What we are watching
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.
Why it matters. Regenerative agriculture : connecting soil carbon storage, biodiversity, and profit. Across 210 field-crop farms in 15 United States states and two ...
Open original source →Why it matters. Excessive use of inorganic fertilizers is associated with declining soil health, reduced microbial diversity, and impaired water quality. This study evaluated LBS27, a novel Kappaphycus alvarezii-derived biostimulant, as a fertilizer-coating solution. In a replicated greenhouse pot experiment, we assessed the effects of LBS27-coated urea (LBS27-CU) on maize growth, plant nitrogen (N) content, and rhizosphere microbial communities during vegetative growth. Compared with uncoated urea, LBS27-CU si
Open original source →Why it matters. Food and nutrition security among rural and low social economic urban households in Sub-Saharan Africa remains precarious, particularly under conditions of stress driven by seasonal scarcity and income volatility. Gendered roles influence household food priorities, yet little is known about how decision-making dynamics shift under stress and shape dietary coping responses. This study examined the dietary coping strategies employed by households during periods of stress and the role of gendered d
Open original source →Why it matters. Extreme climate shocks increasingly challenge the ability of agricultural systems to sustain crop carbon fixation while controlling production-related emissions. Using panel data for 240 Chinese cities from 2002 to 2023, this study examines the relationships between four climate shocks—extreme high temperature (HTD), extreme low temperature (LTD), extreme rainfall (ERD), and extreme drought (EED)—and agricultural net carbon sinks (NCS), together with the moderating role of agricultural supply c
Open original source →Why it matters. Strengthening agricultural supply chain resilience is critical for safeguarding food security and promoting high-quality agricultural development in the face of escalating external shocks, including climate extremes, market volatility, and geopolitical uncertainties. Although public data openness and supercomputing infrastructure represent critical pillars of digital transformation, how their coordinated deployment enhances agricultural resilience remains both theoretically underdeveloped and em
Open original source →Why it matters. Arid agricultural soils are dynamic systems in which groundwater irrigation, intense evaporation, limited natural leaching, and heterogeneous parent materials jointly regulate salinity, nutrient accumulation, and potentially contaminating element mobility. Although previous studies in Hail, northwestern Saudi Arabia, have identified important water-quality and soil-geochemical constraints, laboratory soil chemistry, GIS-derived spatial patterns, and process-based interpretation have not been fu
Open original source →Why it matters. Supply chain digitalization has emerged as a critical mechanism for advancing sustainable agriculture amidst intensifying climate and resource constraints. Utilizing panel data from A-share listed agri-food enterprises in China spanning 2013 to 2024, this study examines the impact of supply chain digitalization on corporate green innovation and its underlying transmission pathways. Our findings indicate that digital empowerment significantly enhances overall green innovation, with a pronounced s
Open original source →Why it matters. Visible–near-infrared soil spectroscopy has matured into a reliable solution for rapid, non-destructive, and cost-efficient estimation of multiple soil properties from a single measurement. At continental scale, however, large soil spectral libraries are inherently heterogeneous: spectra–property relationships vary across soil-forming conditions and land-use settings, which can compromise the validity of a single global calibration and produce geographically or environmentally structured sources
Open original source →Why it matters. Extreme climate shocks are increasingly reshaping the sustainability, resilience, and environmental performance of grain production systems, particularly in countries facing the dual challenge of safeguarding food security and accelerating agricultural green transformation. This study investigates how extreme climate risk affects grain green total factor productivity (GGTFP) in China and whether adaptation-oriented policy instruments can mitigate these adverse effects. Using provincial panel dat
Open original source →Why it matters. Organic fertilizer use is a key component of sustainable soil fertility management in smallholder systems though its adoption remains limited across sub-Saharan Africa. Although previous studies have primarily focused on household-level adoption, less attention has been paid as to how farmers allocate organic inputs across heterogeneous plots under resource constraints. This study addresses this research gap by examining the plot-level determinants of organic fertilizer use in a heterogeneous sm
Open original source →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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