be ripe for a reawakening. There are some promising signs in both old and new technologies and from existing farmer co-operatives.</p>
<p>In Alberta, farmers have worked together to purchase their own <a href="https://battleriverrailway.ca/">short-line railway</a> to ensure they could continue to ship their crops at reasonable prices. In the Platte region of Nebraska, farmers have organized a <a href="https://www.gisc.coop/nebraska-tpnrd/">data co-operative</a> to measure, count, aggregate and interpret data on their water usage. </p>
<p>In western Canada in 2010, a group of independent seed, crop protection and fertilizer retailers came together to form a co-operative — now called <a href="https://www.winfieldunited.ca/en/">WinField United Canada</a> — and a division of Land O'Lakes, one of the largest agricultural co-operatives in the United States.</p>
<p>For farmers and policymakers, the lesson should be clear: even as Saskatchewan contemplates the loss of another corporate sector headquarters, perhaps the best hope for the future of the province’s economy and its farmers can be found by looking back to the past and an organizational model that when governed properly, is rooted, resilient and responsive.</p>
<p><em>Jeremy Welter co-authored this article. He is a fourth-generation farmer, small-business owner and director on the board of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220638/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc-Andre Pigeon receives funding from the co-operative and credit union sectors as well as funding from government funding bodies for his research into co-operatives and credit unions. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natalie Kallio receives funding from the co-operative and credit union sectors as well as from government funding bodies for research into co-operatives.</span></em></p>One hundred years after the founding of the once-mighty Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the time might be ripe for a revival of Prairie farmer co-operatives.Marc-Andre Pigeon, Assistant Professor, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of SaskatchewanNatalie Kallio, Professional Research Associate, Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, University of SaskatchewanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2198992024-01-16T00:47:49Z2024-01-16T00:47:49ZClimate change and nature loss are our biggest environmental problems - so why isn’t the market tackling them together?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569215/original/file-20240115-15-758bfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C14%2C9475%2C6302&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change and biodiversity loss are arguably the greatest environmental challenges the world faces. The way we use land is crucial in finding solutions to these problems. In theory, actions such as revegetation and avoiding land clearing can tackle both problems at once – for example, by simultaneously storing carbon in plants and providing habitat for animals.</p>
<p>Sometimes when taking these actions, however, carbon storage is prioritised at the expense of biodiversity. But that need not be the case. Our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-023-01928-4">new research</a> suggests we can act to boost the climate and nature at the same time. </p>
<p>We examined a financial incentive scheme in South Australia’s Mount Lofty Ranges. We found action by farmers to restore native woodlands on their properties also stored carbon in the vegetation. This carbon abatement, if converted into carbon credits, could have paid the farmers for their restoration activities. It suggests existing carbon markets can pay for biodiversity conservation.</p>
<p>To date, few market-based biodiversity schemes in Australia have been designed to reward farmers for delivering these twin benefits – and the same is true for carbon markets. This is a huge missed opportunity for both the climate and nature. </p>
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<img alt="view of vegetation and pastoral land" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569222/original/file-20240115-21-9uf1m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569222/original/file-20240115-21-9uf1m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569222/original/file-20240115-21-9uf1m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569222/original/file-20240115-21-9uf1m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569222/original/file-20240115-21-9uf1m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569222/original/file-20240115-21-9uf1m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569222/original/file-20240115-21-9uf1m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The research examined woodland restoration by farmers in the Mount Lofty Ranges, pictured.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Carbon markets don’t always help nature</h2>
<p>Carbon markets encourage farmers and other land managers to help mitigate climate change, through activities such as planting trees or avoiding land clearing. These activities are rewarded with “credits” which can then be sold to buyers wanting to reduce their carbon footprint, such as a polluting company. Similar schemes are emerging for biodiversity conservation.</p>
<p>Efforts to tackle climate change through land-based activities are welcome. But these interventions do not always lead to good biodiversity outcomes. For example, a particular tree species planted to store carbon may not be useful to animals in the area. It may even cause problems such as <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00213.x">spreading weeds</a>, which can add to biodiversity decline.</p>
<p>In Australia, the decline of native species and ecosystems is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/30/australian-populations-of-threatened-bird-species-fall-60-in-past-40-years-study-says#:%7E:text=They%20include%20the%20curlew%20sandpiper,decline%20since%202000%20was%202.2%25">well-documented</a>. The decline is marked in the eastern Mount Lofty Ranges where native vegetation – mostly eucalypt forests and woodlands – has been reduced to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0144779#pone-0144779-g001">about 10% of its former extent</a>.</p>
<p>It means many animal species in the Mount Lofty Ranges are <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.13860">falling in numbers</a>. They include birds such as the diamond firetail, superb fairy-wren and purple-crowned lorikeet.</p>
<p>Reversing this decline requires restoring and protecting the native vegetation that feeds and homes these animals. We wanted to know if carbon markets could pay for such work. </p>
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<img alt="grey and red bird perches on branch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569220/original/file-20240115-74302-84mc3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569220/original/file-20240115-74302-84mc3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569220/original/file-20240115-74302-84mc3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569220/original/file-20240115-74302-84mc3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569220/original/file-20240115-74302-84mc3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569220/original/file-20240115-74302-84mc3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569220/original/file-20240115-74302-84mc3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Bird species such as the diamond firetail, pictured, are declining in the Mount Lofty Ranges.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We examined a payment <a href="https://data.environment.sa.gov.au/Content/Publications/bushbids_emlr_2008.pdf">scheme</a>, known as BushBids, for farmers who manage the region’s degraded woodlands. It was funded by the federal government and administered by the state government.</p>
<p>The scheme, which began in 2006, invited private landholders to tender for ten-year contracts to undertake certain restoration activities. These included retaining fallen logs (instead of collecting them for firewood), limiting stock grazing, controlling weeds, and reducing grazing by both feral animals and overabundant native animals such as kangaroos. Such activities can lead to more carbon being stored in vegetation, debris and soils.</p>
<p>Monitoring showed the activities restored some components of the woodland systems – most notably the diversity of native plant species.</p>
<p>The activities also led to additional carbon being stored in the woodlands. Australia’s <a href="https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/ERF/Pages/Method-development.aspx">carbon market</a> does not currently recognise this type of carbon gain. </p>
<p>But what if it did? We calculated how much carbon was stored by the restoration of degraded native vegetation across 12 sites. We then calculated how much of the cost of this work would have been covered by payments for that carbon storage. </p>
<p>We found the additional carbon stored in the woodlands could pay all, or a substantial proportion, of the price of restoring degraded native vegetation. The exact proportion covered depends on factors such as the carbon price, rainfall and rate of vegetation recovery.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/carbon-markets-could-protect-nature-and-the-planet-but-only-if-the-rights-of-those-who-live-there-are-recognized-too-176638">Carbon markets could protect nature and the planet, but only if the rights of those who live there are recognized too</a>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A video explaining the authors’ findings.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Implications for Australia</h2>
<p>Our study shows how the price of restoring native vegetation for biodiversity conservation could be covered by trading carbon credits created at the same time. This could be achieved either with separate markets, or markets that include both biodiversity and carbon.</p>
<p>But using markets for both nature repair and carbon storage will only work if the markets are designed well. </p>
<p>That means changes to Australia’s existing carbon market may be required. Research has cast doubt over the integrity of <a href="https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/ERF/project-and-contracts-registers/carbon-abatement-contract-register">more than half</a> the credits generated in that market. It found under one particular method – regrowing native forests to store carbon from the atmosphere – most carbon storage for which credits were issued either had not occurred, or would have occurred anyway.</p>
<p>Separately, the federal government has recently passed legislation to establish a <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-the-governments-new-market-mechanism-help-save-nature-yes-if-we-get-the-devil-out-of-the-detail-218713">biodiversity scheme</a> known as the Nature Repair Market. For this scheme to avoid making the same mistakes as the carbon scheme, it should involve methods and standards that lead to the right kinds of biodiversity restoration in the right places. </p>
<p>This means focusing on which species and ecosystems need protection. For example, it should include not just those species listed as threatened with extinction, but species declining in their strongholds, and where the decline of a species would have broader impacts such as damage to agriculture.</p>
<p>Australian farmers have demonstrated that they can restore degraded ecosystems in a cost-effective way – and they should have better access to carbon funding to do it. Done right, this can be a huge win-win for both nature and the climate.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/untenable-even-companies-profiting-from-australias-carbon-market-say-the-system-must-change-190232">'Untenable': even companies profiting from Australia's carbon market say the system must change</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219899/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick O'Connor has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the South Australian, Victorian, New South Wales and Australian governments including the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust. He is a board director of the Nature Conservation Society of SA, a committee member of the Restoration Decade Alliance and a councillor of the Biodiversity Council..</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthelia Bond received a postgraduate research scholarship from the School of Agriculture Food and Wine at The University of Adelaide, a supplementary scholarship from the South Australian Department for Environment and Water, and an Australia Awards Endeavour Research Fellowship. She is a board director of the Nature Conservation Society of SA, and a member of the Ecological Society of Australia, Modern Money Lab and Scientist Rebellion. </span></em></p>Sometimes when taking these actions, however, carbon storage is prioritised at the expense of biodiversity. But that need not be the case.Patrick O'Connor, Associate Professor, University of AdelaideAnthelia Bond, Research Fellow, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2132102023-11-29T13:39:07Z2023-11-29T13:39:07Z3 ways AI can help farmers tackle the challenges of modern agriculture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560543/original/file-20231120-21-t0o5ng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3286%2C2189&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Farming today is as much about data as hardware.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SoybeanPlanting/e00d9f234ea143488571871fb2ff4bb5/photo">AP Photo/Nati Harnik</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For all the attention on flashy new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, the challenges of regulating AI, and doomsday scenarios of superintelligent machines, AI is a useful tool in many fields. In fact, it has enormous potential to benefit humanity. </p>
<p>In agriculture, farmers are increasingly using AI-powered tools to tackle challenges that threaten human health, the environment and food security. Researchers forecast the market for these tools <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/artificial-intelligence-ai-agriculture-market-111600303.html">to reach US$12 billion by 2032</a>.</p>
<p>As a researcher <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EtTFUl8AAAAJ&hl=en">studying agricultural and rural policy</a>, I see three promising developments in agricultural AI: federated learning, pest and disease detection and forecasting prices. </p>
<h2>Pooling data without sharing it</h2>
<p>Robotics, sensors and information technology are increasingly used in agriculture. These tools aim to help farmers improve efficiency and reduce chemical use. In addition, data collected by these tools can be used in software that uses machine learning to improve management systems and decision-making. However, these applications typically require data sharing among stakeholders. </p>
<p>A survey of U.S. farmers found that more than half of respondents said they <a href="https://www.trustinfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Farmer-Data-Perspectives-Research_final.pdf">do not trust federal agencies or private companies with their data</a>. This lack of trust is linked to concerns about sensitive information becoming compromised or being used to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2022.2071668">manipulate markets and regulations</a>. Machine learning could reduce these concerns. </p>
<p>Federated learning is a technique that trains a machine learning algorithm on data from multiple parties <a href="https://research.ibm.com/blog/what-is-federated-learning">without the parties having to reveal their data to each other</a>. With federated learning, a farmer puts data on a local computer that the algorithm can access rather than sharing the data on a central server. This method <a href="https://ts2.space/en/the-use-of-federated-learning-in-smart-agriculture-and-farming/">increases privacy and reduces the risk of compromise</a>.</p>
<p>If farmers can be persuaded to share their data this way, they can contribute to a collaborative system that helps them make better decisions and meet their sustainability goals. For example, farmers could pool data about conditions for their chickpea crops, and a model trained on all of their data could give each of them <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2023.100277">better forecasts for their chickpea yields</a> than models trained only on their own data.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An AI-driven giant robot armed with lasers is a major threat – to weeds.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Detecting pests and disease</h2>
<p>Farmer livelihoods and global food security are increasingly at risk from plant disease and pests. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that worldwide annual losses from disease and pests <a href="https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1402920/icode/">total $290 billion, with 40% of global crop production affected</a>.</p>
<p>Farmers typically spray crops with chemicals to preempt outbreaks. However, the overuse of these chemicals is linked to harmful effects on <a href="https://doi.org/10.2478%2Fv10102-009-0001-7">human health, soil and water quality and biodiversity</a>. Worryingly, many pathogens are <a href="https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/the-growing-problem-of-pesticide-resistance/4013465.article">becoming resistant to existing treatments</a>, and developing new ones is proving to be difficult. </p>
<p>Reducing the amount of chemicals used is therefore paramount, and AI may be part of a solution. </p>
<p>The Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers has created <a href="https://www.cgiar.org/innovations/tumaini-an-ai-powered-mobile-app-for-pests-and-diseases/">a mobile phone app that identifies pests and disease</a>. The app, “Tumaini,” allows users to upload a photo of a suspected pest or disease, which the AI compares with a database of 50,000 images. The app also provides analysis and can recommend treatment programs. </p>
<p>If used with farm management tools, apps like this can improve farmers’ ability to target their spraying and improve accuracy in deciding how much chemical to use. Ultimately, these efficiencies may reduce pesticide use, lessen the risk of resistance and prevent spillovers that cause harm to both humans and the environment. </p>
<h2>Crystal ball for prices</h2>
<p>Market volatility and fluctuating prices affect how farmers invest and decide what to grow. This uncertainty can also <a href="https://www.oecd.org/agriculture/topics/risk-management-and-resilience/">prevent farmers from taking risks on new developments</a>.</p>
<p>AI can help reduce this uncertainty by <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13091671">forecasting prices</a>. For example, services from companies such as <a href="https://www.agtechtools.com/">Agtools</a>, <a href="https://www.agremo.com/">Agremo</a> and <a href="https://geopard.tech/">GeoPard</a> provide AI-powered farm decision tools. These tools allow for real-time analysis of price points and market data and present farmers with data on long-term trends that can help optimize production.</p>
<p>This data allows farmers to react to price changes and allows them to plan more strategically. If farmers’ economic resilience improves, it increases the likelihood that they can invest in new opportunities and technologies that benefit both farms and the larger food system. </p>
<h2>AI for good</h2>
<p>Human innovation has always produced winners and losers. The dangers of AI are apparent, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/eliminating-bias-in-ai-may-be-impossible-a-computer-scientist-explains-how-to-tame-it-instead-208611">biased algorithms</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ftc-probe-of-openai-consumer-protection-is-the-opening-salvo-of-us-ai-regulation-209821">data privacy violations</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ai-could-take-over-elections-and-undermine-democracy-206051">manipulation of human behavior</a>. However, it is also a technology that has the potential to solve many problems. </p>
<p>These uses for AI in agriculture are a cause for optimism among farmers. If the agriculture industry can promote the utility of these inventions while developing strong and sensible frameworks <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2022.884192">to minimize harms</a>, AI can help reduce modern agriculture’s impact on human health and the environment while helping improve global food security in the 21st century.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213210/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Hollis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>AI is exciting and scary, but it’s also a very useful tool. Here’s how AI is helping farmers shore up their bottom lines, protect the environment and boost food security.Joe Hollis, PhD student in Rural Sociology and Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2137112023-11-23T17:52:03Z2023-11-23T17:52:03ZHow digital twins will enable the next generation of precision agriculture<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-digital-twins-will-enable-the-next-generation-of-precision-agriculture" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Drastic climate change and overpopulation have rendered traditional agricultural practices unsustainable. Even more economically affluent countries suffer from constantly increasing household food insecurity. </p>
<p>In Canada, for example, <a href="https://proof.utoronto.ca/2023/new-data-on-household-food-insecurity-in-2022/">one-in-six families</a> find it difficult to provide food to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle, and the situation is getting worst year by year.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/food-insecurity-in-canada-is-the-worst-its-ever-been-heres-how-we-can-solve-it-216399">Food insecurity in Canada is the worst it's ever been — here's how we can solve it</a>
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<p>Food insecurity is a rapidly escalating <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/brief/food-security-update">global problem</a> that challenges agriculture companies to find radically new ways to produce crops efficiently: with less waste, fewer pesticides and shorter time to market, while also reducing their energy footprint. </p>
<p>As traditional outdoor farming is unable to address these challenges, indoor farming techniques, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1848-0_2">controlled environment agriculture (CEA)</a> are becoming of particular interest. However, they require proper computer-aided support. Such computer-aided methods and tools are developed in our lab on <a href="https://istvandavid.com/lab">Sustainable Systems and Methods (SSM)</a> at McMaster University.</p>
<h2>Digital twins</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/louisbiscotti/2022/04/19/controlled-environmental-agriculture-cea-the-great-outdoors-gives-way-to-the-great-indoors">CEA</a> is the technique of growing crops in an isolated environment artificially controlled by complex machinery HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), irrigation and lighting systems, alongside an array of sensors to measure environmental conditions. </p>
<p>Thanks to automation, controlled environments achieve better yield and quality than traditional farming settings, while also reducing waste.</p>
<p>As these improvements come with increased complexity, finding the optimal growth strategy — that is, the sequence of environmental conditions that stimulate growth at the most appropriate pace and reduce energy consumption — is particularly challenging. </p>
<p>This is another complex challenge that requires continuous monitoring of the environment, real-time decision-making and high-precision control of the environment — tasks that are beyond the limits of human capabilities. </p>
