Innovation and Development of Agricultural Systems

Food security is a common problem and a severe challenge faced by people all over the world. Agriculture is an industry that integrates innovation, economy, politics and national security, accompanies and supports the whole history of human evolution, and becomes more and more multi-functional and permanent charm with social development and progress.

This study pointed to the state of the small timber growers in terms of their socio-economic and agroforestry readiness in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. South Africa is considered a semi-arid country, vulnerable to water stress, particularly drought, and it falls among the 30 driest countries in the world. The Limpopo Province’s average annual rainfall is 600 mm and the threshold for rainfed agriculture is averaged at 250 mm annually. In terms of forestry, the forest plantations in South Africa use just 3% of the country’s total water resources and rainfall needs to be higher than 750 mm per annum to sustain commercial forestry. Furthermore, the Agricultural Research Council conducted an assessment aimed at identifying the small timber grower's socio-economic status. A total of 65 small timber growers participated in the study and were spread in districts as follows: Vhembe (40), Capricorn (21), and Mopani (4). The small timber growers were selected through a purposive sampling technique from the list of small timber growers provided by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), and Forestry South Africa (FSA). Quantitative and qualitative research designs were employed, as a structured questionnaire in English was developed, focus group and stakeholder discussions were held, as well as field observations to elicit information for the study. Data was coded, captured, and analyzed using the software package for social sciences (SPSS version 21). The decantal 1 km × 1 km approach was followed to determine the climatic conditions of the small timber grower’s plantations. The rainfall results in the visited small timber growers’ plantations are well above the threshold for average rainfall for agriculture and commercial forestry. It estimated annual rainfalls at 601–700 mm to 1001–2216 mm across the 33rd, 50th, and 66th percentiles. The results also indicated the small timber growers’ land availability per agroforestry system as follows: agrosilvoculture (431 ha); apiculture (100 ha); agro-silvopasture (7069 ha); and silvipasture (3528 ha). Moreover, small timber growers with large land sizes and production inputs could allocate their land partly for trees, livestock, and bees, giving them a better position to participate in the market. The silvopasture and agro-silvopasture remain the most popular agroforestry systems among the small timber growers as they generate income through renting their plantations to nearby communities for livestock grazing ranging from R1000 to R9000 per month. The majority of the small timber growers (54/65) were selling trees (Blue gum, grandice, eucalyptus, pine, and moringa oleifera) in the informal market for reasons such as inability to satisfy the quality standards in the formal markets. For example, the highest price per ton was R900 (17), while the others were as follows: R300 per ton (1); R400 per ton (3); R500 per ton (9); R600 per ton (4); R700 per ton (6); R750 per ton (1); R800 per ton (12); and R850 per ton (1). In addition, the trees were serving as an important source of income, and communities were using some of the trees to build shelters and kraals for medicinal purposes, fuelwood, etc. The small timber growers’ non-wood forest products include livestock (cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep), crops (Maize, sunflower, sugar beans, groundnuts, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, chilies, kale, Chinese spinach, spinach, green pepper, nuts, and sweet potatoes), and fruits (Banana, macadamia, litchis, mango, guava, naartjies, and avocados). Furthermore, the small timber growers were using different marketing channels to market their non-wood forest products for various reasons, for example, many opted (54/65) for informal markets for reasons such as inability to satisfy the quality standards in the formal markets, meanwhile, few (11/65) preferred formal markets for reasons such as a secured market with better returns. Currently, some small timber growers have successfully integrated trees with groundnuts, sweet potatoes, maize, and beans. The study recommended the continued establishment of agroforestry in the identified districts in Limpopo Province as it satisfied the basic requirements for agroforestry readiness, i.e., good climatic conditions, land availability, availability of production inputs, and the community's socio-economic status and involvement, toward food security.

