| 1. |
- Nagasha, Judith Irene, et al.
(författare)
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Gender-based approaches for improving milk safety, value addition and marketing among smallholder livestock farmers
- 2024
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. - 2571-581X. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the context of Uganda, this study delves into gender-based strategies aimed at enhancing women's engagement in milk safety, value addition and marketing within smallholder livestock farming. The objectives were twofold: first, to document the current practices of women in milk safety, value addition, and marketing channels; second, to examine the constraints, opportunities, and strategies related to the production of safe milk and milk products, along with accessing sustainable markets. Conducted in four sub-counties of Kiruhura district, this research employed both qualitative participatory methods and structured questionnaires, including twelve focused group discussions and twenty key informant interviews with both women and men. Notably, 217 structured questionnaires were administered. The findings illuminate that women play a central role in milk processing, water provisioning, sanitation, hygiene practices and were the primary contributors to milk value addition, particularly in the production of butter and ghee. Despite their active involvement, women face challenges in accessing adequate milk quantities, employ traditional labor-intensive procedures and encounter difficulties in marketing their processed products. Men, often the household heads, held decision-making authority over milk consumption and control the selling of milk, contributing to gender disparities. Addressing these challenges necessitates comprehensive support, including training and capacity-building initiatives for both men and women in milk value addition, credit access, and market entry. The study underscores the potential for improved women's access to milk quantities, particularly for butter and ghee production, to strengthen rural livelihoods and boost dairy production in Uganda.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Robling, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Measuring sustainability at farm level : A critical view on data and indicators
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environmental and Sustainability Indicators. - 2665-9727. ; 18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Measuring sustainability at farm level is a priority for both research and policy and requires sustainability indicators to track progress. Indicators make the sustainability concept more concrete and guide farm level decisions, playing a decisive role in determining food system impacts on societies and the environment. Data availability is often a limiting factor when choosing indicators, but not enough attention is paid to the role of data in indicator construction and assessment results. This paper assessed the critical role of data in indicator construction and the potential limitations that current data availability imposes on farm-level sustainability assessments, using the example of dairy farms in Sweden. To do so we used a five-step approach consisting of a literature review, an inventory of data sources, an expert consultation, a matching and gap analysis, and a critical assessment. We found that 20 indicators categorized under 12 out of 20 sustainability themes had measurement issues due to missing scope, temporary data, or additional data requirements. At least some indicators were measurable within all themes in the social and economic dimensions while all indicators for pesticides, non-renewable energy, and soil quality in the environmental dimension had measurement issues. In the critical assessment, we argue that for some indicators, there are trade-offs between data availability and issues of comprehensibility and analytical validity. Furthermore, we found that no single data source could be used to measure all themes; which means that merging of different data sets is needed for a broader on-farm sustainability assessment. Our findings are relevant for the discussion on sustainability indicators and will inform future programs aimed at collecting sustainability data at farm level, which should consider the broad data needs identified and the potential to merge data to enable holistic sustainability assessments.
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| 4. |
- Abu Hatab, Assem, et al.
(författare)
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COVID-19 risk perception and food security in the MENA region: evidence from a multi-wave household survey
- 2024
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Ingår i: Food Security. - : Springer Nature. - 1876-4517 .- 1876-4525. ; 16, s. 989-1008
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic had disruptive consequences for MENA countries’ agri-food value chains that exacerbated poverty and jeopardized food security. This study examines the relationship between individuals’ perception of contracting COVID-19 and their experience of food insecurity, using longitudinal data from the Combined COVID-19 MENA Monitor Household survey. It also investigates the underlying mechanisms of COVID-19 concerns and explores coping strategies employed by households to identify vulnerabilities in food security. The results provide compelling evidence of a strong association between individuals’ concern about the virus and various dimensions of food security, particularly reduced purchasing power and decreased meal frequency. Notably, this association follows an inverted U-shaped curve, with food insecurity initially increasing as worry grows, but declining after individuals contract the virus. High levels of concern were also linked to significant income decreases and worsening economic conditions. Moreover, individuals with higher concerns were more likely to rely on specific coping strategies, particularly spending savings and obtaining funds from relatives or friends. These findings underscore the need for government interventions during disease outbreaks and economic downturns to focus on alleviating individuals’ worry and fear to facilitate informed decision-making that minimizes food insecurity consequences. Additionally, the findings emphasize the need to strengthen social protection systems during public health and economic challenges to ensure food security for vulnerable populations.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Röös, Elin, et al.