<p>Computer-aided support, such as <a href="https://www.ibm.com/topics/what-is-a-digital-twin">digital twins</a>, can play an important role.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-digital-twins-a-pair-of-computer-modeling-experts-explain-181829">What are digital twins? A pair of computer modeling experts explain</a>
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<p>Digital twins are digital representations of physical objects, people or processes. They aid decision-making through high-fidelity simulations of the twinned physical system in real time and are often equipped with autonomous control capabilities. </p>
<p>In precision agriculture, digital twins are typically used for <a href="https://istvandavid.com/files/models-2023-dt4cbps-preprint.pdf">monitoring and controlling environmental conditions</a> to stimulate crop growth at an optimal and sustainable rate.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An overview of indoor ‘vertical’ farming produced by Eater.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Digital twins provide a live dashboard to observe the environmental conditions in the growing area, and with varying autonomy, digital twins can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.103046">control the environment directly</a>. </p>
<p>Reducing energy consumption — or rather, improving the crop-to-energy ratio — is one of the obvious goals at precision agriculture facilities as heating and cooling the facility <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.01.074">consumes a lot of energy</a>. </p>
<p>Digital twins can also be used for <a href="https://www.autodesk.com/solutions/digital-twin/architecture-engineering-construction">designing new greenhouses</a>. For example, a digital twin that collected data over a long period in a greenhouse can be used for experimentation purposes when a new greenhouse is designed.</p>
<h2>Is this economically feasible?</h2>
<p>Developing digital twins and improving the digital maturity of farming companies are the main cost drivers in the adoption of digitally enhanced CEA.</p>
<p>The costs associated with the development of the digital twin are mostly related to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/04/19/what-businesses-should-know-about-digital-twins">hardware elements and software development</a>. Home-brew solutions, experimentation with cheap devices and gradual expansion of functionality are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2020.105942">good first steps</a> and help adopt the right digitalization mindset. </p>
<p>However, professional grower settings require industry-grade sub-systems, which are in a completely different league in terms of costs, and employing them requires a carefully prepared <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/10/23/4-digital-twin-challenges-to-overcome-for-better-business-decision-making">organizational digital strategy</a>.</p>
<p>Agriculture is among the <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/04/a-chart-that-shows-which-industries-are-the-most-digital-and-why">lowest-digitalized</a> sectors, and digital maturity is an absolute prerequisite to adopting digital twins. As a consequence, costs related to digital maturity often overshadow technical costs in smart agriculture.</p>
<p>A company undergoing the early stages of digitalization will have to think about choosing a cloud provider, establishing a data strategy and acquiring an array of software licences, to name just <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/04/20/18-smart-early-steps-in-digital-transformation-that-can-yield-long-term-wins">a few critical challenges</a>. </p>
<p>Organizational costs are hard to assess, but they might render the economic outlook of a company bleak. This is a particularly painful growing stage that requires proper consulting. </p>
<p>There have been <a href="https://nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2022/03/16/ai-on-the-farm-a-new-path-to-food-self-sufficiency/">recent success stories</a> of industrial-academic collaborations that helped scope ongoing digitalization efforts at agricultural companies.</p>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>The need for food security and sustainable production is as urgent as it’s ever been. </p>
<p>Amid dramatic climate change, forest fires all across Canada, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/20/revealed-almost-everyone-in-europe-breathing-toxic-air">extreme air pollution in Europe</a>, an ongoing energy crisis and the continuous growth of population, food self-sufficiency is among the top goals of humankind. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-technologies-that-will-help-make-the-food-system-carbon-neutral-182846">5 technologies that will help make the food system carbon neutral</a>
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<p>Meeting <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/">the second sustainability development goal</a> of the United Nations General Assembly — that is, to eradicate global hunger by 2030 — will require a complete paradigm shift in agriculture. </p>
<p>One way to meet this ambitious goal is by advanced digitalization and digital twins. There are still obstacles to tackle before we get there, but with the constantly decreasing price of hardware and computing power, digitally driven smart agriculture is becoming a reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Istvan David received funding from the Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO).</span></em></p>Digital twin technology is a huge boon for indoor farming and may hold the key to addressing rising global food scarcity.Istvan David, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159202023-11-01T14:37:13Z2023-11-01T14:37:13ZGiraffes could go extinct – the 5 biggest threats they face<p>Giraffes are the world’s tallest mammals and an African icon, but they are also vulnerable to extinction. </p>
<p>Giraffe populations have <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9194/136266699">declined</a> by 40% in the last 30 years, and there are now fewer than 70,000 mature individuals left in the wild. What are the causes of this alarming decline, and what can be done to protect these gentle giants? </p>
<p>The five biggest threats to giraffes are habitat loss, insufficient law enforcement, ecological changes, climate change, and lack of awareness. Below, I will tell you about these threats and what is being done to save them. </p>
<p>I will also explain a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.16970">study</a> I was a part of that ranked these threats in terms of each one’s danger of causing giraffe extinction, and whether human actions can alleviate that danger. The study used data from more than 3,100 giraffes identified over eight years in an unfenced 4,500km² area of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarangire_Ecosystem">Tarangire ecosystem</a> in Tanzania. We used the data to simulate how environmental and land use changes could affect the giraffe population over 50 years. </p>
<p>The findings can guide conservation actions.</p>
<h2>Habitat degradation, fragmentation and loss</h2>
<p>Giraffes need large areas of savanna with abundant native bushes and trees to feed on. The biggest threat to giraffes is the degradation, fragmentation and loss of their habitats through human activities such as farming and human settlement expansion.</p>
<p>Habitat loss outside protected areas is the main reason for the recent decline in giraffe numbers. National parks provide most of the remaining habitat. Some good habitat remains unprotected but is cared for by pastoralists. </p>
<p>Traditional pastoralists like the Maasai in northern Tanzania <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520273559/savannas-of-our-birth">maintain</a> large spaces of natural savanna where wildlife and people thrive together. </p>
<p>However, most people now living in areas that were giraffe habitat are sedentary. As populations of farmers and townspeople expand, giraffes are forced into smaller and more isolated patches of land. This <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.01.017">reduces</a> their access to food and water, and increases their vulnerability. </p>
<p>Conservationists are working to safeguard existing unprotected giraffe habitat and maintain or restore the connections among protected areas. Community-based <a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.21549">natural resource management</a> is central to this activity. It gives local communities the legal power to protect their land and resources. </p>
<h2>Insufficient law enforcement</h2>
<p>Another major threat to giraffes is illegal hunting (<a href="https://esj-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1007/s10144-015-0499-9">poaching</a>) for bushmeat markets. This is usually controlled by <a href="https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2020/Wildlife-crime-closing-ranks-on-serious-crime-in-the-illegal-animal-trade">international criminal syndicates</a>. </p>
<p>Strong wildlife law enforcement is the best tool to combat this threat. Conservationists are working to strengthen local and international law enforcement around wildlife crimes, and to reduce the demand for giraffe products. At the grassroots level, this requires supporting anti-poaching patrols by rangers and village game scouts. It’s also essential that communities should have legal alternative ways to make a living. </p>
<h2>Ecological changes</h2>
<p>A third major threat to giraffes is human-caused ecological change that affects their food availability and mobility. These changes include deforestation of savannas for fuelwood and charcoal production, mining activity, and road and pipeline building. Water diversion and groundwater pumping also affect their habitat and access to water.</p>
<p>Mining, roads and pipelines can disrupt the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93604-4_12">natural movement patterns</a> of wildlife, leading to smaller, more isolated populations that are more susceptible to local extinction. </p>
<p>Conservationists are promoting sustainable forestry, new cooking techniques such as gas stoves, water conservation and planning for groundwater resources, and building wildlife crossings into roads and pipelines.</p>
<h2>Climate change</h2>
<p>Climate change from human-caused <a href="https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc226754/m1/1/">carbon dioxide pollution</a> is forecast to increase temperatures and rainfall in many African savanna areas. Giraffes are unaffected by the higher temperatures observed so far, but increased seasonal rainfall is associated with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-023-02645-4">lower giraffe survival</a> due to disease and lower food quality. </p>
<p>Over the longer term, more rainfall will create conditions favourable to increased woody plant cover in savannas. This could help giraffes by increasing their food supply, but only if enough natural savanna is preserved from human exploitation.</p>
<h2>Lack of knowledge and awareness</h2>
<p>The fifth major threat to giraffes is the lack of knowledge and awareness about their conservation needs. Giraffes are often overlooked and underrepresented in wildlife research, funding and policy. Many people are unaware that giraffes are endangered and face multiple threats across Africa. </p>
<p>Conservationists are working to increase knowledge and awareness about giraffes locally and worldwide. Scientists are studying giraffe <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22044">demography</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyac007">diet</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13582">behaviour</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.10160">genetics</a>, and there is a large <a href="https://www.africasgiants.org/natures-giants-news">environmental education programme</a> in Tanzania, the US and Europe. </p>
<h2>Creating a safe future for giraffes</h2>
<p>Giraffes are facing a silent extinction crisis in Africa. But there is still hope that they can be saved if people understand and address the threats. </p>
<p>The new <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.16970">study</a> I coauthored ranked threats and looked at potentially mitigating actions. Our simulation showed that the greatest risk factor for local giraffe extinction was a reduction in wildlife law enforcement leading to more poaching. In the model, an increase in law enforcement would mitigate the negative effects of climate change and the expansion of towns along the edges of protected areas. The study highlights the great utility of law enforcement as a nature conservation tool. </p>
<p>Given their vast historical Africa-wide range and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347219300260">individual home ranges</a> of thousands of hectares, giraffes will not likely survive only within the boundaries of small, fragmented protected areas. I propose as part of our evidence-based recommendations that rangelands used by wildlife and pastoralists as movement pathways be permanently protected from farming, mining and infrastructure. This will give people as well as wide-ranging animals like giraffes freedom to roam. </p>
<p>It will also require the expansion of wildlife law enforcement in village lands outside formal protected areas. </p>
<p>These measures would help make it possible for people and giraffes to thrive together.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215920/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Derek E. Lee receives funding from Penn State University, Berlin World Wild, Sacramento Zoo, Columbus Zoo, Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Tulsa Zoo, Zoo Miami, Cincinnati Zoo, Como Park Zoo, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Anne Innis Dagg Foundation, and Save the Giraffes. He is affiliated with Wild Nature Institute.</span></em></p>Giraffes are vulnerable to extinction, mainly due to habitat loss and killing for bushmeat markets. The good news is human actions can alleviate that danger.Derek E. Lee, Associate Research Professor of Biology, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2140562023-10-25T17:53:55Z2023-10-25T17:53:55ZIn defence of Bill C-282: Canada’s supply management supports farmers while safeguarding consumers<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/in-defence-of-bill-c-282-canadas-supply-management-supports-farmers-while-safeguarding-consumers" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The recent passage of <a href="https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-282/third-reading">Bill C-282</a>, legislation that prevents Canadian trade negotiators from surrendering additional supply managed commodities — like eggs and dairy — in international trade negotiations, has reignited debates over Canada’s supply management system.</p>
<p>Canada’s supply management system is designed to align the production of dairy, eggs and poultry with domestic consumption through the judicious use of quotas and tariffs. </p>
<p>Critics of the bill <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/no-party-wants-to-kill-this-bill-that-could-keep-groceries-more-expensive-forever">argue it may hamstring our trade negotiators and raise food prices</a>, claiming that Canada’s supply management system is designed to “constrain supply, strangle competition with tariffs and keep prices high” by limiting dairy, eggs and poultry imports from the United States.</p>
<p>However, there is no evidence to support these claims. This kind of criticism relies on outdated beliefs in the sanctity of the so-called free market and its ability to produce cheap goods.</p>
<p>If Canada wishes to preserve domestic farms and enhance food security, officials must have limits on what they can give up to American and other foreign interests. We argue the current supply management model works to provide competitive prices to consumers, while also providing a living wage for farmers.</p>
<h2>The Canadian model is working</h2>
<p>If the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated anything over the past several years, it’s that <a href="https://www.uc.utoronto.ca/eating-age-covid-19-food-security-canada-during-and-after-pandemic">local food production is necessary to ensure food security</a>. Evidence suggests that the global food system has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2022.2129013">exacerbated environmental degradation and food insecurity</a> while consolidating power in the hands of a select few global food corporations.</p>
<p>It’s clear we need to invest in local, community-based food sources — something supply management is able to facilitate by the nature of its operation. The supply management model is focused on supplying food to the Canadian market, with very limited opportunity for exports. </p>
<p>Under this model, dairy and eggs are generally marketed in the region in which they are produced — <a href="https://grayridge.com/">Ontario eggs are sold</a> in Ontario supermarkets — thereby privileging the local.</p>
<p>Supply management also <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/campaigns/food-sovereignty/">reflects some of the concepts common to the food sovereignty movement</a>. Food sovereignty refers to the right for people to define their own food and agriculture systems and produce healthy and culturally appropriate food using ecologically sound and sustainable practices.</p>
<p>Food sovereignty puts community first, prioritizing local and regional food needs. Notably, Canada’s supply management system has been recognized as an <a href="https://www.nfu.ca/campaigns/supply-management/">important institution of food sovereignty</a> by the National Farmers Union because of its defense of local food production.</p>
<p>Canada’s supply management system also contributes to rural sustainability. Smaller dairy (an average farm size of 88 milking cows) and egg (an average farm size of 23,000 laying hens) farms provide a stability on rural concession roads that is unmatched when they are adequately supported. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.eggfarmers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-02-20_Strengthening-Canadas-rural-economies.pdf">Supply-managed farms outshine their counterparts</a> in the hog, beef and oilseeds/grains sectors by making more investments, creating more jobs and contributing more to the GDP per farm.</p>
<h2>Fairer production</h2>
<p>Canada’s current supply management model works well for both consumers and producers. Producers reap the rewards of a system that ensures farmers are paid fair prices for their products, covering the costs of production. Meanwhile, consumers enjoy the benefits of a stable supply of eggs, safeguarding them from significant price fluctuations.</p>
<p>Supply management is a legitimate tool for co-ordinating production with demand and <a href="https://www.cirano.qc.ca/files/publications/2011DT-01.pdf">avoiding overproduction and waste</a> — two chronic issues that have plagued the United States and Europe, despite significant price supports, subsidies, government purchase programs and import restrictions.</p>
<p>In today’s economic landscape, ensuring food affordability is as critical as ever. Despite worldwide inflation, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/food-inflation-how-canada-s-grocery-prices-compares-to-other-nations-1.6425009">Canada had the second-lowest food inflation rate in the world</a> at 8.9 per cent over the year from June 2022. This stands in contrast to the 19.6 per cent increase in the United Kingdom and the European Union, Hungary’s 45.1 per cent and Argentina’s staggering 95 per cent.</p>
<h2>Farmer wages</h2>
<p>The connection between fair farmer incomes and food sustainability and sovereignty must be emphasized.</p>
<p>If food producers can’t make a living, they will leave the industry and cause catastrophic consequences. This is already happening in some places. In the U.K., rising production costs and lower farm prices <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/29/uk-dairy-farmers-costs-milk-price-energy-feed-bills">are forcing farmers out of the industry</a> and jeopardizing the U.K.’s self-sufficiency in the dairy sector.</p>
<p>In Australia, <a href="https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/agribusiness/dairy/dairy-farmers-leaving-industry-amid-major-loss-of-confidence/news-story/895e4ac0662678640937beed170ceaa0">farmers are leaving dairy by the thousands</a> because of price crashes. Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the world’s largest exporter of dairy, <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/131610390/indebted-dairy-farmers-in-for-a-tough-time-as-milk-price-weakens-while-costs-go-nuts">the livelihoods of dairy farmers remain precarious</a>. Egg prices in New Zealand increased year-over-year <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/492153/here-s-why-egg-prices-are-still-climbing-according-to-the-industry">by 75 per cent in June</a>.</p>
<p>Even in the U.S., <a href="https://edairynews.com/en/selling-cows-dairy-farmers-business/">the story is similar</a>. Rapidly rising input costs like fuel, insurance, feed prices and labour costs, combined with stagnant or lower milk prices, have led farmers to depart that industry.</p>
<p>As supermarkets, middlemen and global food corporations pay farmers less and input costs go up, this situation has been aptly called “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/opinion/300590422/higher-farming-costs-will-quickly-start-eating-into-dairy-profits">a cost of farming crisis</a>.”</p>
<h2>Deregulation threatens sustainability</h2>
<p>The recent passage of Bill C-282, and the discussion of the bill in the Senate, presents an opportunity to reflect on the importance of food systems that serve to enhance Canadian food sustainability, security and sovereignty. As the earlier international examples make clear, deregulation in dairy farming has not led to vibrant, sustainable industries, but quite the opposite. </p>
<p>Further proof is highlighted by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/31/us-dairy-policies-hurt-small-farms-monopolies-get-rich">food policy analysts in the U.S.</a> who are calling on the government to reform dairy policies they argue have caused “devastating farmer loss and hardship, and a worsening environmental outlook.” </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2023/01/31/new-report-exposes-corporate-monopolies-driving-u-s-dairy-crisis/">Food and Water Watch report</a> illustrates how U.S. dairy policies centred around export markets have hurt family-sized farms by slashing on-farm profits, encouraging extreme industry consolidation and increasing environmental degradation and exploitative practices of resources. </p>
<p>Bill C-282 attempts to protect a domestic system that rejects this model. Policymakers and all Canadians should work to support systems that allow for valuable food industries to flourish, rather than dismantle them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214056/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Muirhead receives funding from Egg Farmers of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jodey Nurse has received funding from Egg Farmers of Canada in the past. Her current work is not funded by them.</span></em></p>If Canada wishes to preserve domestic farms and enhance food security, officials must have limits on what they can concede to American and other foreign interests.Bruce Muirhead, Professor of History and Egg Farmers of Canada Chair in Public Policy, University of WaterlooJodey Nurse, Faculty Lecturer, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136822023-10-16T14:10:38Z2023-10-16T14:10:38ZTraditional farming knowledge should be stored for future use: the technology to do this is available<p>Indigenous knowledge and traditional practices have played a critical <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/574381468765625385/pdf/multi0page.pdf">role</a> in development all over the world. For centuries, various disciplines ranging from medicine to biodiversity conservation have drawn on these resources. </p>
