A selected view of the scientific, institutional and market developments shaping European food, agriculture and environmental policy.
The information is public. We identify the developments that deserve attention, explain how they connect and consider where they may change the direction of regulation. Every signal published here is reviewed by Nexum.
Showing 10 of 16 signals
·AAAS: Science Advances: Table of Contents·Scientific journal
Emerging signalClimate adaptation and food security
Why it matters. Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) is a growing public health concern in the western U.S., with California reporting more than an eightfold rise in cases over the past two decades. As climate change, groundwater regulation, and prolonged drought drive ...
High relevanceAgricultural policyClimate adaptation and food security
Why it matters. Cold region agriculture is an important component of the global food security system. In recent years, cold regions have experienced significant warming and increasingly frequent extreme events. However, the propagation characteristics and driving mechanisms of different drought types across agricultural regions in cold regions remain insufficiently understood. Therefore, this study focused on Northeast China, a major grain-producing region located in the high-latitude cold zone. Meteorological
High relevanceFertilisers and soil healthSustainable food systems
Why it matters. Regenerative agriculture (RA) shows promise for enhancing agricultural sustainability by improving soil health, restoring ecosystems, and building climate resilience. However, data on its economic performance at the farm level is fragmented and varies by context. This review used a structured scoping methodology, following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, to synthesize evidence from major bibliographic databases and authoritative reports from organizations such as FAO, HLPE, OECD, and the European Env
Why it matters. Soil salinization poses a major threat to global agricultural productivity and plant biodiversity. The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is central to plant adaptation to abiotic stress; however, the mechanisms by which ABA coordinates posttranslational ...
High relevanceAgrifood innovationClimate adaptation and food security
Why it matters. This study investigated the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of vegetation coverage (NDVI) in the Kekeya project area and its response to meteorological factors over the past 3 decades. On the basis of Landsat remote sensing data from 1993 to 2023 and meteorological variables including air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and wind speed, this research aimed to reveal the spatial–temporal evolution patterns of vegetation and identify the dominant driving mechanisms underlyin
High relevanceAgricultural policyBiodiversity and restorationClimate adaptation and food securityFertilisers and soil healthSustainable food systems
Why it matters. Intercropping significantly enhances resource use efficiency and food security; however, the intrinsic mechanisms underlying maize competitiveness and productivity differences across various intercropping treatment remain unclear, which limits the optimal selection of intercropping treatments in semi-arid regions. A 2-year field experiment compared maize/soybean (T2), maize/pea (T3), and maize/wheat (T4) intercropping against monoculture maize (T1). Key indices included land equivalent ratio (L
High relevanceAgricultural policyAgrifood innovation
Why it matters. Postharvest food loss and waste account for 13 to 14 percent of global food production and nearly 400 billion US dollars annually, driven by the reactive nature of conventional quality monitoring, subjective manual grading, and fixed shelf-life labelling that fail to capture the dynamic environmental conditions experienced across modern supply chains. This review consolidates recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin (DT) technologies for postharvest food systems, an area
High relevanceClimate adaptation and food securityPlant protection and food standards
Why it matters. The increasing concern about food security, climatic changes, depletion of resources, and complex supply chains has created a need for advanced monitoring systems at all stages in the farm-to-table process. Conventional monitoring approaches lack the ability to detect pathogens, contaminants, pesticides, and other threats in terms of their speed, sensitivity, and real-time capabilities. The advancement of intelligent sensing devices, biosensors, Internet of Things (IoT) and AI has brought a new
High relevanceAgricultural policyClimate adaptation and food security
Why it matters. Grain production stability is fundamental to food security and to Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2: Zero Hunger), yet existing studies have not isolated the separate relationships between different digital finance dimensions and agricultural output volatility. Aggregate digital finance indices may mask opposing patterns across the dimensions of financial inclusion. Using a city-level panel of 338 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2023, we decompose the Peking University Digital Financial Inclusi
Nexum reviews scientific journals, public institutions and specialist sources covering European food, agriculture and environmental policy. We consider the reliability of the source, the quality of the evidence, its relevance, how recent it is and its possible effect on policy. Technology helps us review material consistently, but it does not replace editorial judgement. Inclusion means that a development deserves examination; it does not mean that Nexum endorses every conclusion.
Links lead to the original publishers. Nexum provides only a concise editorial indication of why a development may matter.
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