Agroforestry is a set of land-use practices, which involves the combination of trees, crops and/or animals on the same land management unit. Agroforestry systems are classified into three broad groups, namely, agrosilvicultural (mixing trees and crops), silvopastoralism (mixing trees, pastures and animals) and agrosilvopastoralism (mixing trees with crops and animals). However, limited understanding, incorrect information and a negative mindset could hinder agroforestry adoption. Hence, in South Africa, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) emphasized that centers of excellence should be identified and established as lead research agents in agroforestry systems. These may include universities, agricultural colleges, forestry colleges, research stations and state research agencies (e.g., Agricultural Research Council). DALRRD and DFFE further suggested that several centers be established and be provided with funding for agroforestry research. It is against the background that an assessment was conducted in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces to identify and describe the key drivers of agroforestry adoption. A total of 182 agrosilviculture community growers from 30 villages participated in the study and were spread as follows: Vhembe District (43), Mopani District (62) and Ehlanzeni District (77). Quantitative and qualitative designs were used as a questionnaire written in English, and stakeholder discussions and field observations were part of the data collection. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the agrosilviculture community growers. Furthermore, each agrosilviculture community grower was allocated an area of land as follows for production (in m²): (1) The South African Forestry Company Limited (SAFCOL) allocated 20 ha (200 000 m²) of land to 62 growers, with each grower receiving 3 226 m² (200 000 m²/62); (2) Mountain to Ocean (MTO) Forests, White River, allocated 9.8 ha (98 000m²) of land to 77 growers, with each grower receiving 1 272 m² (98 000 m²/77); Dimani allocated 5 ha (50 000 m²) of land to 37 growers, with each grower receiving 1 351 m² (50 000 m²/37); and Ratombo Plantations allocated 2 ha (20 000 m²) of land to 6 growers, with each grower receiving 3 333 m² (20 000 m²/6). Data was coded, captured, and analyzed using Social Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results indicated that the majority of the agrosilviculture community growers (139/76%) had no access to research information. The results also indicated that (43/24%) of agrosilviculture community growers received extension services. As part of training, demonstration trials were conducted, monitored and harvested It is therefore concluded and recommended that with good research, extension services and training, the agrosilviculture community growers were encouraged to adopt agroforestry better as some community growers indicated that they were able to sell a minimum of 10 bags × 50 kg of groundnuts at + R600 per bag per row allocated.

Climate change and variability are a threat to a

In low-income rural areas, almost two-thirds of the world's poor live and rely on subsistence farming and other natural resources for their survival. Entrepreneurship and household livelihood methods can help to enhance the standard of life of the poor, marginalized, and unemployed given the extremely high rate of unemployment, particularly in developing countries. South Africa is battling persistently high levels of inequality; a high unemployment rate; and severe poverty levels. Hence, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) plays a significant role in supporting the agricultural sector in South Africa through the development of a sustainable approach to agricultural rural development. The book chapter aimed to present a revised sustainable livelihood model and how it is integrated within the approaches applied to assist communities in establishing sustainable livelihoods. The following objectives were followed: To identify the household's socio-economic and sustainability characteristics, to determine the food security status, and to recommend an improved sustainable livelihood model for the households. These objectives were met using the descriptive statistics and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) Approach. The latter is preferred when dealing with complex decisions that involve multiple and conflicting objectives. Identifying objectives and indicators provides enough information for decision-makers to determine the overall performance of a particular policy. The study analyzed a total of 75 purposively selected vegetable garden households from six of the Eastern Cape Districts: Alfred Nzo (32), Amathole (13), Chris Hani (15), Joe Gqabi (7), OR Tambo (4), and Sarah Baartman (4). Quantitative and qualitative research designs were employed to elicit information for the study. The results confirmed that the vegetable gardens were run by young women who were in the majority at (54%) Amathole, (87%) Chris Hani, and (100%) OR Tambo while Amathole (46%) and Chris Hani (13%) were male. The food security status in the province was on average as a moderate number of households were food insecure, that is, (66%) Alfred Nzo, (54%) Amathole, (67%) Chris Hani, (71%) Joe Gqabi, (50%) OR Tambo and notably, all households residing in Sarah Baartman were food secure. The results further established that through the Agricultural Para-Professional Development Programme (APPDP) households were able to generate income, feed their families, and support other social initiatives such as orphanages and other families in the community. The Sustainable Livelihood Model is also intended to promote environmental sustainability by ensuring that vegetable production increases are achieved on less land, using less fertilizer, water, and pesticides. It can be concluded that the ARC Sustainability Model has significant scope and potential and should continue to increase in scale over time. Emphasis should be focused on the potential for job creation, but also for supporting enterprise development, value chain, and Agri-parks development.