<p>On the African continent, societies have been guided by a wide range of beliefs, norms, customs and procedures in managing their ecological and social systems.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="http://repository.embuni.ac.ke/handle/123456789/4152">cultural values</a> and social practices have helped communities achieve sustainable agriculture. These include traditional practices in <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/83308">food preservation</a>, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ldr.3395">weather monitoring and forecasting</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666049021000566">crop production</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, indigenous knowledge of agricultural practices is rapidly disappearing, because it is not being <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emmanuel-Attoh-3/publication/352197647_Indigenous_knowledge_and_climate_change_adaptation_in_Africa_a_systematic_review/links/60be743792851cb13d88b9b9/Indigenous-knowledge-and-climate-change-adaptation-in-Africa-a-systematic-review.pdf">preserved</a>. One possible solution is digitalisation. This involves using modern information and communication technologies to capture, store and share farmers’ traditional wisdom and practices.</p>
<p>I conducted a <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/ejc-jpad_v57_n4_a5">literature review</a> to explore the benefits and challenges of preserving indigenous agricultural knowledge in a digital form in Africa.</p>
<p>I found that mobile phones, computers, cameras, scanners and voice recorders were useful tools for this purpose. But the process must involve the local communities that use these practices. They are the creators, guardians and sharers of indigenous knowledge through their lived experiences and practices.</p>
<p>Their participation is critical for a number of reasons. One is that they would improve the quality and accuracy of knowledge stored in digital form. Another is that they would avoid errors or misunderstandings that might arise from <a href="https://rb.gy/vsahl">language or cultural barriers</a>.</p>
<p>Digital technologies can enable wider use of <a href="https://rb.gy/qd1q1">indigenous knowledge</a>. They can promote better management of agricultural resources and preserve traditional practices. </p>
<p>I also identified several challenges that hinder the process. Policy gaps, <a href="https://core.ac.uk/reader/188123510">network connectivity issues</a> and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0833-5.ch010">high cost</a> of digital tools were among them.</p>
<p>The findings of this study could inform policies and interventions to record and share indigenous knowledge in Africa.</p>
<h2>Digitalisation: what’s missing?</h2>
<p>Digital technologies are already widely used in Africa, particularly among smallholder farmers. They are used in <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b180/025358c0b38123ea1b34bad11cc0761123ca.pdf">irrigation farming</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031158">precision farming</a>, drought predictions, micro-climate monitoring, and crop disease risk assessments. Efficiency, productivity and functionality are among the claimed benefits.</p>
<p>But my study found little evidence of indigenous agricultural knowledge being preserved. Some countries are making progress, however. South Africa has developed a system to document indigenous knowledge. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are also developing and using <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/574381468765625385/pdf/multi0page.pdf">knowledge management initiatives</a>. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0340035216681326">In Ghana</a>, people are recording traditional knowledge of forest food and medicine. </p>
<p>More needs to be done. </p>
<h2>How it could be done</h2>
<p>Indigenous agricultural knowledge can be collected, processed, stored and shared in various formats. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0833-5.ch010">Technologies</a> such as smartphones, voice recorders and video cameras can <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dennis-Ocholla/publication/329359896_Information_and_Communication_Technology_Tools_for_Managing_Indigenous_Knowledge_in_KwaZulu-Natal_Province_South_Africa/links/5c0421e092851c63cab5cb99/Information-and-Communication-Technology-Tools-for-Managing-Indigenous-Knowledge-in-KwaZulu-Natal-Province-South-Africa.pdf">capture texts, videos</a>, images and voice narrations about indigenous plants and traditional agricultural practices. </p>
<p>These could cover information on crop production systems, food preservation and livestock management. Weather and seasonal forecasting would be another area to cover. Management of resources like soil and water would also be useful to record. </p>
<p>The study found that databases of these practices and information could be a great resource for farmers. They could share their experiences of applying indigenous practices on various digital platforms. Other users could provide feedback. </p>
<p>My research also showed that the internet would be a valuable tool. Information could be shared on <a href="https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/1667">platforms</a> such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.</p>
<h2>Hurdles to overcome</h2>
<p>The study identified several challenges facing the digitalisation of indigenous agricultural knowledge. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dennis-Ocholla/publication/329359896_Information_and_Communication_Technology_Tools_for_Managing_Indigenous_Knowledge_in_KwaZulu-Natal_Province_South_Africa/links/5c0421e092851c63cab5cb99/Information-and-Communication-Technology-Tools-for-Managing-Indigenous-Knowledge-in-KwaZulu-Natal-Province-South-Africa.pdf">Affordability</a> of smartphones is sometimes an issue for smallholder farmers. And connectivity is sometimes poor in rural or semi-urban areas. </p>
<p>Governments could make strategic investments to overcome these challenges. </p>
<p>I argue in my paper that the application of indigenous agricultural knowledge practices could help address declining agricultural productivity on the continent. </p>
<p>In addition, I argue in favour of promoting indigenous knowledge of agricultural practices to address social challenges. Indigenous knowledge has a contribution to make to sustainable agricultural productivity and food systems. It also offers insights that may be useful for conserving natural resources such as water, forests and land.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213682/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mourine Sarah Achieng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Digitalisation offers a way to preserve indigenous knowledge of agricultural practices and connect new generations of farmers to knowledge and wisdom from the past.Mourine Sarah Achieng, Post Doctoral Fellow, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2138662023-10-10T19:06:17Z2023-10-10T19:06:17ZWhy Australia urgently needs a climate plan and a Net Zero National Cabinet Committee to implement it<p>Australia has <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/australia-legislates-emissions-reduction-targets">a legislated target</a> to reduce greenhouse emissions, a federal government with commitments <a href="https://www.energycouncil.com.au/analysis/the-82-per-cent-national-renewable-energy-target-where-did-it-come-from-and-how-can-we-get-there/#:%7E:text=A%20national%20renewable%20electricity%20target,Interconnected%20System%2C%20and%20the%20North">to increase the share of renewable electricity</a> and reduce power prices, and a globally important economic opportunity at its feet. </p>
<p>In the second half of the government’s current term, delivery looks hard across the board. All is not lost, but we must transform our economy to a timetable. The unprecedented scale and pace of the economic transformation, and the consequences of failure, demand an unprecedented response. </p>
<p>To get things on track requires the government to develop a plan with the right mix of political commitment, credible policies, coordination with industry, and support from communities. And, critically, the plan must be implemented. Too often targets have been set without being linked to policies to achieve them, or linked so poorly that the extra cost and delay sets back the climate transition.</p>
<p>By the middle of this year, Australia’s emissions were <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/policy-topics/measuring-what-matters/dashboard/emissions-reduction">25% below the 2005 level</a>. But the trend of steady reductions has stalled, and sectors such as <a href="https://www.climatechangeauthority.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021Fact%20sheet%20-%20Transport.pdf">transport</a> and agriculture have moved in the wrong direction. </p>
<p>Such ups and downs will continue in response to external events, as we have seen with COVID, droughts, and war on the other side of the world. Policies must be flexible if they are to remain broadly on course in the face of such events. </p>
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<h2>Trouble in the power department</h2>
<p>The detail matters: national emissions reductions <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-greenhouse-gas-inventory-march-2023.pdf">have slowed</a>, as has <a href="https://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/cec-australian-wind-and-solar-investment-slows-in-q2-energy-storage-booms/#:%7E:text=The%20slowdown%20in%20investment%20in,support%20from%20the%20federal%20government.">the growth in renewable generation</a> towards the government’s 2030 target of 82%. </p>
<p>At the same time, the government’s <a href="https://www.alp.org.au/policies/powering-australia">target of lower power bills</a> by 2025 looks out of reach, and electricity reliability is threatened as coal-fired generation closes without adequate replacement.</p>
<p>The production and use of natural gas <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Flame-out-Grattan-report.pdf">contributes around 20%</a> of Australia’s emissions. The use of gas in industry will be covered by the <a href="https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/NGER/The-Safeguard-Mechanism#:%7E:text=The%20Safeguard%20Mechanism%20has%20been%20in%20place%20since%201%20July,must%20manage%20their%20excess%20emissions.">Safeguard Mechanism</a>, a policy designed by the Coalition and now revised by Labor, to drive down emissions from the country’s 200 biggest emitters. </p>
<p>Emissions from gas-fired power generation will fall with the growth of renewables. But there are no constraints on fossil gas use in other sectors, such as our homes. </p>
<p>Industrial emissions are <a href="https://theconversation.com/nearly-30-of-australias-emissions-come-from-industry-tougher-rules-for-big-polluters-is-a-no-brainer-190264">slowly growing</a>. The huge amount of hype about green hydrogen has so far proven to be little more than that: Australia continues to have lots of potential green hydrogen projects, but <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/australia-leads-world-in-green-hydrogen-hype-and-hope-but-not-in-actual-projects/">virtually none are delivered</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, we remain without <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/fuel-efficiency-standard-cleaner-cheaper-run-cars-australia-consultation-paper-april2023.pdf">constraints on vehicle emissions</a>, and with a large herd of <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/cp/CP22299#:%7E:text=In%20Australia%2C%2071%25%20of%20agricultural,by%20grazing%20sheep%20and%20cattle.">grazing cattle and sheep</a> whose emissions are determined more by the weather than the actions of our best-meaning farmers.</p>
<h2>The risk of swinging from naive to negative</h2>
<p>So, we are in a hard place. Naïve optimism about an easy, cheap transition to net zero is at risk of giving way to brutal negativity that it’s all just too hard. The warnings of early spring fires and floods in Australia and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/17/extreme-temperatures-recorded-across-northern-hemisphere">extreme heat</a> during the most recent northern hemisphere summer will feed this tension.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/too-hard-basket-why-climate-change-is-defeating-our-political-system-214382">Too hard basket: why climate change is defeating our political system</a>
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<p>The federal government’s latest <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/2023-intergenerational-report">Intergenerational</a> Report provides a deeply disturbing snapshot of the potential economic impacts if we fail to get climate change under control. Yet in a world 3 to 4 degrees hotter than pre-industrial levels, economic impacts could be the least of our worries.</p>
<p>The task is unparalleled outside wartime. Within 30 years we must manage the decline of fossil fuel extractive sectors, transform every aspect of our energy and transport sectors, reindustrialise much of manufacturing, and find solutions to difficult problems in agriculture.</p>
<p>What’s to be done?</p>
<h2>The need for a Net Zero National Cabinet Committee</h2>
<p>We should begin with leadership across the federal government, coordinated with the states and territories. The best structure might be a Net Zero National Cabinet Committee with two clear objectives – to develop and begin implementing a national net zero transformation plan by the end of 2024. </p>
<p>Modern governments are more than happy to set targets and announce plans to meet them. They seem to have lost the capacity or will to implement such plans. The <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/news/net-zero-economy-agency#:%7E:text=The%20Net%20Zero%20Economy%20Agency,of%20the%20net%20zero%20economy.">Net Zero Economy Agency</a>, created in July and chaired by former Climate Change Minister Greg Combet, could be charged with that task.</p>
<p>The first step is being taken – the <a href="https://www.climatechangeauthority.gov.au/">Climate Change Authority</a> is now advising on emissions reduction targets for 2035 and perhaps beyond. The government’s work to create pathways to reducing emissions in every economic sector must be used to build a comprehensive set of policies that are directly linked to meeting the targets.</p>
<h2>How to get electricity moving in the right direction</h2>
<p>The electricity sector can be put on track with three actions. One, drive emissions reduction towards net zero using a sector-focused policy such as the <a href="https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/RET/About-the-Renewable-Energy-Target">Renewable Energy Target</a> or the Safeguard Mechanism. </p>
<p>Two, implement the <a href="https://www.energy.gov.au/government-priorities/energy-supply/capacity-investment-scheme">Capacity Investment Scheme</a>, a policy intended to deliver dispatchable electricity capacity to balance a system built on intermittent wind and solar supply. </p>
<p>Three, set up a National Transmission Agency to work with the <a href="https://aemo.com.au/en">Australian Energy Market Operator</a> (AEMO) to plan the national transmission grid and with authority to direct, fund, and possibly own that grid.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/made-in-america-how-bidens-climate-package-is-fuelling-the-global-drive-to-net-zero-214709">Made in America: how Biden's climate package is fuelling the global drive to net zero</a>
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<p>For heavy industry, the scale and pace of change demands a 21st-century industry policy, in three parts. Activities such as coal mining will be essentially incompatible with a net-zero economy. Activities such as steel-making may be able to transform through economic, low-emissions technologies. </p>
<p>Finally, activities such as low-emissions extraction and processing of critical energy minerals, which are insignificant today but which in time could help Australia to capitalise on globally significant comparative advantages. </p>
<h2>Create a plan – and stick to it</h2>
<p>The government has made a good start by revising the Safeguard Mechanism and the <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/publications/australias-national-hydrogen-strategy">Hydrogen Strategy</a> and developing a <a href="https://www.globalaustralia.gov.au/industries/net-zero/critical-minerals#:%7E:text=Australia's%20Critical%20Mineral%20Strategy%202023,raw%20and%20processed%20critical%20minerals.">Critical Minerals Strategy</a>. These should be brought together in an overarching policy framework with consistent, targeted policies linked to clear goals, developed and executed in sustained collaboration with industry. </p>
<p>The Safeguard Mechanism will need to be extended beyond 2030 and its emissions threshold for the companies it covers lowered to 25,000 tonnes of emissions per year.</p>
<p>Industry funding will probably need to expand, and give priority to export-oriented industries that will grow in a net-zero global economy. And the federal and state governments should phase out all programs that encourage expansion of fossil fuel extraction or consumption.</p>
<p>In transport, long-delayed emissions standards should be set and implemented. Finally, government-funded research, some of it already underway, should focus on difficult areas such as early-stage emissions reduction technologies in specific heavy industries, transport subsectors, and emissions from grazing cattle and sheep.</p>
<p>There is little new or radical in the elements of this plan. What would be new is a commitment to its design and implementation. This is what government needs to do now. The consequences of failure are beyond our worst fears, the benefits of success beyond our best dreams.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213866/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tony Wood may have a financial interest in companies relevant to the article through his superannuation fund. </span></em></p>Australia’s move towards net zero emissoions by 2020 is in danger of stalling. If it is not to fail, the nation urgently needs a government plan, aligned with industry and with public support.Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2113302023-10-10T17:36:24Z2023-10-10T17:36:24ZAmerica’s farmers are getting older, and young people aren’t rushing to join them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552404/original/file-20231005-29-2cqeho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C45%2C5032%2C3324&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Seeking greenhorns with green thumbs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/caucasian-farmer-standing-in-field-checking-crop-royalty-free-image/678824087">Steve Smith/Tetra Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
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<p>Hardworking American farmers keep the world fed and clothed. But the farming labor force has a problem: It’s aging rapidly.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2019/2017Census_Farm_Producers.pdf">average American farmer is 57 and a half years old</a>, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s up sharply from 1978, when the figure was <a href="https://agcensus.library.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/1982-United_States-CHAPTER_1_State_Data-121-Table-05.pdf">just a smidge over 50</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lEIbjzkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">As researchers</a> <a href="https://www.humansci.msstate.edu/associate.php?id=377">who study well-being</a> <a href="https://www.agecon.msstate.edu/people/jjg8">in rural areas</a>, we wanted to understand this trend and its implications. So we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/prad015">dug into the data</a>.</p>
<h2>Amber waves of graying</h2>
<p>We found that the average age of farmers was fairly consistent across the country, even though the <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2022/comm/aging-nation-median-age.html">general population’s age</a> varies quite a bit from place to place. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Maine/mev1.pdf">average Maine farmer</a> is just a few months older than the <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_State_Level/Utah/utv1.pdf">average farmer in Utah</a>, even though the average Maine resident is <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-estimates-characteristics.html">more than a decade older</a> than the average Utahn. </p>
<p>To be fair, we did find some local differences. For example, in New York County – better known as Manhattan – the average farmer is just north of 31. Next door in Hudson County, New Jersey, the average farmer is more than 72.</p>
<p>On the whole, though, America’s farming workforce is getting older. If the country doesn’t recruit new farmers or adapt to having fewer, older ones, it could put the nation’s food supply at risk. Before panicking, though, it’s worth asking: Why is this happening? </p>
<h2>A tough field to break into</h2>
<p>To start, there are <a href="https://www.youngfarmers.org/22survey/">real barriers to entry</a> for young people – at least those who weren’t born into multigenerational farming families. It takes money to buy the land, equipment and other stuff you need to run a farm, and younger people have <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/scf17.pdf">less wealth</a> than older ones. </p>
<p>Young people born into family farms may have fewer opportunities to take them over due to <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2020/february/consolidation-in-us-agriculture-continues/">consolidation in agriculture</a>. And those who do have the chance may not seize it, since they often report that <a href="https://www.onthefarm.life/">rural life is more challenging</a> than living in a city or suburb. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/farm-stress/addressing-farm-stress-essential-insights-for-agricultural-economists">overall stress of the agriculture industry</a> is also a concern: Farmers are often at the mercy of weather, supply shortages, volatile markets and other factors entirely out of their control.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The ups and downs of farm life take center stage in “On the Farm,” a docuseries produced by Mississippi State University.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In addition to understanding why fewer younger people want to go into agriculture, it’s important to consider aging farmers’ needs. Without younger people to leave the work to, farmers are left with intense labor — physically and mentally – to accomplish, on top of the ordinary <a href="https://theconversation.com/aging-is-complicated-a-biologist-explains-why-no-two-people-or-cells-age-the-same-way-and-what-this-means-for-anti-aging-interventions-202096">challenges of aging</a>.</p>
<p>In other words, the U.S. needs to increase opportunities for younger farmers while also supporting farmers as they age. </p>
<h2>Opportunities to help</h2>
<p>The USDA <a href="https://www.usda.gov/partnerships/underserved-veteran-farmers-ranchers-foresters">already has programs</a> to <a href="https://www.farmers.gov/your-business/beginning-farmers">aid new farmers</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/minority-and-women-farmers-and-ranchers/index">farmers of color and female farmers</a>, and those who <a href="https://www.farmers.gov/your-business/small-scale-producers">operate small farms</a>. Expanding these programs’ reach and impact could help bring new talent into the field. </p>
<p>Congress could do just that when it <a href="https://theconversation.com/these-four-challenges-will-shape-the-next-farm-bill-and-how-the-us-eats-202555">reauthorizes the farm bill</a> – a package of laws covering a wide range of food – and agriculture-related programs that get passed roughly every five years.</p>
<p>The farm bill also includes <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program">nutrition aid</a> and funds <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/agriculture-improvement-act-of-2018-highlights-and-implications/rural-development">telehealth</a> and <a href="http://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/how-we-work/extension/cooperative-extension-system">training and educational outreach for farmers</a>, all of which could help meet the needs of young and aging farmers alike. Notably, the <a href="https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/how-we-work/extension/cooperative-extension-system">Cooperative Extension Service</a> offers programs that range from <a href="https://4-h.org/">4-H</a> and youth development, including introduction to agriculture, to providing on-site technical help.</p>