(författare)
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Diagnostic, regenerative or fossil-free - exploring stakeholder perceptions of Swedish food system sustainability
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 0921-8009 .- 1873-6106. ; 203
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In an analysis of food system sustainability challenges and solutions among Swedish food system actors using Q-methodology, five perspectives were identified. One of the main three perspectives placed the highest priority on reduced meat consumption, food waste, and climate impact in agriculture, but downplayed strategies highlighted in the national food strategy and social aspects, and can be interpreted as a diagnostic climate mitigation-oriented perspective that does not reflect current negotiated policy processes or ‘softer’ values of food. In an alternative regenerative perspective, industrialized large-scale farming and lack of internalization of external costs were regarded as the main problems, and diversity, soil health, and organic farming as the main solutions. Proponents of a third perspective regarded phasing out fossil fuels, increased profitability of companies, increased meat production, and self-sufficiency as high priorities. These contrasting views can be a major barrier to transforming the Swedish food system. However, a number of entry points for change (i.e. aspects highly important for some and neutral for others) were identified, including focusing on healthy diets and increased production of fruit and vegetables. Focusing on these can build trust among stakeholders before moving to discussions about the larger and more sensitive systemic changes needed. © 2022 The Authors
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| 7. |
- Abu Hatab, Assem, et al.
(författare)
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Perceptions of the impacts of urban sprawl among urban and peri-urban dwellers of Hyderabad, India : a Latent class clustering analysis
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environment, Development and Sustainability. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1387-585X .- 1573-2975. ; 24:11, s. 12787-12812
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Like many other developing countries, urban sprawl is a growing phenomenon in India, which poses socio-economic and environmental challenges that worryingly affect urban sustainability. In this study, a latent class clustering approach was used to investigate perceptions of urban sprawl among 622 urban and peri-urban dwellers in Hyderabad. The empirical results clustered the respondents into three distinct classes based on their perceptions of urban sprawl impacts: ‘undecided respondents’, ‘negative perceivers’, and ‘opportunity perceivers’. The majority of respondents were undecided with no strong views towards the impacts of urban sprawl, which may increase their vulnerability and hinder effective adaptation to the adverse economic, social and environmental effects of urban sprawl. This also provokes concerns about the effectiveness of government interventions to build public awareness of urban development and its impacts on the city. With regard to the role of demographic and socio-economic characteristics in shaping the perception of the respondents, the results revealed that social caste plays a determining role in forming dwellers’ perception. In particular, members of marginalised social castes were more likely to form positive perceptions of the impacts of urban sprawl as urban expansion generates better and stable income that improve their social status. In addition, individuals with higher levels of education were more likely to form negative or positive perceptions, implying that efforts to raise social capital could be a useful means for mitigating the impacts of urban sprawl. Finally, membership in community development organisations was a key factor in dictating membership of the negative perceivers’ class. Overall, our findings suggest that an appropriate policy framework and specific programmes are needed for enhancing dwellers’ perception towards the impacts of urban sprawl, which can enhance the design, acceptance, and implementation of a more sustainable governance of urbanisation and contribute to achieving urban sustainability in developing countries.
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| 8. |
- Hansson, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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An indicator framework to guide food system sustainability transition - The case of Sweden
- 2024
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Ingår i: ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 2665-9727. ; 22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Well-aligned food policies are needed at both national and international level to guide food system transformation towards sustainability. Rigorous indicator frameworks are essential in order to facilitate discussion of priorities, enable comparisons, assessment and progress monitoring, and ensure accountability. In this study, we develop a national framework for a sustainable food system, using Sweden as a case. Our framework, the Food System Sustainability House, advances the literature on sustainable food system frameworks in three distinct ways. Firstly, it is tailored to a specific national context (Sweden in our case); secondly, it distinguishes between impacts of domestic production arising within territorial boundaries and impacts related to Swedish consumption independent of country of origin; and thirdly, to facilitate policy priorities, it suggests how different dimensions of sustainability are interlinked at a conceptual level. From a scientific perspective, the Food System Sustainability House postulates the interlinkages between the societal objectives of the food system, the environmental foundations on which production takes place, and the economic system and governance which in the framework are suggested to function as enablers for an overall sustainable system. From a policy perspective, the framework provides a much-needed basis for assessing food system sustainability by suggesting indicators within a comprehensive set of sustainability themes at national level for monitoring distinct perspectives. It also provides the necessary basis for a discussion on how sustainability dimensions are interlinked.
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| 9. |
- Ran, Ylva, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of public policy interventions for environmentally sustainable food consumption: a systematic map of available evidence
- 2024
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Ingår i: Environmental Evidence. - 2047-2382. ; 13
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The global food system is inflicting substantial environmental harm, necessitating a shift towards more environmentally sustainable food consumption practices. Policy interventions, for example, information campaigns, taxes and subsidies and changes in the choice context are essential to stimulate sustainable change, but their effectiveness in achieving environmental goals remains inadequately understood. Existing literature lacks a comprehensive synthesis of evidence on the role of public policies in promoting sustainable food consumption. Our systematic map addressed this gap by collecting and categorising research evidence on public policy interventions aimed at establishing environmentally sustainable food consumption patterns, in order to answer the primary research question: What evidence exists on the effects of public policy interventions for achieving environmentally sustainable food consumption?Methods Searches for relevant records (in English) were performed in WoS, Scopus, ASSIA, ProQuest Dissertation and Theses, EconLit, Google Scholar and in bibliographies of relevant reviews. A grey literature search was also performed on 28 specialist websites (searches were made in the original language of the webpages and publications in English, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian were eligible) and Google Scholar (search in English). Screening was performed at title/abstract and full-text levels, with machine learning-aided priority screening at title/abstract level. Eligibility criteria encompassed settings, interventions (public policies on sustainable food consumption), target groups and outcomes. No critical appraisal of study validity was conducted. Data coding covered bibliographic details, study characteristics, intervention types and outcomes. Evidence was categorised into intervention types and subcategories. Visual representation utilised bar plots, diagrams, heatmaps and an evidence atlas. This produced a comprehensive overview of effects of public policy interventions on sustainable food consumption patterns.Review findings The evidence base included 227 articles (267 interventions), with 92% of studies in high-income countries and only 4% in low-income countries. Quantitative studies dominated (83%), followed by mixed methods (16%) and qualitative studies (1%). Most interventions were information-based and 50% of reviewed studies looked at labels. Information campaigns/education interventions constituted 10% of the sample, and menu design changes and restriction/editing of choice context 8% each. Market-based interventions represented 13% of total interventions, of which two-thirds were taxes. Administrative interventions were rare (< 1%). Proxies for environmental impact (85%) were more frequent outcome measures than direct impacts (15%). Animal-source food consumption was commonly used (19%) for effects of interventions on, for example, greenhouse gas emissions. Most studies used stated preferences (61%) to evaluate interventions.Conclusions The literature assessing policies for sustainable food consumption is dominated by studies on non-intrusive policy instruments; labels, information campaigns, menu design changes and editing choice contexts. There is a strong need for research on sustainable food policies to leave the lab and enter the real world, which will require support and cooperation of public and private sector stakeholders. Impact evaluations of large-scale interventions require scaling-up of available research funding and stronger multidisciplinary research, including collaborations with industry and other societal actors. Future research in this field should also go beyond the European and North American context, to obtain evidence on how to counteract increasing environmental pressures from food consumption worldwide.
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| 10. |
- Sodaitytė, Inga, et al.
(författare)
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Smart Solutions for Selective Harvesting of Cereals Based on Mycotoxin Content
- 2022
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Ingår i: Žmogaus ir gamtos sauga (Human and nature safety). - Kaunas. - 1822-1823 .- 2538-9122. ; , s. 13-16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a fungal disease that affects a variety of cereals. FHB is most commonly caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium graminearum. FHB infected crops can develop a wide variety of mycotoxins, which are very dangerous to humans and animals. FHB is currently being controlled by chemical fungicides, which are very dangerous for the environment and are only effective under certain conditions. Resistant varieties and well-chosen agricultural technologies can help reduce the prevalence of FHB in plants. However, at present there are no fully resistant varieties. The article analyses the possible ways to identify FHB infected areas in winter wheat and barley crops and how this data can be used to map field infestation. For the detection of FHB is used field scanning and analysis of the multispectral or hyperspectral data results on field contamination. According exact field locations affected by FHB, harvesting trajectories can be designed to distinguish between completely uninfected, minimally infected, and heavily infected plants. According to this, the harvest can later be sorted into top quality, medium and low quality.
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