As a continuation of “three rights separation” reform of rural land, many local governments and villages in China have promoted the “three changes” reform. How to make full use of economic organizations to implement these reform ideas is an important issue. Through the survey and analysis of several cases in Northwestern China, the author found that the rural areas explore appropriate rual land joint-stock cooperative organizations to achieve the goals of poverty eradication, rural revitalization and high quality development. All kinds of farmers’ organizations take different combinations of rural land equity, take farmer household as the main body and equity as the link, integrate all kinds of rural resources elements, and form all kinds of new agricultural management entities. However, there are still some problems in farmland equity governance, such as more administrative intervention, imbalanced distribution of power, justice and responsibility, and non-standard internal decision-making. The paper analyzes the characteristics and operation mechanism of each mode and probes into the relevant countermeasures to improve the rural land shareholding system. And these countermeasures include improving the management and governance mechanism, optimizing the shareholding structure and income distribution mechanism.

Three Rural Issues have been the focus of the central government and they are closely connected with rural land. China has witnessed a rapid development in urbanization since the twenty-first century. As a large number of peasants migrate to cities, more and more lands in rural areas become idle. The issue of transfer and use of idle land effectively has remained an eminent issue facing the government, and it has over time attracted much attention from academics. This article reviewed rural land reform programs carried out in the past forty years, analyzed the changes of land transfer, and examined the relevant legal issues from three aspects: right to contractual management of land; right to use house sites, and right to use land for construction purposes. This article can help the government to locate issues arising from land system, to remove institutional barriers, and to further deepen land reform, promoting rural development in China.

Just like other countries in the world, South Africa experience deleterious effects of climate change. Climate change impacts negatively on food production, livelihoods, and job opportunities in the country. Among the other provinces of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal has experienced a serious impact of climate change which resulted in drought, floods, and landslides. Some events of heavy floods and land-sliding resulted in a number of deaths, which have also left some communities without houses and farms destroyed. Agriculture is one of the economic sectors that depend on climate conditions for its productivity. The agricultural sector is a source of food, energy, and jobs opportunities in the communities. The outcome of climate change makes this chapter explore how food is generated since most South Africans rely on farming for their survival. The adaptation strategies that are implemented by farmers are sometimes not effective, more especially due to these climatic changes, like floods, land-sliding etc. It is for that reason that the present study proposes to rethink the climate change adaptation strategies and how climate change has impacted the livelihoods of South Africans. The chapter proposes to rethink climate change adaptation strategies. The data is retrieved and analyzed through a qualitative research approach using a secondary source.

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries have systematically initiated in-depth cooperation in the fields of agricultural trade, product production, science and innovative technology. This has contributed to re-enforcing and addressing some of the SDGs such as food security and poverty. This cooperative agreement highlights the importance of ensuring adequate and sustained food production, mechanisms to alleviate poverty, encourages better nutrition leading to better health and identifies mechanisms to mitigate against climate change. There has also been substantial BRIC investment in scientific education, research and development and infrastructure. There is an ongoing establishment of public enterprises to produce agricultural inputs including afro-chemicals, value-added agricultural products, equipment and machine tools. Furthermore, there has been a wide variety of policy programmes and funding mechanisms for innovation that focus primarily on agricultural and agricultural-related scientific and technological institutions.