<p>Congress was supposed to reauthorize the farm bill by Sept. 30, 2023, but it <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2023/10/the-farm-bill-expired-what-happens-now">missed that deadline</a>. It now faces a new deadline of Dec. 31, but due to <a href="https://theconversation.com/ouster-of-speaker-mccarthy-highlights-house-republican-fractures-in-an-increasingly-polarized-america-214993">dysfunction in the House of Representatives</a>, many expect the process to drag on into 2024.</p>
<p>Also in 2024, the USDA will release its next <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/">Census of Agriculture</a>, giving researchers new insight into America’s farming workforce. We expect it will show that the average age of U.S. farmers has reached a new all-time high.</p>
<p>If you believe otherwise – well, we wouldn’t bet the farm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David R. Buys receives funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>As Director of the Southern Rural Development Center, one of the nation's four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) focused on enhancing capacity in research and Extension among Land-Grant Universities, John J. Green is involved in projects funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Relevant to this topic are base funding support for RRDCs and the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program grant 2021-67023-34425 and his participation in the Rural Population Research Network (W5001). He also receives support as part of the Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging funded by the National Institute on Aging grant R24-AG065159. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of these funders.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>As an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Mississippi State University, Mary Nelson Robertson is involved in projects supported by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Rural Health and Safety Education Grant No. 2020-46100-32841, Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Rural Opioids Technical Assistance (ROTA) Grant No. 5H79TI083275-02, and USDA NIFA Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN): Southern Region Grant No. 2020-70028-32730 from the University of Tennessee Extension Service, and USDA NIFA FRSAN: State Department of Agriculture Grant No. 2021-70035-35566 from Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.</span></em></p>It’s part of a decadeslong trend.David R. Buys, Associate Professor of Health, Mississippi State UniversityJohn J. Green, Director of the Southern Rural Development Center & Professor of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State UniversityMary Nelson Robertson, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science, Mississippi State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2111072023-10-05T03:16:20Z2023-10-05T03:16:20ZSuicide rates increased after extreme drought in the Murray-Darling Basin – we have to do better as climate change intensifies<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">impact on mental health of weather extremes</a> such as drought is a growing concern due to climate change.</p>
<p>Rural communities feel the impact of drought much more than urban residents. Our <a href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/full/10.1142/S2010007823500240">new research</a> looks at the link between drought and suicide rates in one of Australia’s biggest farming areas, the Murray-Darling Basin. </p>
<p>Drawing on monthly data from 2006 to 2016, our findings were alarming. We found, for instance, that one more month of extreme drought in the previous 12 months was strongly associated with a 32% increase in monthly suicide rates. </p>
<p>Climate change is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/">predicted</a> to bring more heat and <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/publications/publication/PIcsiro:EP201750">longer, more extreme droughts</a>. More effective approaches will be needed to prevent suicides in affected regions. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drought-increases-rural-suicide-and-climate-change-will-make-drought-worse-185392">Drought increases rural suicide, and climate change will make drought worse</a>
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<h2>Drought hits rural areas hardest</h2>
<p>Droughts induce <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1801528115">post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression</a>. Hotter temperatures can also <a href="https://www.bcm.edu/news/excessive-heat-and-its-impact-on-mental-health#:%7E:text=Heat%20alters%20those%20behaviors%20because,levels%20of%20stress%20and%20fatigue.">reduce levels of the brain chemical serotonin</a>. This has negative effects on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-019-05252-5">central nervous system and moods</a>. </p>
<p>In Australia, suicide is a <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release#key-statistics">leading cause of death</a> – especially for people aged 18-44. And the suicide rate in remote areas is <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/MentalHealthServices/Report">almost double that of major cities</a>. This is because drought can:</p>
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<li><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24721393">reduce agricultural production</a><br></li>
<li><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8489.12218">increase financial hardship</a></li>
<li><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/10398560701701288">degrade the environment</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0102-4">reduce employment</a>. </li>
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<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0222-x">Research overseas</a> found suicide rates rise with higher average temperatures. In Australia, a study found some evidence linking <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1112965109">drought and suicide</a> in New South Wales. However, a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1440-1584.2011.01244.x?saml_referrer">Victorian study</a> found no significant association.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bushfires-drought-covid-why-rural-australians-mental-health-is-taking-a-battering-148724">Bushfires, drought, COVID: why rural Australians' mental health is taking a battering</a>
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<h2>What happened in the basin?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/full/10.1142/S2010007823500240">Our study</a> looked at the Murray-Darling Basin. The region went through one of the worst droughts on record, the Millennium Drought, over the past couple of decades. </p>
<p>We analysed local area monthly data from 2006-16. We wanted to see whether worsening drought and heat were linked to higher monthly suicide rates, by examining differing types of droughts (moderate to extreme). </p>
<p>The map below shows the average suicide rate for 2006-2016 in local areas across the basin. Male suicide rates were over three times female rates.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541610/original/file-20230808-19-kenxlv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average suicide rate per 100,000 by local area in the Murray Darling Basin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/full/10.1142/S2010007823500240">Source: Xu et al (2023) using data from National Cause of Death Unit Record File from Australian Coordinating Registry (2006-2016) and ABS Population Census, 2006, 2011, 2016</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We sought to control for as many local area characteristics as possible. Our modelling included unemployment, income, education, proportion of farmers, proportion of Indigenous people, health professionals, green space and various climate and drought variables. We modelled suicide rates for different age and gender sub-groups. </p>
<p>Key findings include:</p>
<ul>
<li>one more month of extreme drought in the previous 12 months was strongly associated with the total suicide rate increasing by 32%</li>
<li>one more month of moderate drought in the previous 12 months was very weakly associated with a 2% increase in the suicide rate</li>
<li>a 1°C increase in average monthly maximum temperature in the previous 12 months was associated with up to an 8% increase in the suicide rate </li>
<li>in males and younger age groups, suicide rates are more strongly associated with extreme drought and higher temperatures</li>
<li>a higher proportion of farmers in a local area was associated with an increased suicide rate </li>
<li>a higher proportion of First Nations people in a local area was also associated with higher suicide rates</li>
<li>more green space was significantly associated with moderating impacts of both extreme drought and temperature on suicide rates</li>
<li>an increase in average annual household income moderated the relationship between higher temperature and suicide.</li>
</ul>
<p>Our results suggest the association between moderate drought and suicide rates is significant but the effect was small. As the drought becomes extreme, suicide rates increase significantly. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-findings-show-a-direct-causal-relationship-between-unemployment-and-suicide-209486">New findings show a direct causal relationship between unemployment and suicide</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>What can we do better to prevent suicides?</h2>
<p>Given drought’s impact on farm production and finances, mental health will clearly get worse in rural areas if the impacts of climate change are not better managed. </p>
<p>Mental health interventions to prevent suicide in <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7855">rural areas</a> are different from what’s needed in urban areas. Areas in the basin with higher percentages of farmers and First Nations people were hot spots. These areas may need special intervention. </p>
<p>Many have emphasised the need for a <a href="https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/The-National-Suicide-Prevention-Trials-Insights-and-Impact_Jan-2021-V3.pdf">systems approach to suicide prevention</a>. Actions need to be multifaceted and co-ordinated as well as possible. One intervention or approach is not enough. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1399143601125433346"}"></div></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hairdressers-in-rural-australia-end-up-being-counsellors-too-70275">Hairdressers in rural Australia end up being counsellors too</a>
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<p>Interventions in the bush range from telehealth and medical services to <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-mental-health-program">primary health networks services</a>, <a href="https://mensshed.org/">men’s sheds</a> and drought counselling. </p>
<p>The relationship between <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2018/209/4/drought-related-stress-among-farmers-findings-australian-rural-mental-health">drought and financial hardship</a> seems to be key in farming areas. This points to the need for other forms of income on the farm, including from native vegetation and carbon credits. Work can also be done to promote drought preparedness, increase appropriate regional economic, social development and environmental policies and – where necessary – help people leave farming. </p>
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<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Ann Wheeler has received funding from the Australian Research Council; GRDC; Wine Australia; MDBA; CRC Food Waste; CSIRO; Goyder Institute; SA Department of Environment and Water; ACCC; NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security; NSW Health; Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and Water; Meat and Livestock Australia; ACIAR; RIRDC; UNECE; NCCARF; National Water Commission; and the Government of Netherlands.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec Zuo receives funding from the Australian Research Council, GRDC, ACCC, NSW Health, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, ACIAR, NCCARF, and the National Water Commission.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ying Xu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Suicide rates jumped in the Murray Darling Basin following extreme drought and hotter temperatures, a new study shows. The findings highlight the need for action to manage climate change impacts.Sarah Ann Wheeler, Professor in Water Economics, University of AdelaideAlec Zuo, Associate Professor, School of Economics and Public Policy, University of AdelaideYing Xu, Research Fellow, School of Economics and Public Policy, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2143052023-10-04T13:43:08Z2023-10-04T13:43:08ZCocoa prices are surging: west African countries should seize the moment to negotiate a better deal for farmers<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/cocoa-prices-are-surging-west-african-countries-should-seize-the-moment-to-negotiate-a-better-deal-for-farmers-214305&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p>The global price of cocoa is spiking, a direct response to <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/07/29/chocolate-inflation-wholesale-cocoa-west-africa-ghana-production/">dwindling cocoa output</a> in west Africa. In September, cocoa futures reached a <a href="https://www.confectioneryproduction.com/news/44853/ghana-and-ivory-coast-cocoa-prices-surge-to-46-year-high-as-concerns-remain-over-supply-deficits/">44-year price peak</a> due to mounting concerns over reduced supplies from the region. </p>
<p>The price surge could prove to be a critical moment for cocoa farming and policy in west Africa.</p>
<p>The cocoa-producing belt of west Africa is responsible for <a href="https://www.oecd.org/swac/publications/39596493.pdf">generating over 80%</a> of the total global output. Between them, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.732831/full#:%7E:text=Most%20of%20the%20world's%20cocoa,2019%3B%20Fairtrade%2C%202020">contribute</a> more than 60% to the global output. Ghana is the <a href="https://www.confectioneryproduction.com/news/42498/icco-reports-show-increase-in-ghana-and-ivory-coast-cocoa-crops-but-key-export-challenges-persist/">second-biggest producer</a> in the world and cocoa is a vital component of the country’s economy. </p>
<p>The global price spike has led west African governments to increase the guaranteed producer prices to farmers. Ghana recently <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/ghana-hikes-20232024-cocoa-farmgate-price-supplies-tighten-2023-09-09/">raised</a> the state-guaranteed cocoa price paid to farmers by two thirds. The announcement means that Ghana’s cocoa farmers will be paid 20,943 cedis (US$1,837) per tonne for the upcoming 2023-2024 season, up from 12,800 cedis. </p>
<p>Cameroon, the world’s fourth-largest cocoa producer, raised the price cocoa farmers get to 1,500 CFA francs (US$2.50) per kilogram, a 25% jump from the previous rate of 1,200 CFA francs. This increase is even more significant than Ghana’s when factoring in Cameroon’s single-digit inflation. Additionally, the Cote d'Ivoire government has announced a <a href="https://thecocoapost.com/ivory-coast-sets-2023-24-cocoa-farmgate-price-at-1000-fcfa/">rise</a> in the producer price.</p>
<p>As an economics researcher who has extensively <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/history/people/academic-staff/dr-michael-ehis-odijie">studied and written</a> about cocoa production in west Africa, I contend that the recent shortages can be harnessed to strengthen the position of cocoa producers. This will enable them to address the structural challenges ingrained in the cocoa production value chain. Rising production costs have not been recognised in the value of cocoa beans. Farmers therefore haven’t been able to earn enough income and this has led to unsustainable farming practices. </p>
<p>In my view, west African countries should use the cocoa shortage as negotiating leverage against multinational corporations to address these structural issues. Both Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire must recognise this pivotal moment. They must take the lead, and frame the current production challenges as deep-seated structural problems requiring solutions, rather than as short-term issues.</p>
<h2>What’s driving the change?</h2>
<p>Ghana’s cocoa regulator recently <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/ghana-may-not-meet-demand-for-cocoa-after-weak-harvest-626238">indicated</a> that its farmers might not be able to meet some cocoa contract obligations for another season. Ghana’s <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/ghanas-2022-2023-cocoa-output-expected-to-be-lower-by-11-than-target-sources">projected cocoa yield</a> for the 2022/23 planting season was the lowest in 13 years, falling 24% short of the initial estimates of 850,000 metric tonnes. </p>
<p>This trend has been repeated across the region, with production falling in Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon.</p>
<p>Reduced output means demand can’t be met and global prices rise. </p>
<p>The reduction in cocoa output is attributed to short-term and long-term factors. </p>
<p>Commentators typically emphasise the short-term factors:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>poor weather conditions</p></li>
<li><p>black pod disease, which causes cocoa pods to rot</p></li>
<li><p>the decline in the number of cocoa farmers, some of them selling their land to <a href="https://thecocoapost.com/illegal-mining-an-existential-threat-to-cocoa-production-in-ghana/">illegal miners</a> </p></li>
<li><p>a <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/february-2023/one-year-later-impact-russian-conflict-ukraine-africa#:%7E:text=The%20Bank%20estimates%20that%20fertilizer,exacerbate%20food%20security%20throughout%202023.">shortage of fertilisers and pesticides</a>, especially since the conflict in Ukraine has curtailed Russia’s export of potash and other fertilisers. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>A number of long-term structural issues have beset cocoa farming in west Africa for decades. They shouldn’t be overshadowed by concerns with short-term problems.</p>
<p>The first is the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/12/524">declining availability</a> of forest land and its connection to increasing production costs.</p>
<p>Over the last two decades, depletion of forest land has led farmers to turn to grasslands for replanting cocoa plants. This requires extensive land preparation, regular weeding around the cocoa trees, pruning, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides. What’s more, the plants are highly susceptible to disease. All these things result in increased labour costs.</p>
<p>None of these additional burdens have been incorporated into the pricing for sustainable cocoa production. In light of the new cost structure, cocoa beans have been undervalued for decades. Farmers have become poorer and are exploring alternative sources of livelihood. </p>
<p>The cost of sustainably cultivating cocoa in grasslands must be reflected in the price that farmers receive. Relying solely on market forces will not achieve this. For instance, every year, typically in September, the Ghana Cocoa Board <a href="https://thecocoapost.com/ghana-pegs-farmgate-cocoa-price-at-ghs1308-for-2023-24-crop/">announces</a> the official producer price for cocoa beans for the upcoming cocoa season on behalf of the government. This official price is based on the anticipated export market price, with an understanding in Ghana that farmers should receive approximately 70% of it. However, the resulting market price, and consequently the producer price derived from it, often falls short of covering the costs of sustainable cocoa cultivation.</p>
<h2>A path forward</h2>
<p>What would it cost for cocoa farmers to cultivate cocoa beans sustainably, and ensure a living income, without contributing to deforestation or resorting to child labour? </p>
<p>If the market price falls below this cost (which isn’t static), then the farmers face exploitation, giving rise to many of the problems that plague the industry.</p>
<p>A few years ago, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-efforts-by-cote-divoire-and-ghana-to-help-cocoa-farmers-havent-worked-162845">pioneered the introduction</a> of the “living income differential” – a premium that cocoa buyers would pay on top of the market price to ensure that farmers earned a sustainable income from their produce. Despite its noble intent, the initiative <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/africas-fields-plan-pay-fair-wages-chocolate-withers-2023-04-04/">faltered</a>. It was not well thought through. And it came at a time when these countries had diminished bargaining clout in a saturated market. Now is a favourable moment.</p>
<p>The crisis in the sector puts cocoa producers in a stronger negotiating position. </p>
<p>Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire could collaborate with other regional countries, such as Nigeria and Cameroon, to negotiate a better position for their cocoa farmers, ensuring sustainable cultivation. There are many strategies these countries can explore, including supply management (such as buffer stocks, export controls, or quotas), price premiums and value addition.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael E Odijie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ghana and other west African cocoa growing countries must harness their combined bargaining strength to address the challenges plaguing cocoa farming.Michael E Odijie, Research associate, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2124092023-09-05T20:22:38Z2023-09-05T20:22:38ZMixed-use solar and agricultural land is the silver bullet Alberta’s Conservatives have wished for<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545121/original/file-20230828-13578-t120xq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3840%2C2160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Placing vertical solar panels on farming land allows for energy production and higher yields.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aasen_agrivoltaics_solar_plant_with_walls_of_vertical_bifacial_modules_near_Donaueschingen_Germany_5.jpg">(Wikimedia Commons)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/mixed-use-solar-and-agricultural-land-is-the-silver-bullet-albertas-conservatives-have-wished-for" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The Alberta government recently announced a much-maligned <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=887605547987E-EABF-5E23-DFF2C9F72DB845E6">seven-month pause on renewable (including solar) energy development in the province</a>. While the exact reasons are up for debate, one specific factor has been the desire to investigate ways to make renewable energy, particularly solar, more integrated within the province over the long term. </p>
<p>Specifically, there is a real concern among some in the party and the general public that industrial solar will displace farming and raise food prices as well as create <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-renewable-energy-jason-schneider-vulcan-county-1.6939218">end-of-life problems with potentially abandoned equipment</a>. </p>
<p>Luckily, we can have our cake and eat it too, with a new concept of agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics is the simultaneous placement of food crops and solar photovoltaic systems that produce electricity directly from sunlight — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2013.04.012">while also producing a beneficial micro climate</a>. Covering crops with solar panels may not seem intuitive, however, dozens of studies from all over the world have shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043228">many crop yields increase when they are partially shaded from solar panels</a>.</p>
<p>This is good news for everyone, but especially for Alberta’s ruling Conservatives, as it provides a seemingly simple solution to a potentially complicated land-use debate between agriculture and energy generation within the province. </p>
<h2>Alberta and energy</h2>
<p>Alberta’s energy portfolio is changing rapidly. <a href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/renewables/solar-pv">Low-cost solar energy</a> is now <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-solar-power-alberta-1.6695287">growing so fast as to be a “gold rush” in Alberta</a>. </p>
<p>In fact, much to <a href="https://cleanenergycanada.org/report/a-renewables-powerhouse/">Ontario’s shame, Alberta</a> has taken on the leadership role in solar development in Canada, generating millions of solar dollars and creating thousands of <a href="https://renewablesassociation.ca/alberta-renewable-energy-surge-could-power-4500-jobs/">solar jobs for Alberta’s energy workers</a>. </p>
<p>Solar companies have grown so fast precisely because there is profit in offsetting costly fossil-fuel electricity. However, many in Alberta are worried that this new boom will lead to <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2023007/article/00005-eng.htm">higher food costs</a>, <a href="https://www.orphanwell.ca/about/orphan-inventory/">scarred landscapes</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7990003/alberta-oil-gas-wells-cleanup/">a repeat of costs from cleaning up after the oil and gas industry</a>.</p>
<p>This particular <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.10.024">land-use conflict between solar and agriculture</a> has been a concern for solar researchers like myself for some time. However, our research in the United States has shown that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.024">agrivoltaics provide higher economic productivity, energy and food yields</a>. So much so that the U.S. <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-8-million-integrate-solar-energy-production-farming">Department of Energy is now investing millions of dollars</a> to ensure America’s dominance in the field. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-shading-crops-with-solar-panels-can-improve-farming-lower-food-costs-and-reduce-emissions-202094">How shading crops with solar panels can improve farming, lower food costs and reduce emissions</a>
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<p>One of the studies in the U.S., for example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0364-5">observed pepper production shoot up by more than 200 per cent</a> while other crops like wheat in Germany were more reserved with a few per cent increase — but they still produced more wheat. </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, agrivoltaics is slated to grow to a <a href="https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/agrivoltaics-market-A47446">$9.3 billion market by 2031</a>.</p>
<h2>Agrivoltaics in Canada</h2>
<p>Agrivoltaics is happening right here in Canada already (mostly with sheep grazing between panels on marginal land). Last year, we held the <a href="https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/news/news-ivey/2022/december/are-solar-farms-the-answer-to-feeding-the-world-and-combatting-climate-change/">first agrivoltaics conference anywhere in North America at the Ivey Business School</a>. </p>
<p>The trade group made up of farmers and solar companies called <a href="https://agrivoltaicscanada.ca/">Agrivoltaics Canada</a> has formed because agrivoltaic farming can help meet Canada’s food and energy needs all the while getting rid of our fossil fuel reliance and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/how-canadians-can-cut-carbon-footprints-1.6202194">greenhouse gas emissions</a> (and the associated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.11.025">emissions liabilities</a>). </p>
<p>Agrivoltaics will allow Alberta’s farmers to keep farming, make more money, drop energy costs, and help protect the environment for all of our children. To take advantage of all the profit that agrivoltaics represents for the province, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/en16010053">our team completed a study</a> that showed the changes to Alberta’s regulations would actually need to be relatively modest.</p>
<p>The simple trick is to install solar systems that enable conventional farming, so farmers do not need to change anything. By spacing solar rows out far enough that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/designs7020034">combines/tractors can drive between them using vertical racks or tracker systems</a>, agrivoltaics are out of the way when the farmer needs to farm. We did a study that looked specifically at Alberta’s agrivoltaic potential, which was second only to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biomass3020012">Saskatchewan</a> in Canada. </p>
<h2>Moving forward together</h2>
<p>Agrivoltaics really has broad appeal. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10121885">Farmers love it as it increases yields and provides steady incomes</a> and so do <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102023">solar developers</a> and environmentalists. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s44173-022-00007-x">Even most Americans support solar development when agrivoltaics protects farm jobs</a>. It is thus not surprising that <a href="https://www.precedenceresearch.com/press-release/agrivoltaics-market">agrivoltaics is exploding on the world market.</a></p>
<p>Eighty-nine per cent of Alberta’s electricity came from fossil fuels, yet we published an article this year that showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043228">that agrivoltaics on just one per cent of the current agricultural land would eliminate the carbon emissions entirely</a>. Less than one per cent of Alberta’s farm land dedicated to agrivoltaics, cuts all harmful emissions from Alberta’s electricity sector while making more food. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-farmland-inequality-in-the-prairies-poses-problems-for-all-canadians-196777">Growing farmland inequality in the Prairies poses problems for all Canadians</a>
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<p>This is a win-win for the farmers, and consumers alike. As Alberta’s Conservatives are now able to lift the renewable energy ban knowing that the environment and the food system will be protected, they should ensure that large-scale solar in the province is encouraged to be agrivoltaic. Then all of us, regardless of party, can enjoy the conserved beauty of nature, lower-cost electricity and more food produced per acre. Whether or not this will result in lower costs at the grocery store checkout is a question yet to be answered — but we can hope.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212409/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua M. Pearce has received funding for research from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Mitacs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Defense, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). In addition, his past and present consulting work and research is funded by the United Nations, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, many non-profits and for-profit companies in the energy and solar photovoltaic fields. He is a founding member of Agrivoltaics Canada. He does not directly work for any solar manufacturer and has no direct conflicts of interests. </span></em></p>Using agricultural land for both solar and food production presents huge opportunities for Canadian farmers, especially in Alberta.Joshua M. Pearce, John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation and Professor, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2062652023-05-25T15:00:47Z2023-05-25T15:00:47ZFarmers face a soaring risk of flash droughts in every major food-growing region in coming decades, new research shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528081/original/file-20230524-29-ijd54y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C22%2C2761%2C1868&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A flash drought in 2012 dried out soil, harming crops in Kansas and several other states.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/darren-becker-sifts-through-arid-topsoil-under-a-ruined-news-photo/150723365">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Flash droughts develop fast, and when they hit at the wrong time, they can devastate a region’s agriculture. </p>
<p>They’re also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26692-z">becoming increasingly common</a> as the planet warms. </p>
<p>In a new study published May 25, 2023, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=PRQsIDQAAAAJ">we</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4osNQTUAAAAJ&hl=en">found</a> that the risk of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-17-0149.1">flash droughts</a>, which can develop in the span of a few weeks, is on pace to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00826-1">rise in every major agriculture region</a> around the world in the coming decades.</p>
<p>In North America and Europe, cropland that had a 32% annual chance of a flash drought a few years ago could have as much as a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00826-1">53% annual chance of a flash drought</a> by the final decades of this century. The result would put food production, energy and water supplies under increasing pressure. The cost of damage will also rise. A flash drought in the Dakotas and Montana in 2017 caused <a href="https://www.drought.gov/documents/flash-drought-lessons-learned-2017-drought-across-us-northern-plains-and-canadian">US$2.6 billion in agricultural damage</a> in the U.S. alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A dry field of short, sad looking corn stalks with a farm with cattle in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528085/original/file-20230524-19-oj5lmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528085/original/file-20230524-19-oj5lmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528085/original/file-20230524-19-oj5lmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528085/original/file-20230524-19-oj5lmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528085/original/file-20230524-19-oj5lmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528085/original/file-20230524-19-oj5lmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528085/original/file-20230524-19-oj5lmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stunted corn in Nebraska struggles to grow during the 2012 flash drought that covered much of the central U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/WideDrought/477a0f2c1ab74163a84fb144e2674685/photo">AP Photo/Nati Harnik</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How flash droughts develop</h2>
<p>All droughts begin when precipitation stops. What’s interesting about flash droughts is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.109288">how fast</a> they reinforce themselves, with some help from the warming climate. </p>
<p>When the weather is hot and dry, soil loses moisture rapidly. Dry air extracts moisture from the land, and rising temperatures can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-21-0163.1">increase this “evaporative demand</a>.” The lack of rain during a flash drought can further contribute to the feedback processes.</p>
<p>Under these conditions, crops and vegetation begin to die much more quickly than they do during typical long-term droughts.</p>
<h2>Global warming and flash droughts</h2>
<p>In our new study, we used climate models and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00826-1">data from the past 170 years</a> to gauge the drought risks ahead under three scenarios for how quickly the world takes action to slow global warming. </p>
<p>If greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, power plants and other human sources continue at a high rate, we found that cropland in much of North America and Europe would have a 49% and 53% annual chance of flash droughts, respectively, by the final decades of this century. Globally, the largest projected increases would be in Europe and the Amazon.</p>
<p>Slowing emissions <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00826-1">can reduce the risk</a> significantly, but we found flash droughts would still increase by about 6% worldwide under a low-emissions scenario.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Charts show the amount of cropland experiencing flash droughts today in Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, South America and Europe, and project how flash drought exposure will increase based on greenhouse gas emissions that drive global warming." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528076/original/file-20230524-17-exwzrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528076/original/file-20230524-17-exwzrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=780&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528076/original/file-20230524-17-exwzrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=780&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528076/original/file-20230524-17-exwzrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=780&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528076/original/file-20230524-17-exwzrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528076/original/file-20230524-17-exwzrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528076/original/file-20230524-17-exwzrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Climate models indicate that more land will be in flash drought in every region in the coming decades. Three scenarios show how low (SSP126), medium (SSP245) and high (SSP585) emissions are likely to affect the amount of land in flash drought. In some regions, rising global emissions will bring more extreme rainfall, offsetting drought.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00826-1">Jordan Christian</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Timing is everything for agriculture</h2>
<p>We’ve lived through a number of flash drought events, and they’re not pleasant. People suffer. Farmers lose crops. Ranchers may have to sell off cattle. In 2022, a flash drought slowed barge traffic on the Mississippi River, which carries <a href="https://theconversation.com/record-low-water-levels-on-the-mississippi-river-in-2022-show-how-climate-change-is-altering-large-rivers-193920">more than 90% of U.S. agriculture exports</a>.</p>
<p>If a flash drought occurs at a critical point in the growing season, it could devastate an entire crop.</p>
<p>Corn, for example, is most vulnerable during its flowering phase, <a href="https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/silks.html">called silking</a>. That typically happens in the heat of summer. If a flash drought occurs then, it’s likely to have extreme consequences. However, a flash drought closer to harvest can actually help farmers, as they can get their equipment into the fields more easily.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A line of houseboats that once floated on a river sit in puddles on the nearly dry riverbed during a flash drought." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528083/original/file-20230524-25-la125j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528083/original/file-20230524-25-la125j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528083/original/file-20230524-25-la125j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528083/original/file-20230524-25-la125j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528083/original/file-20230524-25-la125j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528083/original/file-20230524-25-la125j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528083/original/file-20230524-25-la125j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">During Europe’s flash drought in 2022, floating houses were left sitting on a dry riverbed in the Netherlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/floating-houses-sit-on-the-dry-bed-of-the-river-het-meertje-news-photo/1242700796">Thierry Monasse/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the southern Great Plains, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09611-0">winter wheat</a> is at its highest risk during seeding, in September to October the year before the crop’s spring harvest. When we looked at flash droughts in that region during that fall seeding period, we found greatly reduced yields the following year.</p>
<p>Looking globally, paddy rice, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3177/jnsv.65.S2">a staple</a> for more than half the global population, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acc8ed">is at risk</a> in northeast China and other parts of Asia. Other crops are at risk in Europe. </p>
<p>Ranches can also be hit hard by flash droughts. During the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-019-1066-7">huge flash drought in 2012</a> in the central U.S., cattle ran out of forage and water became scarcer. If rain doesn’t fall during the growing season for natural grasses, cattle don’t have food, and ranchers may have little choice but to <a href="https://www.drought.gov/documents/flash-drought-lessons-learned-2017-drought-across-us-northern-plains-and-canadian">sell off part of their herds</a>. Again, timing is everything.</p>
<p>It’s not just agriculture. Energy and water supplies can be at risk, too. <a href="https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/high-temperatures-exacerbated-by-climate-change-made-2022-northern-hemisphere-droughts-more-likely/">Europe’s intense summer drought in 2022</a> started as a flash drought that became a larger event as a heat wave settled in. Water levels fell so low in some rivers that power plants shut down because they couldn’t get water for cooling, compounding the region’s problems. Events like those are a window into what <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ab50ca">countries are already facing</a> and could see more of in the future.</p>
<p>Not every flash drought will be as severe as what the U.S. and Europe saw in 2012 and 2022, but we’re concerned about what may be ahead. </p>
<figure>
<iframe frameborder="0" class="juxtapose" width="100%" height="400" src="https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/embed/index.html?uid=a0dbaece-fa44-11ed-b5bd-6595d9b17862"></iframe>
</figure><figure><figcaption>A flash drought developed in the span of a few weeks in 2019. <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145762/a-flash-drought-dries-the-southeast">NASA Earth Observatory</a></figcaption></figure>
<h2>Can agriculture adapt?</h2>
<p>One way to help agriculture adapt to the rising risk is to improve forecasts for rainfall and temperature, which can help farmers as they make crucial decisions, such as whether they’ll plant or not.</p>
<p>When we talk with farmers and ranchers, they want to know what the weather will look like over the next one to six months. Meteorology is pretty adept at short-term forecasts that look out a couple of weeks, and at longer-term climate forecasts using computer models. But flash droughts evolve in a midrange window of time that is difficult to forecast.</p>
<p>We’re tackling the challenge of monitoring and <a href="http://hydrometeorology.oucreate.com/research/">improving the lead time and accuracy of forecasts</a> for flash droughts, as are other scientists. For example, the <a href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/">United States Drought Monitor</a> has developed an <a href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ConditionsOutlooks/CurrentConditions.aspx">experimental short-term map</a> that can display developing flash droughts. As scientists learn more about the conditions that cause flash droughts and about their frequency and intensity, forecasts and monitoring tools will improve.</p>
<p>Increasing awareness can also help. If short-term forecasts show that an area is not likely to get its usual precipitation, that should immediately set off alarm bells. If forecasters are also seeing the potential for increased temperatures, that heightens the risk for a flash drought’s developing.</p>
<p>Nothing is getting easier for farmers and ranchers as global temperatures rise. Understanding the risk from flash droughts will help them, and anyone concerned with water resources, manage yet another challenge of the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Basara receives funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Christian receives funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). </span></em></p>If greenhouse gas emissions continue at a high rate, breadbaskets of Europe and North America will see a 50% chance of a flash drought each year by the end of this century.Jeff Basara, Associate Professor of Meteorology, University of OklahomaJordan Christian, Postdoctoral Researcher in Meteorology, University of OklahomaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2058702023-05-19T15:10:08Z2023-05-19T15:10:08ZFood prices are rising but farmers’ profits are still small – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527016/original/file-20230518-21-44zymb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=74%2C45%2C3730%2C2075&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Farmers need a fair deal.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rear-view-female-farmer-box-fresh-1283971126">StockMediaSeller/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 60 food industry representatives came together at <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-05-16/families-told-to-accept-higher-food-prices-amid-no10-farm-to-fork-summit">a recent Downing Street summit</a> to discuss the UK food crisis. It was billed as an opportunity to brainstorm solutions to rising food prices, falling production and uncertainty over trade agreements with overseas partners. </p>
<p>Reports from attendees after the event have been mixed, with many seeing it only as <a href="https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2023/05/17/Food-industry-reacts-to-Rishi-Sunak-summit">a first step forward</a>. There is much more work to do to tackle rising food prices.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcomes-from-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit/an-update-following-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit-held-at-10-downing-street-on-16-may-2023">report issued by the government</a> after the event showcased long-term government investment in infrastructure and the environment, <a href="https://www.nfuonline.com/media-centre/releases/nfu-response-to-farm-to-fork-summit/">which was welcomed by the National Union of Farmers</a>. </p>
<p>But it only had one short section on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/outcomes-from-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit/an-update-following-the-uk-farm-to-fork-summit-held-at-10-downing-street-on-16-may-2023#fairer-supply-chains:%7E:text=4.%204%3A%20Fairer%20supply%20chains">fair supply chains</a> – and that didn’t address the underlying problems. My research into unseen food supply costs shows transparency and fairness is vital to tackling current food-related challenges in the UK. </p>
<p>The UK needs healthy, nutritious and affordable food provided in a way that is fair to everyone involved. In a cost of living crisis, the media spotlight is going to fall on those in food poverty and on rising food prices. </p>
<p>These are crucial issues to address, but to have any real impact, the discussion must extend even further to cover the systemic unfairness throughout the UK food supply system. </p>
<p>Our food system is dominated by supermarket-style retailing and mass catering, which deal in bulk orders, food storage and big premises, making it very expensive to run with <a href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/the-supermarket-system-balanced-on-a-knife-edge/">surprisingly few economies of scale</a>. </p>
<p>The overheads – the everyday expenses of these businesses, such as paying for staff and electricity – are huge. The profits returned to producers are minimal as a result. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bar charts showing the different income methods and costs versus profits for retailers, producers and farmers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527000/original/file-20230518-14594-88d7cf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/the-supermarket-system-balanced-on-a-knife-edge/">The Food Research Collaboration</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.sustainweb.org/news/nov22-unpicking-food-prices-new/">I carried out</a> research on food costs and pricing for <a href="https://www.sustainweb.org/about/">Sustain</a>, an organisation that represents the farming and fishing industries. </p>
<p>I found that out of the entire price you might pay for one grocery item, around 98%-99% goes to production and overheads for intermediary companies such as processors and distributors, and then retailers. Farmers and growers are left with the crumbs – sometimes as little as 1p of profit for each item of produce.</p>
<h2>Discounts along the food supply chain</h2>
<p>However many schemes the government has, the day-to-day survival of UK food businesses depends on a fair return on the work done to get food from farm to fork. But consumers want lower prices and to achieve this, buyers from retailers, catering and public procurement negotiate discounts. </p>
<p>As a director of a fresh produce distributor I interviewed for <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/accounting-performance-measurement-and-fairness-in-uk-fresh-produ">an earlier project</a> said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everyone wants the prices that come from trading [haggling] but the quality that comes from long-term relationships. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>When buying and selling food, organisations along the supply chain need some level of surplus for contingencies and reinvestment. <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/discounts-as-a-barrier-to-change-in-our-food-systems">Expectations of discounts</a> from other parts of the chain, such as retailers, takes money away from those at the beginning: the farmers, growers and processors.</p>
<p>Along with negotiations for volume discounts, my research shows that these suppliers are often paid a price based on just the costs of producing the item, also called the marginal costs. This means seeds, feed, fertilisers and manual labour in the case of farmers, or ingredients, processing costs and packaging for manufacturers.</p>
<p>The trouble is, the factors that go into marginal costs – costs once overheads are covered – aren’t equal across the chain. For a supermarket, marginal cost includes all the expenses of running a store, <a href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/the-supermarket-system-balanced-on-a-knife-edge/">which is typically over 90% of their costs</a>. So they set prices which enable them to cover that amount. </p>
<p>Other members of the supply chain such as farmers and growers, or bakers, class about <a href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/the-supermarket-system-balanced-on-a-knife-edge/">70% of their costs as overheads</a>, leaving marginal costs of around 30%. A system where one party gets to cover over 90% of their costs while another can only cover 30% is not fair. </p>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/food-statistics-pocketbook/food-statistics-in-your-pocket">4 million people are employed</a> in the food and drink industry in the UK – around 13% of the UK workforce. Many of these people working for food businesses <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/one-five-food-workers-relying-29932073">need help to put food on the table</a> because of the cost of living crisis. </p>
<p>But their low wages stem from things like discounting and marginal cost negotiations by companies across the supply chain. </p>
<p>Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (<a href="https://www.brc.org.uk/">BRC</a>), <a href="https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/supermarkets/supermarkets-face-competition-probe-after-profiteering-claims/679207.article">has said</a> retailers “are investing heavily in lower prices for the future”, expanding affordable food ranges, locking the price of many essentials and offering support to vulnerable groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman choosing vegetables from a shop display." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527019/original/file-20230518-17-xq0j56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucky Business/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The need for transparency</h2>
<p>Calls for greater transparency in food supply chains were implicit in the report from the recent government forum, but there are no explicit plans to do this. This would take government action at national and international level. </p>
<p>For example, when conducting my research, I found a lot of <a href="https://www.farmbusinesssurvey.co.uk/">detailed data was available</a> on the cost of production for food by farmers and growers due to a long post-second world war history of <a href="https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/publications/stocks-of-knowledge-simplification-and-unintended-consequences-th">creating benchmarks for production and fostering better business practices</a>. But not as much data was available from the retail side of the market. </p>
<p>While many listed companies have to segment their financial information, <a href="https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/results-reports-and-presentations">sales categories are often only broken down into</a> “Fuel” and “Everything Else”. A BRC spokesperson said: “This information is commercially sensitive, if it was published it would have an adverse impact on competition, the very thing which has kept prices lower for consumers.”</p>
<p>But even if it is commercially sensitive information, the current situation hardly leads to transparency about costs and profits across the supply chain. </p>
<p>The dairy and other regulations proposed in the Agriculture Act 2020 and highlighted by the government following its recent Farm to Fork forum are codes of practice, not fundamental regulations or legal requirements. Unless stronger rules are created to tackle the underlying unfairness of food supply chains, the overall picture will not change in a way that benefits everyone, including consumers and producers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Jack has written unfunded reports for the Food Research Collaboration and Sustain. She receives research-consultancy funding from the ECR Retail Loss Group for projects on food waste and other retail accounting practices.</span></em></p>Food supply chain discounts are causing issues for UK producers and processors.Lisa Jack, Professor of Accounting, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2010042023-03-31T08:35:13Z2023-03-31T08:35:13ZThe Loss and Damage Fund: How can Indonesia use it to boost climate adaptation efforts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514591/original/file-20230310-20-6e6geh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fish cultivators drying salted fish in Indramayu, West Java, Indonesia</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate finance was at the centre of The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt last year. For many, the highlight was <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/cop27-ends-announcement-historic-loss-and-damage-fund">the agreement to establish a fund</a> to assist developing countries in responding to loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change. </p>
<p>The term “loss and damage” is still loosely defined, but in general it refers to the negative consequences or costs incurred from the ongoing effects of climate change.</p>
<p>Historically, developing countries have contributed very little to the climate-problem, but <a href="https://theconversation.com/carbon-colonialism-must-be-challenged-if-we-want-to-make-climate-progress-173553">they are often the ones facing the most devastating impacts.</a> For this reason, developing countries have urged wealthier countries to compensate for climate-related loss and damage the former has incurred.</p>
<p>Currently, no specifics have been detailed about the fund. Only that a committee will <a href="https://unfccc.int/documents/624440">develop recommendations on how to operate it at the next conference.</a></p>
<p>If it is able to be operationalised, this fund will provide much needed financing to address some of Indonesia’s most crucial climate problems. We have identified four areas where Indonesia could use the additional financing from the loss and damage fund.</p>
<h2>To protect small crop farmers, fish cultivators and fishermen</h2>
<p>First, the fund could be used to support Indonesia’s subsidised insurance programs for vulnerable crop farmers and fish cultivators. </p>
<p>A recent estimation by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific shows that Indonesia is <a href="https://rrp.unescap.org/country-profile/IDN">losing US$31.2 billion annually from disasters</a>, of which US$23.3 billion is derived from droughts.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515388/original/file-20230315-371-ntl8ic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515388/original/file-20230315-371-ntl8ic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515388/original/file-20230315-371-ntl8ic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515388/original/file-20230315-371-ntl8ic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515388/original/file-20230315-371-ntl8ic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515388/original/file-20230315-371-ntl8ic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515388/original/file-20230315-371-ntl8ic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Onion farmers in West Java Province Indonesia. Climate change will cause extreme weather that can affect farmers livelihoods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Dedhez Anggara/Antara)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://tekno.tempo.co/read/1621620/dampak-perubahan-iklim-terhadap-pertanian-petani-gagal-panen">Droughts have led to harvest failures</a> for farmers. This threatens their livelihoods as they have a reduction in crop production. If this issue worsens, it may also threaten Indonesia’s food security.</p>
<p>On the other hand, <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/indonesia-sustainable-oceans-program">Indonesia’s $256-billion marine resource</a> is under threat from rising sea temperatures. </p>
<p>The heat has caused coral bleaching, which in turn disrupts marine habitat and losses in fish production. Currently, it is estimated that <a href="https://www.biorock-indonesia.com/en/the-status-of-coral-reefs-in-indonesia-2019/">only 30% of corals are in good to excellent condition</a> in Indonesia.</p>
<p><a href="https://econusa.id/en/ecoblogs/climate-crisis-threatens-indonesia-fishermens-welfare/">The heat also causes the fish to go into deeper waters</a>, reducing the ability of smaller fishing boats to catch them.</p>
<p>Other climate affects such as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.609097/full">changes in rainfall and increases in water salinity have also been associated with lower aquaculture productivity</a>. These in turn results in reduced fish production to the detriment of fish cultivators.</p>
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<em>
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Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indonesias-climate-target-still-got-the-worst-rating-despite-being-more-ambitious-196161">Indonesia's climate target still got the worst rating despite being “more ambitious”</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Indonesia’s strategic plans for 2020-2024 and its 2018 <a href="https://fiskal.kemenkeu.go.id/strategi-drfi/strategi">disaster risk finance and insurance strategy</a> have mandated insurance coverage for crop farmers, fish cultivators and fishermen. The government-backed insurance products subsidises 80% (crop insurance) to 100% (aquaculture and fishermen life insurance) of the insurance premiums.</p>
<p>However, the schemes have limited reach due to budget constraints and design flaws. For instance, in 2017, <a href="https://www.pertanian.go.id/home/index.php?show=repo&fileNum=553">only 1.5 million farmers (less than 12% of potential beneficiaries)</a> were covered by insurance.</p>
<p>Moreover, due to pressures on the state budget from COVID-19, <a href="https://www.pertanian.go.id/home/index.php?show=repo&fileNum=553">the funding for crop insurance premium subsidies has been cut in half</a>. In addition, the government has also stopped aquaculture and fishermen insurance subsidies.</p>
<p>Insurance products should be expanded to include other products, like fruits, horticulture, and other high export aquaculture commodities. Therefore, additional financing is needed to improve the reach of existing programs and create more climate insurance products. Such financing could come from the loss and damage fund.</p>
<h2>To help recovery in coastal areas</h2>
<p>Second, as part of the effort to cope with unavoidable climate loss, Indonesia could utilise the fund to aid sinking coastal areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Floods in Indonesia" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515382/original/file-20230315-16-sf4se8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515382/original/file-20230315-16-sf4se8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515382/original/file-20230315-16-sf4se8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515382/original/file-20230315-16-sf4se8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515382/original/file-20230315-16-sf4se8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515382/original/file-20230315-16-sf4se8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515382/original/file-20230315-16-sf4se8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Extreme weather triggers floods along Java’s northern coastline.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Harviyan Perdana Putra/Antara</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rising sea levels endanger coastal areas. <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/02/28/jakarta-among-cities-most-threatened-by-rising-sea-levels-extreme-weather-report.html">The Jakarta Greater Area</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20221028094841-4-383189/kota-kota-atlantis-baru-bermunculan-di-pantura-ada-apa">the northern coast of Java</a> is projected to be submerged. An additional <a href="https://www.cnnindonesia.com/teknologi/20211129152437-199-727466/penjelasan-brin-soal-ancaman-115-pulau-indonesia-tenggelam">100 small islands is also projected to be underwater by 2100.</a></p>
<p>Many of the impacted settlements in coastal areas belong to the poor who will need substantial financial assistance to secure a home in safer areas or improve their current homes.</p>
<p>The government could use the fund to relocate people to safer areas and provide post-disaster programs (such as trauma healing or capacity building) to address both the material and immaterial losses of climate change.</p>
<p>The Indonesian government alongside development partners, and NGOs have previous experiences in assisted community-based housing programs. Additional financing from the loss and damage fund could be utilised to enhance these programs. </p>
<h2>To rehabilitate mangroves and peatlands</h2>
<p>Indonesia can use the fund to finance peatland and mangrove
rehabilitation efforts in Indonesia.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515384/original/file-20230315-20-i6ezz2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515384/original/file-20230315-20-i6ezz2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515384/original/file-20230315-20-i6ezz2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515384/original/file-20230315-20-i6ezz2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515384/original/file-20230315-20-i6ezz2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515384/original/file-20230315-20-i6ezz2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515384/original/file-20230315-20-i6ezz2.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The residents are maintaining the canal strait in the peatland area to prevent forest and land fires.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Antara)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.unops.org/news-and-stories/stories/restoring-indonesian-peatlands-protecting-our-planet">Indonesia is home to a third of peatlands</a> and <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/07/26/mangrove-conservation-and-restoration-protecting-indonesia-climate-guardians#:%7E:text=Indonesia%20holds%203.5%20million%20hectares,with%2092%20true%20mangrove%20species">a fifth of mangroves</a> globally. Both peatlands and mangroves store carbon as well as reduce flood and abrasion risks. Thus, they are important for both climate adaptation and mitigation. </p>
<p>The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has established the <a href="https://redd.unfccc.int/">Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation (REDD+)</a> initiative to protect forests, including peatlands and mangroves.</p>
<p>In regards to this, Indonesia has established <a href="https://www.menlhk.go.id/uploads/site/post/1673407697.pdf">a national strategy,</a> appointed institutions, and implemented REDD+ to some extent.</p>
<p>Additional financing from the loss and damage fund could help <a href="https://www2.cifor.org/redd-case-book/case-reports/indonesia/">reduce emissions even more</a>.</p>
<p>However, it will depend on how the “loss and damage” concept is
defined. Will it only finance losses that have occurred or will it also finance strategic efforts for adaptation and mitigation? </p>
<h2>To support Indonesia’s Disaster Pooling Fund</h2>
<p>Lastly, Indonesia can allocate the additional financing to strengthen the recently established <a href="https://fiskal.kemenkeu.go.id/strategi-drfi/pooling#:%7E:text=Pooling%20Fund%20Bencana%20(PFB)%20adalah,oleh%20sebuah%20lembaga%20pengelola%20dana.">disaster pooling fund</a>, which was created to provide better flexibility (than the state budget) for disaster management needs.</p>
<p>Currently, <a href="https://www.theiconomics.com/accelerated-growth/menkeu-sri-mulyani-sudah-terkumpul-rp73-triliun-dana-di-pooling-fund-bencana/">the government has allocated Rp 7.3 trillion</a> (U$475 million) to the pooling fund. This principal amount is more less equal to <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/656111558922632705/pdf/Indonesia-Third-Indonesia-Fiscal-Reform-Development-Policy-Loan-Project.pdf">Indonesia’s annual post-disaster expenditure (US$300-500 million)</a>. However, only the returns from the principal can be used to finance disaster related efforts.</p>
<p>Therefore, additional financing is needed to grow the pooling fund and increase potential returns that can be used for climate-related disasters. </p>
<p>Although the pooling fund is designed for disasters in general, a requirement to only use the additional financing for climate-related disasters could be formulated.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201004/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Para penulis tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi di luar afiliasi akademis yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>If the loss and damage fund becomes operational, in what areas would the additional financing be useful in Indonesia? Here are some suggestions.Wewin Wira Cornelis Wahid, Program Officer, Resilience Development Initiative (RDI)Muhammad Soufi Cahya Gemilang, Research Officer, Resilience Development Initiative (RDI)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2014932023-03-21T13:15:02Z2023-03-21T13:15:02ZClimate change: farmers in Ghana can’t predict rainfall anymore, changing how they work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514889/original/file-20230313-20-opxnhm.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Established practices of Ghanaian farmers have been affected by climate change.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bernard Keraita/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health">Climate change</a> affects all spheres of life, particularly those aspects that depend on the environment. Farming communities are a case in point.</p>
<p>Most often the effects of climate change on farmers are classified into two categories – economic and non-economic. The economic effects are losses that can be quantified or measured in monetary terms. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096321000656?via%3Dihub">Non-economic</a> effects are losses that cannot be quantified or measured in monetary terms. Examples include <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877343520300531?via%3Dihub">loss of indigenous knowledge,</a> cultural heritage and sense of place and belonging.</p>
<p>Research and policy strategies have focused on understanding and addressing the economic effects of climate change. Less so the non-economic aspects. I study food and agricultural systems in Ghana. In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17565529.2023.2183074?src=&journalCode=tcld20">a recent paper</a> my colleagues and I sought to understand the non-economic effects of climate change on farmers in Ghana.</p>
<p>Our findings have implications for climate change adaptation strategies and policies across the global south. </p>
<p>It is important to note that our research is not in any way suggesting that climate change is the only process driving changes in the farming systems and local culture in Ghana. But, based on the interviews we did, we argue that climate change is playing a role.</p>
<h2>Our research and its findings</h2>
<p>We conducted 30 in-depth interviews and a focus group with farmers in <a href="https://mofa.gov.gh/site/directorates/district-directorates/ashanti-region/172-offinso-municipal">Offinso</a>, a farming area in southern Ghana. Offinso is traditionally known for both food and cash crops production in Ghana. Farmers in the area produce crops that include maize, vegetables, pawpaw and cocoa. Agriculture in the area is largely rain-fed. </p>
<p>Farmers were asked to describe the weather patterns over a 30-year period. Their responses showed that they had experienced variable weather patterns, a situation that is affecting their farming activities. </p>
<p>For example farmers were no longer able to predict rainfall patterns and farming seasons. Farmers indicated that 30 years ago, the rains were constant during specific months of the year. This enabled them to plan and organise themselves for their yearly farming activities, as they were able to predict rains and start of the farming season. </p>
<p>But rainfall patterns have become very variable. </p>
<p>A consequence of this was that farmers could no longer exchange labour in a system known as <em>Nnoboa</em>. Farmers explained that when they could predict the farming season, they organised themselves at the start of the farming season for <em>Nnoboa</em>. This is often based on the principle of helping one another on the farm as a way of building social bonds. <em>Nnoboa</em> was largely practised at the start of the rainy and farming seasons, when land preparation and planting of crops are required. </p>
<p>But the variable nature of the rains had distorted the farming seasons and organisation of <em>Nnoboa</em> - communal labour. Instead farmers were relying on their nuclear families or hired labour. This reflected a much more individualist – as opposed to a communal – approach to farming. </p>
<p>We also asked farmers to describe how climate change affected their mental well-being. We asked them to describe climate change effects that made them anxious, depressed, grief, helpless, hopeless and sad.</p>
<p>They explained that extreme weather events such as storms and droughts destroyed their crops, leaving them emotionally distressed, helpless and sad. It was clear from the responses that extreme weather events are not new to farmers. Nevertheless, they expressed the view that major changes in weather patterns had become more frequent.</p>
<h2>Way forward</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/mission-2020-new-global-strategy-rapidly-reduce-carbon-emissions/">Global efforts</a> are underway to curb carbon emissions. Nevertheless changing weather patterns, drought and storm conditions continue to pose both economic and non-economic effects on <a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Considerations%20regarding%20vulnerable.pdf">vulnerable people</a>. </p>
<p>The neglect of the non-economic aspects of climate change in research and policy threatens to worsen the vulnerability of farmers. This gap needs to be filled so that appropriate conventional and local adaptation strategies and policies can be designed to address the effects of climate change in developing countries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Boafo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The effect of climate change on established lifestyles of farming communities are variedJames Boafo, Lecturer in Geography and Sustainable Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2003502023-03-14T20:58:26Z2023-03-14T20:58:26ZLeveraging digital platforms for public good: Stories of positive impact from India<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514293/original/file-20230308-24-vnq55t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C0%2C3244%2C2448&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Waste management workers stand outside a waste processing plant in Bengaluru, India. By formalizing the waste collection process, the 'I Got Garbage' digital platform transformed waste workers into micro-entrepreneurs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Suchit Ahuja)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Digital platforms such as Uber, Airbnb, WeChat and TaskRabbit have changed the world by creating <a href="https://issues.org/rise-platform-economy-big-data-work/">new economic opportunities</a> through <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/03/thriving-in-the-gig-economy">gig work culture</a> and enabling a <a href="https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/news/sharing-economy-market-2023-understanding-the-impact-of-consumer-demand-on-business-growth-till-2028">sharing economy</a>. However, concerns remain about how these platforms may <a href="https://www.immpressmagazine.com/the-gig-economy-exploitation-of-innovation/">exploit gig workers</a> and customers if driven purely by profit. </p>
<p>While these platforms are great at <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/01/why-some-platforms-thrive-and-others-dont">creating value by bringing buyers, sellers and consumers together</a>, their benefits often don’t transcend to their ecosystem. <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/">They have been criticized</a> for their <a href="https://www.un.org/en/un75/impact-digital-technologies">poor social and environmental impacts</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105528">exclusionary practices</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00081256221094307">digital colonialism</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517221135176">surveillance capabilities</a>.</p>
<p>To leverage the power of platforms for social good, it’s important to design <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/digital-platforms-potential-impact-social-sector-abhishek-modi/">socially-oriented platforms</a> within <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/10/the-ecosystem-of-shared-value">ecosystems of shared value</a> that target the UN’s sustainable development goals.</p>
<p>To focus on sustainable development goals, platforms need to change from being exclusively focused on profits and value appropriation, to perceiving themselves as <a href="https://digitalpublicgoods.net/">public goods</a> that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12378">innovate responsibly</a> by co-creating and sharing economic, social and environmental value. </p>
<p>While this is easier said than done, some <a href="https://platformcommons.org/platform/">organizations have begun the process</a>.</p>
<h2>A new non-profit</h2>
<p>Commercial platforms are expected to earn an <a href="https://www.insighteurs.com/platform-economy-digital-business-models/#how-much-of-the-economy-is-a-platform">estimated $60 trillion by 2025</a>. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://platformcommons.org/">Platform Commons Foundation</a> — an Indian non-profit that builds inclusive platforms to address global <a href="https://www.grandchallenges.org/">grand challenges</a> — is focused on creating social value, while economic value is secondary.</p>
<p>The Platform Commons Foundation has launched a number of platforms focused on sustainable development goals such as poverty alleviation, providing quality education and decent work, improving economic growth and reducing inequalities.</p>
<p>One of the Platform Commons Foundation’s many platforms — I Got Garbage — transformed the lives of underpaid and marginalized waste management workers in <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/12/what-is-the-informal-economy-basics">India’s informal sector</a>, who faced frequent harassment and exploitation, by helping them earn a steady income and a dignified livelihood.</p>
<p>Another platform — Commons.farm — is an agritech platform that provides equitable and accessible services to <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/necessity-of-holistic-development-of-small-marginal-farmer-communities-in-india/">smallholder farmers that face challenges</a> across the agricultural supply chain. </p>
<p>Smallholder farmers make up <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/agri-tech-innovation-can-improve-value-capture-and-transform-ecosystem-for-india-s-small-farmers/">80 to 90 per cent of India’s agriculture</a>. Yet, they own less than five acres of land and usually grow only two crops a year. They are often unable to find buyers for their produce, forcing them to only sell through intermediary controlled markets.</p>
<p>Let’s take a closer look at these platforms.</p>
<h2>Revolutionizing waste management</h2>
<p>I Got Garbage turned the informal waste collection process into a formal process. The platform consists of an ecosystem of <a href="https://www.swmrt.com/">thousands of citizens</a>, <a href="https://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/4561-swmrt-solid-waste-management-guidelines-4561">government and municipal officers</a>, <a href="https://hasirudala.in/">non-governmental organizations</a>, waste worker communities and other institutions. </p>
<p>By formalizing the waste collection process, I Got Garbage transformed waste workers into micro-entrepreneurs who can earn sustainable wages and protect themselves from exploitation. </p>
<p>I Got Garbage did this through several technology interventions. Some of these interventions include the <a href="https://www.northeastern.edu/sei/2018/12/i-got-garbage/">I Got Garbage app</a> that runs on low-cost cellphones, SMS and WhatsApp-based communications in various Indian languages, waste and recycling management planning software, customer service training, providing uniforms and identity badges, geotagging locations for waste pick-up and tracking wages. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women wearing masks and fluorescent worker vests sort through trash on a conveyor belt" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514082/original/file-20230307-18-qhiyis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Waste workers separate paper and plastic on a conveyor belt in a recycling facility in New Delhi, India in September 2019. The ‘I Got Garbage’ digital platform turned the informal waste collection process into a formal process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I Got Garbage worked with the community of waste workers to understand their problems and gain their trust. It also signed households up for its services via Facebook and SMS/WhatsApp campaigns.</p>
<p>I Got Garbage made a significant impact as it reduced landfill waste by 40 per cent and processed more than 10,000 tons of recycling materials daily in one city. It employed more than 15,000 waste workers and expanded to several cities in less than five years since its inception.</p>
<p>I Got Garbage has led to a revolution of waste management and recycling in India which is set to be <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thebetterindia_cleanestcity-biomethanation-zerowaste-activity-7034484687683084288-9WIP">replicated in 72 countries</a> in Asia and Africa.</p>
<h2>Empowering farmers and preventing suicide</h2>
<p>The Indian agricultural sector suffers the same fragmentation and informal process issues as the waste management sector. </p>
<p>Productivity issues, corruption and supply chain issues within India’s agricultural sector are so stark they have caused a suicide epidemic among debt-ridden smallholder farmers. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/17/opinions/india-farmer-suicide-agriculture-reform-kaur/index.html">Over 10,000 farmers died in 2020 alone</a> according to the government. </p>
<p>The situation was dire and needed intervention at the grassroots level.</p>
<p>The Platform Commons Foundation launched Commons.farm in 2019 to assist farmers and regional governments in and around Bengaluru. The idea was the same as I Got Garbage, except for the revenue model — empowering farmers by connecting them with each other to form co-operatives, resolving agriculture supply chain issues, enabling communication among farmers, governments and markets, and improving social and environmental impact.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A barefooted Indian man walks through a field of crops carrying a bunch of turnips" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514320/original/file-20230308-1015-2bwkbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Indian farmer carries turnips after harvesting them from a field in Kanachak village, on the outskirts of Jammu, India in February 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Channi Anand)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This would empower smallholder farmers with digital tools to reduce waste, cut out corruption and communicate directly with suppliers and customers.</p>
<p>The platform obtains its primary revenues <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/14/global-farm-subsidies-damage-people-planet-un-climate-crisis-nature-inequality">from government subsidy programs</a> instead of charging farmers for services. Local and state governments that use Commons.farm receive guaranteed impact outcomes from the money they spend on the platform, which is a fraction of the overall subsidy bill they would otherwise incur.</p>
<h2>Sustainable use of digital platforms</h2>
<p>Platforms like I Got Garbage and Commons.farm that also focus on sustainable development goals are gaining attention. The <a href="https://www.francis-project.eu/">FRANCIS project</a>, for example, hosts open innovation challenges in Europe that involve citizens, scientists and academics. Its aim is to develop affordable innovations that address real-world challenges.</p>
<p>Citizens can join the challenges via the online platform or in face-to-face events. Scientists run workshops during the challenges that offer method training. This project is currently working on a solar disinfection project targeting low- to middle-income households in rural areas, people in refugee camps and micro-entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>The Indian government has also created its own set of public platforms that it calls the <a href="https://indiastack.org/">India Stack</a>. It has built a <a href="https://uidai.gov.in/en/">biometric digital identity platform</a>, a real-time <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/business/india-digital-payments-upi.html">mobile payment platform</a>, a <a href="https://www.exemplars.health/emerging-topics/epidemic-preparedness-and-response/digital-health-tools/cowin-in-india">COVID-19 vaccine records platform</a> and an open and inclusive <a href="https://ondc.org/">e-commerce platform</a>.</p>
<p>Digital platforms can be used as private pipelines that enable monopolies or they can be used as open, inclusive mechanisms <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2022.2105999">leveraged for the public good</a>. </p>
<p>By learning from examples that have leapfrogged common platform pitfalls to focus on the public good, we can move towards an equitable and empowering version of digital transformation. We have the opportunity to emulate these successful examples in our own contexts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200350/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suchit Ahuja receives funding from FRQSC and SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yolande E. Chan receives funding from SSHRC.</span></em></p>To focus on sustainable development goals, platforms need to change from being exclusively focused on profits and value appropriation to perceiving themselves as public goods.Suchit Ahuja, Assistant Professor, Business Technology Management, Concordia UniversityYolande E. Chan, Dean, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1981662023-03-14T09:14:11Z2023-03-14T09:14:11ZFarms in cities: new study offers planners and growers food for thought<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510577/original/file-20230216-20-5or3po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5081%2C3410&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Workers in one of the poly-tunnels of an urban farm in South Africa. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/richard-msengi-and-gladys-mgakula-work-in-one-of-the-poly-news-photo/587483662?phrase=hydroponics%20south%20africa&adppopup=true">Gideon Mendel/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urban agriculture as a global phenomenon is widely promoted as a sustainable land use practice. On small plots and in big projects, using sophisticated technology or simple solutions, city dwellers around the world are producing food. Growing food in a city can improve local food security and express local culture. </p>
<p>Little information is available, though, on what kinds of spaces and technologies urban agriculture requires. This sort of information would be useful to architects and built environment specialists when they design buildings and urban spaces that can accommodate urban agriculture. </p>
<p>As part of a larger research project on the climate change adaptation potential of urban agriculture, <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/jgb/article-abstract/17/3/161/487481/ZERO-ACREAGE-FARMING-DRIVING-SUSTAINABLE-URBAN">our study</a> explored the spatial, material and technological characteristics of selected urban agriculture farms. We looked at how it’s done in dense urban settings in four countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, Singapore and South Africa. </p>
<p>The selection of countries aimed to present diversity of context, climatic conditions and forms of urban agriculture. Belgium, the Netherlands and Singapore are developed and high-income countries. South Africa is a developing context and therefore offers a contrasting perspective.</p>
<p>We interviewed farmers, architects and engineers. We asked about the choices they’d made about site, layout and management, what had influenced them, and whether they had experienced any problems. We also observed the materials and methods used, any adjustments to existing buildings or infrastructure, access to the site, and movement around it.</p>
<p>In this process we identified various ways of using space and technology under different conditions. We grouped them into eight farm types, ranging from low-tech to sophisticated solutions.</p>
<p>Our typology is useful because we found that urban agriculture is very diverse in its form and application. This diversity means architects and other specialists in the built environment risk getting their design proposals wrong. By defining the types and linking them with spatial, material and technology needs, we offer professionals information they can use when introducing food production into their projects. </p>
<p>Our overview of urban farming highlights the need to develop and use appropriate technologies in poorer and rapidly growing cities. These are the features of most sub-Saharan African cities.</p>
<h2>Eight types of urban farms</h2>
<p>The eight farm types emerged from the way they use space (planted in soil or on/in buildings), the level of control over growing conditions (like ambient temperature, light, nutrients, water and air flow), and the use of other resources. The latter may be waste sources (such as waste water, bio-matter or waste heat), internet and connectivity networks, and human labour (such as the immediate community).</p>
<p>The farm types we identified were as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>community or allotment farms that are farmed for personal or community use</p></li>
<li><p>community or commercial soil-based farms that use growing tunnels</p></li>
<li><p>farms integrated with the built environment, and presenting aesthetic or cultural functions with less focus on produce output (for example demonstration kitchens, or restaurants that promote ethical, sustainable consumption)</p></li>
<li><p>productive commercial farms that are integrated within the built environment (for example hydroponic farms, greenhouses and rooftop greenhouses)</p></li>
<li><p>farms that are part of buildings, circulating resources within the building (like integrated rooftop greenhouses)</p></li>
<li><p>farms integrated into buildings or urban spaces which share resources with a wider neighbourhood</p></li>
<li><p>indoor farms with artificially controlled conditions (like indoor commercial hydroponic farms)</p></li>
<li><p>completely automated commercial farms that control the planting process, nutrient management and indoor growing environment.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We observed certain strategies and trends. </p>
<p>Firstly, urban farmers often activate unused spaces. These may be empty lots, leftover spaces next to properties or infrastructure, empty buildings, or rooftops.</p>
<p>Secondly, urban farms ranged widely in size. We documented farms ranging from 3,220m² to 4m². Some of the soil-based organic farmers were particular about microclimate (sun, shading, soil quality and water availability). Some of the more technologically advanced farms were good at manipulating microclimates. They could grow food in seemingly unlikely places, like enclosed storerooms or cupboards. </p>
<p>Thirdly, we documented farms that benefited financially and otherwise from being part of multifunctional spaces. For example, they incorporated restaurants, education programmes, therapy spaces, sport facilities and social gathering spaces. </p>
<p>But we also came across urban farmers who actively discouraged a multifunctional approach. In South Africa, urban farms tended to be isolated – for example on rooftops – and the public were mostly excluded. The main reasons were food safety and the risk of theft or damage. The farmer’s main aim was to grow produce to secure an income.</p>
<p>Urban farms are often assumed to contribute to public spaces in cities. Some are part of large urban regeneration initiatives. But our findings prove this isn’t always the case. </p>
<p>Finally, we saw a range of technological applications and solutions. Many farms used highly sophisticated growing technologies. They include zero-acreage farms, which don’t use farmland or open space, but are part of buildings. Hydroponics (growing plants in nutrient-rich water) and vertical agriculture (growing plants on vertical structures) are zero-acreage methods. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman bends while tending to plants in plastic bags, while another woman waits to water them with a hose." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511147/original/file-20230220-22-aqqior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511147/original/file-20230220-22-aqqior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511147/original/file-20230220-22-aqqior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511147/original/file-20230220-22-aqqior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511147/original/file-20230220-22-aqqior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511147/original/file-20230220-22-aqqior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511147/original/file-20230220-22-aqqior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A rooftop farm in South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/workers-from-in-season-lethabo-madela-and-mbali-mthembu-news-photo/1058113276?phrase=hydroponics%20south%20africa&adppopup=true">Guillem Sartorio/AFP via Getty Images.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But other farms used technology like discarded objects, self-made solutions and organic or recycled materials. This reflects intentions to develop more sustainable farming solutions and save project costs. </p>
<p>We noted that low-tech farming technology was highly flexible. High-tech solutions were often inflexible once implemented. For example, one farmer had to completely replace the growing equipment because the technology didn’t suit local growing conditions. </p>
<p>Other farmers noted that the integrated nature of the farming systems forced them to grow only a small selection of crops.</p>
<h2>Critical findings</h2>
<p>Urban agriculture can offer cities several benefits. But certain types of urban farming, especially zero acreage farms, can potentially impede sustainable development. They may be more isolated from their surrounding context, less flexible and adaptable, and less multifunctional. Isolation, and only focusing on food production, reduces the economic potential and social impact of these farms. </p>
<p>The choice of urban agriculture technology is an important consideration for urban planners, architects, developers and farmers working in developing cities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Urban farms can work in developing countries if farmers and architects are aware of conditions that favour food production in built spaces.Jan Hugo, Senior lecturer in Sustainable and Climate Responsive Architecture, University of PretoriaAndy van den Dobbelsteen, Professor of Climate Design & Sustainability, Delft University of TechnologyChrisna du Plessis, Professor and Head of Department, Architecture, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987962023-02-17T11:59:30Z2023-02-17T11:59:30ZAfrica’s agribusiness sector should drive the continent’s economic development: Five reasons why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508061/original/file-20230203-24-k9czvf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Agriculture is still largely manual in a several parts of the continent.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Patrick Sheperd/CIFOR</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa’s agriculture sector <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/bo092e/bo092e.pdf">accounts</a> for about 35% of the continent’s gross domestic product, and provides the <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/16624/769900WP0SDS0A00Box374393B00PUBLIC0.pdf">livelihood of more than 50%</a> of the continent’s population. These shares are more than double those of the world average and much higher than those of any other emerging region. </p>
<p>Dependence on agriculture has declined in other emerging regions. For example in Southeast Asia, <a href="https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publications/Books/2022/English/SAPTRG.ashx">agriculture’s share of GDP</a> dropped from 30-35% in 1970 to 10-15% in 2019. In Africa it has remained unchanged for decades, according to <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS">World Bank data</a>.
At the same time, Africa’s agriculture sector is the world’s least developed, with the lowest levels of labour and land productivity. Value added per worker in agriculture is about a quarter of the world’s average and less than a fifth of China’s. </p>
<p>The sector is dominated by smallholders, producing mainly for their own consumption. They operate well below minimum efficient scale and scope. <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.36.1.33">Average farm size</a> in Sub-Saharan Africa is 1.3 hectares, compared with 22 hectares in Central America, 51 hectares in South America and 186 hectares in North America, according to International Fund for Agricultural Development <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.36.1.33">data</a>. </p>
<p>Average farm machinery use in Africa is the <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i0219e/i0219e00.pdf">lowest in the world</a> and has increased only very slightly since the 1960s.</p>
<p>Against this backdrop, the development of the agribusiness sector holds enormous potential to foster Africa’s economic development. For this to happen, the productivity of Africa’s agribusiness must rise. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-has-the-power-to-boost-farming-in-africa-but-a-lot-has-to-change-78489">Science has the power to boost farming in Africa. But a lot has to change</a>
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<p>My <a href="https://rdcu.be/c07eD">research</a> on Africa’s economic prospects has led me to believe that agribusiness offers African countries the most promising path for development and a shift towards higher value-added activities. This is the first step towards economic development. </p>
<p>There are five reasons why agribusiness should drive Africa’s economic development. </p>
<h2>Why agriculture should be the focus</h2>
<p>Firstly, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Africa">Africa</a> has abundant land. Agribusiness might be its foremost source of comparative advantage. Africa’s <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/africa-dwarfs-china-europe-and-the-u-s/">land size</a> is larger than China, India, the US and most of Europe combined. More than half is arable land, suitable for crop growing. The weather in different parts of Africa provides perfect conditions for the growth of various crops. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-youth-and-abundant-arable-land-are-a-potential-winning-combination-48855">Africa's youth and abundant arable land are a potential winning combination</a>
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<p>Secondly, agriculture has huge potential for adding value, and Africa has comparative advantages in this sector. Also, most African countries export commodities and raw materials and import finished goods. Ghana, for example, exports cocoa and imports high value-added chocolate; Kenya exports tea leaves and imports expensive branded tea. Nigeria and Angola have some of the world’s largest oil resources, but lack refining capacity and depend on imports for their energy consumption. </p>
<p>Africa’s dependence on imports for its consumption is the <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2022/09/26/africa-food-prices-are-soaring-amid-high-import-reliance">highest in the world</a> as a share of its GDP. The development of agribusiness is fundamental for Africa’s ability to ensure food security. </p>
<p>Upgrading to activities that add more value in agriculture often requires less advanced technology than in manufacturing industries. Compare the technology of producing spare parts for the automobile industry with that needed to produce tea bags. </p>
<p>Thirdly, agribusiness is attractive because there are ready markets for its output. Africa has vast local markets for food. Agribusiness producers can sell much of their output in local markets. This enables local farming operations to grow and become more sophisticated in a less competitive environment before expanding internationally. Regional integration via the <a href="https://au.int/en/treaties/agreement-establishing-african-continental-free-trade-area">African Continental Free Trade Agreement</a> greatly increases these opportunities.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kenya-and-south-africa-are-working-to-address-trade-barriers-where-to-start-194310">Kenya and South Africa are working to address trade barriers: where to start</a>
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<p>In export markets, Africa’s agribusiness products are likely to benefit from the continent’s reputation for high-quality natural resources. Ghana’s cocoa is considered as some of the world’s best, as are Kenya’s tea and coffee. </p>
<p>Fourth, African countries need to develop their agricultural sector also because they are unlikely to follow the traditional development paths. Many other emerging markets developed through industrialisation and export-driven manufacturing. Growth led by manufacturing needs infrastructure; Africa’s infrastructure is poor. This growth model is also threatened by automation and robotics that replace labour, and by growing protectionism in the world’s major markets. </p>
<p>With a few exceptions, such as Ethiopia and Morocco, most African countries have failed to establish a significant manufacturing sector, despite political efforts. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07900627.2020.1739512">study</a> showed that most African people who leave agriculture turn to low-skill, low-productivity services rather than to manufacturing. In 2022, manufacturing employment accounted for slightly over 10% of sub-Saharan Africa employment, the smallest share of any emerging region according to <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.IND.EMPL.ZS">World Bank data</a>. Nor did the flow of low-wage manufacturing jobs out of China trigger the development of Africa’s manufacturing sector. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinese-imports-could-undermine-ethiopian-manufacturing-leaving-women-workers-worst-off-195730">Chinese imports could undermine Ethiopian manufacturing - leaving women workers worst off</a>
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<p>Yet another reason to pay more attention to Africa’s agribusiness is that it is at the forefront of environmental challenges and global warming. Drastic changes in rainfall and weather patterns change what can grow where, and increase the importance of efficiency of land use. It is important to understand the consequences of these changes so that they can be managed effectively. </p>
<p>Africa’s agribusiness must develop in order for the continent to develop economically. Its strengths and weaknesses make agribusiness the most significant sector to drive its overall economic development. Policy makers, educators and researchers should take note. Done right, the economic gains of developing Africa’s agribusiness will be enormous.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198796/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lilac Nachum does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Average farm machinery use in Africa is among the lowest in the world.Lilac Nachum, Visiting Professor at Strathmore Business School ;Professor of International Business, City University New York, City University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1986322023-02-03T16:01:00Z2023-02-03T16:01:00ZEnvironment plan for England asks farmers to restore nature – but changes are likely to be superficial<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508085/original/file-20230203-24-rwr5kn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5008%2C3313&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ketrels-yorkshire-england-uk-2185494997">Julie Yates/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-improvement-plan">environment improvement plan</a> pledges to restore 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of wildlife-rich habitat, create or expand 25 national parks, invest in the recovery of hedgehogs and red squirrels, tackle <a href="https://theconversation.com/sewage-pollution-our-research-reveals-the-scale-of-englands-growing-problem-170763">rising sewage pollution</a> and improve <a href="https://theconversation.com/plan-will-put-everyone-in-england-within-15-minutes-of-green-space-but-what-matters-is-justice-not-distance-198938">access to green spaces</a> in England over the next five years. </p>
<p>Since <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agricultural-land-use-in-england/agricultural-land-use-in-england-at-1-june-2022">69%</a> of land in England is farmed, much of the plan’s success in improving nature will hinge on its reform of the country’s agricultural sector. Farming is implicated in the extinction risk of <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/our-global-food-system-primary-driver-biodiversity-loss">86%</a> of threatened species globally, and accounts for roughly <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00225-9">one-third</a> of all greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, not to mention soil erosion and river pollution.</p>
<p>The government has described the plan as an “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ambitious-roadmap-for-a-cleaner-greener-country">ambitious road map</a>” to a cleaner, greener country. Some of the targets certainly are ambitious. For example, the plan aims to bring 40% of farmland soils into sustainable management by 2028. </p>
<p>This would be a monumental shift in how soil is cared for in England. Intensive agriculture has slashed the amount of carbon soils store by 60% and put 6 million hectares across England and Wales at risk of erosion or compaction, costing an estimated <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800915003171">£1.2 billion a year</a>.</p>
<p>But the plan doesn’t actually explain how sustainable management will be expanded. The only action proposed is to create a “baseline map” of soil health in England by 2028. </p>
<p>The plan also aims for 65%-80% of landowners and farmers to adopt nature-friendly farming by 2030. “Nature-friendly farming” is not defined, nor is it based on any <a href="http://www.ipes-food.org/pages/smokeandmirrors">internationally recognised principles</a>, making it impossible to assess the government’s progress. </p>
<p>The plan only aims for this to be adopted on 10%-15% of farmers’ land too, which would amount to a mere 6%–12% of England’s farmland overall. <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780429028557/nature-matrix-ivette-perfecto-john-vandermeer-angus-wright">Research</a> shows that protecting small pockets of land won’t benefit biodiversity if the majority of farming in the surrounding landscape is ecologically destructive.</p>
<h2>All carrots, no sticks</h2>
<p>The main instrument the government has chosen to shake up agriculture is the <a href="https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2023/01/26/environmental-land-management-schemes-details-of-actions-and-payments/">Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)</a> scheme. SFIs are payments to farmers based on actions which benefit the environment. For example, a farmer could receive up to £40 a hectare for their efforts to improve soils on arable fields. </p>
<p>An integrated strategy for converting farmland to more sustainable management would mean increasing the diversity of crops grown, helping healthy soils regenerate and eliminating pesticides, all at the same time. Instead, SFI payments reward farmers for making standalone changes. </p>
<p>This might mean <a href="https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/provide-supplementary-winter-food-for-birds/">putting out seeds</a> for birds in winter or leaving a grassy strip on an unused section of land to provide <a href="https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/create-and-maintain-beetle-banks/">habitat for insects</a>, though it could also mean significantly cutting down on pesticides. This system offers flexibility for landowners, but research shows that farmers are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00452.x?casa_token=kzS1Kc7-i8oAAAAA%3ApqnahDOPAXUZSzx6nsg_zWpnMR4dIMS76ir3ZOeLY76-jYZyahEDT3TUrOIoOWWo8DrTeJBF1iInpA">more likely to choose</a> environmental improvements which don’t require significant changes to how they farm.</p>
<p>This is the fatal flaw in the government’s flagship farming reform. Farmers can continue doing things which harm soils and wildlife on the (majority) productive parts of their land while receiving benefits for sprinkling pro-environment measures around the edges. </p>
<p>Wildflower margins which are planted around pesticide-soaked crops under the pretence of supporting pollinators offer a common example. Not only is the continued use of pesticide on the crop harmful in itself, the wildflowers actually accumulate the chemical residue, sometimes in higher concentrations than in the crops themselves. This renders the wildflower pollen <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.5b03459">harmful</a>, rather than beneficial, to bees, butterflies and other bugs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An arable field with a margin full of wildflowers to the right." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508088/original/file-20230203-22-uo8ca2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508088/original/file-20230203-22-uo8ca2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508088/original/file-20230203-22-uo8ca2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508088/original/file-20230203-22-uo8ca2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508088/original/file-20230203-22-uo8ca2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508088/original/file-20230203-22-uo8ca2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508088/original/file-20230203-22-uo8ca2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Adding wildflower strips to field margins won’t undo the damage of intensive farming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wild-flowers-cow-parsley-growing-arable-2196165655">Paul Maguire/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The environment improvement plan heavily relies on voluntary participation in lieu of regulation, not only through SFIs but quality assurance schemes such as Red Tractor. For example, fertilisers and slurries (semi-liquid manures) emit ammonia, a greenhouse gas which is bad for human health. Rather than regulate this, the plan favours an “industry led” approach with Red Tractor certifications. </p>
<p>Red Tractor is yet another voluntary scheme, and has been criticised as ineffectual for encouraging improvements to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/15/red-tractor-failing-to-regulate-pesticide-use-for-uk-supermarket-products#:%7E:text=The%20Red%20Tractor%20scheme%2C%20used,upon%20to%20uphold%20environmental%20standards.">environment</a> and <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chicken-farming-red-tractor-inspectors-failed-to-revisit-farm-after-deaths-c7hrdqh5g">animal welfare</a> on farms. The plan has only suggested that it will consider regulating dairy and intensive beef farms in the same way that it regulates intensive poultry and pig farms.</p>
<p>Even if regulations were to be expanded, environmental regulators visit farms so rarely and superficially that it might not make a difference. On average, it is estimated that English farms can expect an environmental inspection <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/27/liz-truss-allowed-farmers-to-pollute-englands-rivers-after-slashing-red-tape-say-campaigners">once every 263 years</a>. Despite being regulated, intensive poultry and pig operations are a major cause of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/05/river-pollution-leads-to-welsh-demand-for-halt-to-intensive-poultry-units">river pollution</a>. </p>
<h2>Beyond England’s borders</h2>
<p>In post-Brexit policy discussions, some landowners and consumers worried that payments for environmental improvements would outweigh income from food production, meaning less homegrown fare. Government discourse has since emphasised that farmers will receive support to deliver on environmental outcomes “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/therese-coffey-farmers-central-to-food-production-and-environmental-action">alongside</a>” food production. Nothing in the plan ensures this. </p>
<p>Other countries have a food policy which guides farmers to grow produce necessary for healthy diets and determines how much should be imported or exported. Responsibility for food in England is divided between <a href="https://foodresearch.org.uk/publications/who-makes-food-policy-in-england-map-government-actors/">16 different departments</a>, with no overarching framework or body.</p>
<p>SFIs and the new plan do very little to stem the environmental consequences of food produced beyond England’s borders. The aggregate ammonia emissions from crops and livestock imported into England are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25854-3">significantly higher</a> than those stemming from domestic production. </p>
<p>And despite its favourable growing conditions, the majority of fruit and vegetables eaten in England are imported, contributing to water scarcity and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00254-007-0853-0">pollution</a> in other countries. Preserving the environment at home while polluting and degrading environments abroad is nonsensical, as all ecosystems are interconnected. But it is also shameful to shift the environmental burden of English diets onto other people. </p>
<p>If the government and citizens are serious about improving the environment, then policies must require that ecological principles are integrated into food production. At present, voluntary measures and weak regulation are all that is offered.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elise Wach receives research funding from foundations, research councils and charitable organisations. The author declares no conflict of interest related to this article.</span></em></p>Tinkering around the margins of English farms won’t benefit biodiversity, research suggests.Elise Wach, Research Advisor, Institute of Development StudiesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1979742023-01-25T06:12:07Z2023-01-25T06:12:07ZFood shortages: five ways to fix ‘unfair’ supply chains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505958/original/file-20230123-13-ci2u2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C13%2C974%2C633&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-skillful-old-farmer-holding-chicken-485801590">Marian Weyo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>UK food prices soared by <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/food-price-inflation-hits-16-8-per-cent/">more than 16%</a> in 2022 as record <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/risingcostofpastabreadandothereverydayfoodsleavesmostvulnerabletheworstoff/2022-12-22#:%7E:text=grocery%20items%20have-,increased%20by%20more%20than%2020%25,-in%20the%20year">inflation pushed up the prices</a> of everything from bread to beans. </p>
<p>Tesco chairman John Allan recently suggested that suppliers could be using this situation <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64364744">to boost prices</a>. Speaking to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hhxb">the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg</a> about whether food companies were taking advantage of consumers with recent price rises, Allan said: “I think that’s entirely possible”. </p>
<p>While he admitted he hadn’t “seen their cost structures”, he said the supermarket chain was fighting “very hard to challenge cost increases”. Tesco has <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ways-companies-change-their-products-to-hide-inflation-189924#:%7E:text=In%20July%2C%20a%20dispute%20over%20a%20price%20increase%20for%20products%20including%20tins%20of%20baked%20beans%20saw%20supermarket%20Tesco%20freeze%20its%20orders%20from%20food%20company%20Heinz.">previously refused to stock certain products</a> while haggling over prices with suppliers.</p>
<p>Allan’s comments have been <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tesco-chief-living-parallel-universe-110811635.html">criticised by food firms and farmers</a> alike. They argue that they are suffering from rising costs and often don’t see the benefits of food price hikes. </p>
<p>For example, farmers and suppliers – many of whom are <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/smallholder-food-production">small- and medium-sized firms</a> (SMEs) – have recently argued they are not getting <a href="https://library.myebook.com/CILT/focus-november-2021/3697/#page/25">a fair price for their eggs</a> from supermarkets and other big-box stores. The price of a dozen eggs at the till rose by 45p over the course of 2022, but many farmers only saw 5p-10p of that rise, according to <a href="https://www.bfrepa.co.uk/media-centre/news/statement-to-bbc-and-others/103">figures released in November by the British Free Range Egg Producers Association</a>. </p>
<p>Combined with rapidly rising <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/producerpriceinflation/october2022">production costs</a> and the impact of the <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20230113-largest-global-bird-flu-outbreak-in-history-shows-no-sign-of-slowing">worst avian flu pandemic in history</a>, this is putting enormous strain on these producers and suppliers. And the current combination of rising interest rates and high input and energy costs is <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2022/Q4/high-input-costs-and-rising-interest-rates-top-concerns-as-farmer-sentiment-remains-unchanged.html">generating concern</a> among farmers in general. </p>
<p>In this rising price environment, these businesses are at risk of further pressure on their cash flows or even future production failure. This could eventually impact the UK’s <a href="https://library.myebook.com/CILT/focus-april-2022/3982/#page/47">food supply chain resilience</a> and security, and also increase waste.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Empty eggs shelves supermarket store. Food supply shortage crisis." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506081/original/file-20230124-12-u3basp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506081/original/file-20230124-12-u3basp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506081/original/file-20230124-12-u3basp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506081/original/file-20230124-12-u3basp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506081/original/file-20230124-12-u3basp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506081/original/file-20230124-12-u3basp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506081/original/file-20230124-12-u3basp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some supermarkets were forced to ration eggs in 2022 due to supply chain issues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/coronavirus-panic-buying-concept-eggs-shelves-1674343042">MIA Studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Indeed, producers and suppliers can face a significant power imbalance in food supply chains, which can feed through to higher prices for consumers. While such businesses often bear all the risks of producing and supplying items like eggs, many are unable to bargain for more favourable trading terms with powerful retailers. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-05-2021-0032">previous research</a> suggests small businesses in other industries also have little or no bargaining power in such situations. These businesses must adhere to the terms imposed by their buyers, or risk losing income. </p>
<p>Supporting <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00207543.2021.1928319">supply chain fairness</a> will not only safeguard these companies from collapse, it will also help relieve shortages for consumers and could prevent future food supply crises.</p>
<h2>Fairness in supply chains</h2>
<p>The concept of “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9350-3">fairness</a>” is frequently overlooked in discussions about <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/03/a-more-sustainable-supply-chain">supply chain sustainability</a>, perhaps because it is so subjective. When <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065260108601082">evaluating fairness in any exchange</a>, one party compares their inputs and outputs, and what they believe they deserve. </p>
<p>These decisions usually come down to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0149206308330557">context</a>, being shaped by the nature of the exchange and any previous interactions with the other party. </p>
<p>While the concept of fairness is rarely included in the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">sustainability agenda</a> of an organisation, in a <a href="https://www.storre.stir.ac.uk/retrieve/0ca33640-beee-4451-9805-1818ab63b465/Oyedijo-etal-HarrySusilopaper-2018.pdf">supply chain context</a> the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2012.03.003">fundamentals of fairness</a> can be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.jom.2013.05.001">measured</a> using three key dimensions: </p>
<ul>
<li>the economic returns derived from the relationships;</li>
<li>how decisions are governed, as well as the policies and procedures related to the relationships;</li>
<li>the extent to which the other party communicates relevant information and resolves conflicts with openness. </li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Close up hand of business person shaking hands with partner, fair play." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506082/original/file-20230124-25-a6vrmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506082/original/file-20230124-25-a6vrmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506082/original/file-20230124-25-a6vrmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506082/original/file-20230124-25-a6vrmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506082/original/file-20230124-25-a6vrmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506082/original/file-20230124-25-a6vrmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506082/original/file-20230124-25-a6vrmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Playing fair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/concept-negotiating-business-handshake-gesturing-people-1189702330">Joke Phatrapong/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Based on these measures, our recent research has produced five strategies that could help promote food supply chain fairness:</p>
<h2>1. Revisiting the terms of trade</h2>
<p>Given the relative <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04791-7">weakness of suppliers</a>, it is essential to re-evaluate their contract terms with supply chain partners and ensure that these terms allocate profits or benefits equally. In supply agreements, it is essential to provide clear and unambiguous terms of trade. These business terms require legal enforcement and repercussions.</p>
<h2>2. Alignment across the food supply chain</h2>
<p>The supply chain may be misaligned when it comes to the ethical values and practices of the various participants, allowing unfair practices to persist. One way to address this is to foster mutual understanding, standard practice and value among all stakeholders in the supply chain. This can be achieved through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-06-2020-0263">risk sharing</a>, relationship building, and dedicated investments that benefit the entire chain.</p>
<h2>3. Lobbying and advocacy</h2>
<p>Suppliers as a whole need to send messages that will move relevant authorities and government agencies to take concrete steps toward implementing policy changes. Such bodies include the <a href="https://www.nfuonline.com/">National Farmers’ Union</a>, <a href="https://www.fdf.org.uk/">the Food and Drink Federation</a> and the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs">Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs</a>, as well as more general groups such as the <a href="https://www.fsb.org.uk/">Federation of Small Businesses</a> and the <a href="https://www.cbi.org.uk/">Confederation of British Industry</a>.</p>
<h2>4. Addressing the power imbalance</h2>
<p>It is crucial to bring back <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1236903">agricultural marketing boards</a> – government entities that oversee agricultural production and compliance. These organisations could help put producers and distributors of agri-food commodities on an equal footing with retailers when it comes to bargaining. Government action, in the form of policy reviews and adjustments to the existing structures for procurement and supply chains, would also help. The concept of fairness should also be incorporated into the sourcing and supplier relationship practices of large retailers.</p>
<h2>5. Education to raise standards</h2>
<p>All supply chain members need ethical supply chain management education to raise industry standards. UK professional bodies like the <a href="https://www.cips.org/">Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply</a> and the <a href="https://ciltuk.org.uk/">Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport</a> could help regulators and supply chain members develop the right skills, knowledge and new perspectives. </p>
<p>Implementing these five strategies will require all supply chain members to take these necessary steps.</p>
<p>With rising demand for food and a growing global population, it is more important than ever to <a href="https://www.ipt.org.uk/newsroom/details/Event-Blog-Building-Resilient-Food-Supply-Chains">build a resilient food supply chain</a>. Our research shows that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/06/uk-food-supply-crisis-farmers-nfu-fuel-fertiliser-feed">preventing a food crisis in the UK</a> means <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/fairness-agricultural-goods-trade-partnerships/">placing fairness</a> at the heart of our food supply chains.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197974/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adegboyega Oyedijo is a Chartered Member of both the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Temidayo Akenroye does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research shows that food supply chains are unfair, but there are ways to make them more sustainable for all involved.Adegboyega Oyedijo, Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management, University of LeicesterTemidayo Akenroye, Associate Professor of Supply Chain & Analytics, University of Missouri-St. LouisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.