Various innovative agrarian changes are ongoing in BRICS countries. These vary from the rise of policy alignment to requirements of the 4^th industrial revolution technologies such as SMART agriculture, renewable energy technologies, genomics and biotechnology.

The goal of BRICS agriculture development is not only to provide a growing population with food, but also to preserve natural resources for future generations. The BRICS countries have the potential to achieve sustainable agriculture, but social, economic, and technological barriers limit development opportunities. Based on the literature review and statistical data analysis, the chapter highlights the potential for the BRICS sustainable agriculture, the main barriers, and prospects for innovative agriculture development. The public policy of the BRICS countries should take into account the best foreign practices in achieving sustainable agriculture. As recommendations, the authors propose measures to support and develop scientific and educational cooperation to disseminate the experience of introducing innovations in agriculture.

The agricultural sector is one of the human activities responsible for the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. At the same time, it is one of the activities most severely affected by the impacts of climate change. According to FAO, global emissions in 2018 due to agriculture were 9.3 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent. BRICS produces about a third of the global agriculture output, and are vulnerable to climate change effects, particularly in the field of agricultural productivity, and food security. Addressing climate change in the context of pandemics, population growth, and demands for economic development is one of the BRICS’ biggest challenges. Despite their recognition, since the first summit, on promoting dialogue in order to deal with climate change, as well as their efforts and commitment to the values of green development through the creation of the NDB, few initiatives have been taken in terms of global climate governance. Based on an analysis of the BRICS’ agriculture and related land-use emissions, this paper aims at examining the capacity of the BRICS to re-shape global climate governance and explore areas for cooperation, focusing on their capacity to collaborate in developing adaptive agricultural techniques to improve agricultural efficiency and sustainability.

Agricultural sector is of utmost significance for a country. The growth and development of the BRICS Countries, especially China and its sustainability is highly dependent on the agricultural sector. The government, entrepreneurs, NGOs, social workers, village heads, farmers, and agriculturists has special role to play for the growth and development of the agricultural sectors of the BRICS countries. The study is focussed on finding out the agricultural problems of China, learn the initiative undertaken by the Governments of China, understand whether initiatives taken so far are successful or not and to find out innovative measures for future growth and development of agricultural sector of China. The research study is qualitative research based on the recorded problems which China is facing. Content analysis is done based on secondary data like government records and reports, published research papers, websites and other relevant documents. The agricultural growth and sustainability of China can be achieved through the feasible solutions based on weather conditions; training of the stakeholders associated with agriculture. Providing sufficient improved variety seeds, fertilizers, information centres to inform and educate the stakeholders of the agriculture. The study concludes that the future of China is bright if such feasible solutions are adopted and accepted. It is recommended to engage the youth of China in the agricultural sector by motivating them to join this sector with improved technological methods of agriculture.

As the world’s most populous and agricultural country, China is also one of the countries most threatened by COVID-19. Sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 in different regions have brought challenges to the development of crops cultivation, animal husbandry industry, vegetable production, fruit industry, flowers industry, leisure agriculture, and agricultural products circulation industry. As China has lifted itself out of poverty, its agriculture is facing unprecedented challenges in reducing the negative impact of COVID-19 on agricultural development and realizing rural revitalization at an early date. This paper presents solutions and policy recommendations by analyzing the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on agriculture in China. At the same time, it will focus on how agricultural production, structural adjustment of agricultural products, industrial and supply chains of agricultural enterprises, market regulation, smart agriculture, agricultural talent system, agricultural crisis, and other construction measures which play an important role in the process of rural revitalization. The findings will provide important implications for BRICS countries in the process of agricultural development, especially in the period of COVID-19 prevention and control.

Food is a fundamental aspect of both individual and collective well-being, if not the most. However, in today's globalized economy, food security often takes a backseat to other pressing issues, but that does not diminish the importance of this global problem. E.g. regional food crises can quickly escalate into larger-scale emergencies, as products move rapidly across borders and supply chains become increasingly complex.

To successfully use tourism for financial diversification, agricultural and tourism relationships must be successfully expanded and deepened. In addition to providing resources for food consumption in the tourism sector, agriculture also provides the setting for attractions in rural areas. The position of agricultural or farm tourism may become more significant in consumer vacation decisions as a result of the growth of rural or green tourism, opening up a fresh supply of ideas for tourism product creation and marketing in agritourism destinations. A recent branch of the tourism industry that is now a successful industry is agritourism. The activity ingeniously mixes agriculture and tourism. There are numerous chances for job and income that can be created through its use. As a result of COVID-19, agritourism is growing in popularity among domestic and foreign tourists, bringing in money for tourism in rural areas. This chapter will examine the socioeconomic advantages of agritourism for developing nations like India in terms of advancing rural/traditional art post-COVID-19, fostering cultural education, and maintaining rural cultural heritage. For farmers who wish to turn their farms into agritourism destinations and can better their financial situations, which have been harmed by COVID-19, agritourism development communities must be established. The government must support, educate, and mentor rural farmers and COVID-19 safety procedures must be properly followed at all times.

The relevance of the study is substantiated by the role and significance of the results of the Russian agro-industrial complex enterprises activities, the basis of which is agriculture and ensuring food security. In the current geopolitical and geoeconomic conditions of the functioning of economic systems, the development and implementation of a strategy for the agriculture sustainable development is one of the most important tasks of the economic policy of the Russian Federation. The successful solution of this task will allow achieving the necessary level of food independence in Russia and will also contribute to solving the problem of food security of the countries of the BRICS Forum. The aim of the study is to assess the current state and prospects for the digital transformation of Russian agro-industrial enterprises for the sustainable development of agriculture and ensuring the food independence of the state. Research objectives: to briefly analyze the evolution of the concept of sustainable development of economic systems in the projection of modern transformational trends; to consider the impact of digital transformation on the goals of implementing the concept of sustainable development; to cluster the UN sustainable development goals according to ESG criteria; to describe ESG risks that must be considered when forming corporate strategies for companies in the agro-industrial complex; to identify features, main trends, and barriers to the digital transformation of the Russian agro-industrial complex; to assess the prospects for cooperation between the countries of the BRICS Forum in the field of solving the problems of ensuring food security. When solving the tasks set, the methods of content analysis, system analysis, as well as methods of logical analysis and synthesis of information within the subject area of the study were used. Official documents of the Russian Federation and the UN, data on the implementation of national projects and programs, assessments of rating and consulting companies, and research results of Russian and foreign scientists in the subject area were used as an information base.

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the evolution of Brazilian agriculture, indicating that its expansion was not merely the result of the incorporation of new land and the growth of traditional tropical commodities. Domestic institutional changes and innovation in production have had a positive influence on competitiveness and productivity of Brazilian agriculture, allowing for diversification into a broader variety of products. Although the incorporation of new areas has played an important role in the recent evolution of agricultural production in Brazil, the reallocation of landland use and increased productivity were factors that are even more significant. Innovation has made it possible to occupy the agricultural frontier in areas previously considered inappropriate for agriculture, with bearable environmental effects.

Tackling the hunger crisis has been at the forefront of the United Nations’ (UN) primary Global agenda and operationalized through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 2015) and, subsequently, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2030). MDG1 and SDG2 are both interested in achieving zero hunger; however, about 10% of the world population, i.e., 811 million people, are currently projected to go to bed hungry daily worldwide, and the scenario seems worse for the rural population. To sustain themselves, traditional rural communities rely mainly on small-scale farming. However, such enterprises are associated with inadequate infrastructure, lack of skill development, transportation, storage, and poor economic opportunities. This chapter explored concepts and theories on poverty eradication through training small-scale farmers (Agropreneurship Community Training Programme (ACTP)) at Adams Settlement, a small village in KwaZulu Natal. The findings of this research suggest that a collectivist agriculture innovation scheme has the potential to achieve Zero hunger and also for small-scale rural farmers to increase efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainability.