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Topic Review
Carbon Footprint and European Green Pact
Agriculture and related activities generate a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions with environmental and biodiversity implications. In the European region, the organically cultivated area and economic growth reduce the carbon footprint, while fertilisers, aquaculture production, investments in road infrastructure and agricultural area determine its increase. The EU has changed its paradigm since 2008–2009. Economic growth has been slowly decoupling from the carbon footprint since 2016, and the rest of the factors analysed have become more environmental since the late 2010s. The EU has positioned itself towards achieving the objectives set by the Green Pact at a slow pace, justified by the heterogeneity of members’ national characteristics, in addition to its purpose not to harm the food security of the population. In order to achieve the objectives proposed by the Green Pact, it is necessary to focus on more extensive organic farming and traditional production methods, more extensive efforts to reduce nitrogen surplus in fertilizer content, to support short agri-food chains and to identify new production techniques, including the use of nanotechnology and high-performance technologies.
  • 673
  • 04 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Innovation and Technology Transfer in Romanian Horticulture
An analysis of the research, innovation and technology transfer environment carried out by the European Commission ranks Romania in one of the last places in Europe, mentioning the lack of investments in research, especially at the level of modern infrastructure and equipment, among the most important reasons. On the other hand, Romanian universities must face the competition at the international and the European level, in order to face the technical and socio-economic challenges both at the societal level, and with respect to the inherent technological evolutions.
  • 671
  • 14 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Sustaining Performance of Wheat–Rice Farms in Pakistan
The unceasingly augmenting emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) has contributed substantially to the degradation of the key environmental parameters and the deterioration of performance of the agricultural sector globally. The food insecurity problem has been aggravated consequently. Due to a variety of economic and social issues, many farmers in developing economies use low-efficient and environmentally unfriendly agricultural practices. Adopting innovative technologies and practices linked with sustainable farming remains a complex issue across the developing world. In particular, financial exclusion and low financial literacy are commonly cited as the critical obstacles to achieving sustainable development.
  • 652
  • 13 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Irrigation Advisory Services
The EU research project OPERA—“Operationalizing the increase of water use efficiency and resilience in irrigation” focuses on the sustainable management of water resources in agriculture and the use of irrigation advisory services (IASs), and thus, intelligent irrigation systems that provide information to a large number of farmers have become useful tools for irrigation programs. The issue is not new, and extensive research and investments have been made to develop more advanced methods and practices to accurately provide water to the crops based on their needs.
  • 651
  • 21 Aug 2023
Topic Review
COVID-19 Pandemic, Climate Change, and Conflicts on Agriculture
Global food security is a worldwide concern. Food insecurity is a significant threat to poverty and hunger eradication goals. Agriculture is one of the focal points in the global policy agenda. Increases in agricultural productivity through the incorporation of technological advances or expansion of cultivable land areas have been pushed forward. However, production growth has slowed in many parts of the world due to various endemic challenges, such as decreased investment in agricultural research, lack of infrastructure in rural areas, and increasing water scarcity. Climate change adversities in agriculture and food security are increasing. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected global food supply chains. Economic and social instability from the pandemic contribute to long-term disturbances. Additionally, conflicts such as war directly affect agriculture by environmental degradation, violence, and breaches of national and international trade agreements. A combination of food security and climate change challenges along with increased conflicts among nations and post-COVID-19 social and economic issues bring bigger and more serious threats to agriculture. 
  • 627
  • 24 May 2023
Topic Review
Swine Breeding in the Villages of Vâlcea County
Food supply has been a constant source of concern for mankind. In the present context, with food security a priority of European and national policies, an analysis of pig farming in a representative NUTS2 administrative level of Romania that emphasizes the proportion of households raising at least one pig and the main factors influencing farmers to adopt or give up swine breeding could allow a much clearer understanding of this phenomenon that lies at the border between cultural tradition and socio-economic necessity. 
  • 589
  • 21 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Factors Influencing Technological Progress in Citrus-Producing China
Technological progress is the use of a certain amount of input to produce more output, or, conversely, the use of less input to produce a certain amount of output. With the continuous progress in agricultural technology, productivity has greatly improved, and a large number of scholars have emerged in the field of agricultural technological progress research.
  • 588
  • 05 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Climate Justice Implications of Banning Air-Freighted Fresh Produce
Airfreight transport refers to the shipment of goods by air from one location to another and is often perceived as a contributor to global carbon emissions. The environmental impacts associated with airfreight are of notable and genuine concern. Such concerns have often led to calls for measures to ban or limit air freight as a mode of transportation for goods. Whilst the majority of these calls are perceived to be well placed, it is nevertheless essential to acknowledge the climate justice implications associated with such measures, particularly in the context of perishable products like fresh produce.
  • 569
  • 07 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Destination-Centric Wine Exports
With more than 40% of produced wine crossing borders, wine represents a truly global beverage. Wine export serves as a sales lever, especially for producers where home wine consumption diminishes but the global wine business is highly competitive. The literature tells that in competitive market innovation, customer centrism, and increasing sustainability are key. Wine export offerings need to meet the customer’s desires in the targeted foreign destinations. German wine providers have to catch-up in regard to destination-specific preferences so they can offer adaptation or suffer a competitive disadvantage in sustainability positioning.
  • 544
  • 18 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Some Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Technical Efficiency
Technical efficiency is, apart from allocative efficiency, a component of economic efficiency in the assessment of the activity of each enterprise or project. In the most general sense, it means the ratio of the output achieved to the inputs incurred to achieve it, and in the case of a multidimensional sum of outputs, to the sum of inputs. It describes how inputs are transformed into outputs or inputs into a sum of outputs.
  • 536
  • 14 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Microregional Agricultural Labor Productivity
Understanding the factors that influence agricultural productivity is critical for promoting sustainable food production, economic growth, and rural livelihoods.
  • 525
  • 27 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Agricultural Food System Transformation on China’s Food Security
With the development of economy, the definition of food security has undergone a series of changes. The connotation of food security has undergone changes from macro total amount to micro individual, from production to livelihood, and from objective index to subjective perception. Food security is associated with poverty, and food diversity, cultural acceptance, malnutrition and child mortality, environmental and climate impacts, agricultural land use structure, energy and water resource constraints, and other influencing factors have been gradually taken into consideration as influences.
  • 521
  • 15 Aug 2023
Topic Review
COVID-19 and Community Group in Online Purchase Behavior
The omicron outbreak affected the online food purchases of those born before the 1990s, males, the less educated, and low-income earners through a community group effect. The internet provides a convenient means of disseminating information, promoting access to local foods, and assuring food access during public health emergencies. Purchasing food online can be further enhanced through standardized management of online communities.
  • 500
  • 06 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Cooperation of Fruit Farms with the Institutional Environment
The relationship between fruit growers and agricultural organizations is limited. The size of the indicator depends on the level of education of fruit growers and the area of the orchards. Fruit growers most often use advice and seek information about European Union programs. The development of cooperation between fruit farms and institutional environmental organizations reduces the mismatch between the offers of these organizations and the needs of fruit growers.
  • 484
  • 27 Oct 2023
Topic Review
The Pro-Poorness of Economic Growth in Rural China
Based on the pro-poor index and pro-poor curve measurement method of economic growth, this research uses the data of Chinese Family Panel Studies to measure the pro-poorness of economic growth in rural areas of China. Optimizing the pro-poorness of economic growth requires active family support policies to enable workers to better balance family and work responsibilities, and adopt target location strategies to give special care to families with special difficulties while increasing investment in public services.
  • 455
  • 10 Nov 2023
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Agroeconomics: Theoretical Foundations and Evolution of Thought
Agroeconomics is a specialized branch of economic science that examines the specific socio-economic relations in agriculture shaped by the distinctive features of production, labor organization, and land use. It investigates the interactions between economic activity and biological processes, while recognizing the social and ecological functions of agriculture. This entry provides a comprehensive overview of agroeconomic thought, with particular emphasis on the evolution of theoretical schools and the development of the concept of agricultural multifunctionality.
  • 158
  • 24 Oct 2025
Topic Review
Agricultural Economics
Agricultural economics is a branch of economics that applies economic theories, analytical methods, and quantitative approaches to the study of the allocation, production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of agricultural goods and resources within agricultural and food systems. It examines the economic behavior of producers, consumers, firms, institutions, and markets associated with agriculture, while considering the distinctive characteristics of agricultural production, including biological processes, resource constraints, uncertainty, and market interdependence [1]. As a specialized field within economics and the economics of agriculture and food markets, agricultural economics encompasses the analysis of agricultural production decisions, farm management, agricultural markets, food demand, resource use, trade, and policy interventions affecting agricultural sectors [2]. The field differs from general economics through its focus on agricultural and food-related economic activities and from agronomy through its emphasis on economic relationships, incentives, and market mechanisms rather than biological and technical production processes alone [3]. Contemporary agricultural economics also incorporates insights from econometrics, institutional economics, environmental economics, and development economics to analyze interactions between agricultural systems and broader economic structures [4].
  • 9
  • 22 Sep 2026
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Transformation of Agri-Food Entrepreneurship
Artificial-intelligence-enabled agri-food entrepreneurship is the creation of new ventures and the entrepreneurial renewal of existing firms, whose value propositions and business models are built around learning-based computational systems applied across the food value chain, from primary production and processing to distribution, consumption, and the recovery of losses and by-products. The core enabling technologies are machine learning and computer vision, generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models, and AI-enabled robotics and predictive analytics, deployed with complementary digital infrastructure such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud and edge computing, blockchain, and digital twins. The concept is broader than technology adoption because its subject is the entrepreneur: how opportunities are recognised or created, how business models convert them into revenue, and why so few technically capable solutions become durable businesses. This entry makes four contributions: It specifies a mechanism—because AI lowers the cost of prediction but not of judgement, opportunities concentrate in decisions that are prediction-intensive, recurrent, and attached to an outcome that the customer already measures. It provides a taxonomy of business-model archetypes that separates value creation from value capture. It establishes the boundary conditions under which digital-entrepreneurship theory transfers to food systems—seasonality, fixed adoption costs, contested data governance, and liability. Finally, it converts the synthesis into seven testable propositions and an evidence calibration separating controlled benchmarks, field pilots, and commercial deployment.
  • 6
  • 17 Sep 2026
Topic Review
Agricultural Policy Instruments
Agricultural policy instruments constitute the structured set of legal, regulatory, and financial mechanisms implemented by governments and public authorities to alter the economic environment of the agricultural sector, thereby influencing production decisions, resource allocation, and market outcomes [1]. Operating within the framework of agricultural economics and policy, these instruments serve as the operational tools through which broader sectoral objectives—such as income stabilization, food security, and environmental sustainability—are systematically operationalized within domestic and international markets. They are distinct from macroeconomic policies in that their interventions are sector-specific, directly targeting the behavior of agricultural producers, agribusinesses, and food consumers. Conceptually, agricultural policy instruments are categorized into distinct modalities based on their mechanism of market intervention: price and market support interventions (such as tariff-rate quotas, minimum support prices, and export subsidies), direct income transfers (including coupled product-specific subsidies and decoupled payments), and regulatory or incentive structures addressing environmental externalities and public goods provisioning. A defining characteristic of these instruments is their systemic capacity to modify the incentives within agricultural and food value chains, effectively redistributing economic surplus among producers, consumers, and taxpayers [2]. They are differentiated from general industrial regulations by their specific institutional designs, which account for the inherent biological risks, structural asset specificity, and unique supply-demand elasticities characteristic of primary agricultural production [3].
  • 6
  • 23 Sep 2026
Topic Review
Agricultural Market
An agricultural market is an economic institution and exchange system through which agricultural commodities, inputs, and related services are traded among producers, consumers, processors, distributors, and other market participants. It describes the mechanisms through which agricultural products are supplied, demanded, priced, and allocated under specific market structures and institutional arrangements [1]. Agricultural markets encompass commodity markets, factor markets, and marketing systems that connect agricultural production with consumption through processes such as exchange, price discovery, distribution, and contracting [2]. Unlike general commodity markets, agricultural markets are shaped by the distinctive characteristics of agricultural production, including biological production cycles, seasonal supply fluctuations, spatial separation between production and consumption, and quality heterogeneity of agricultural goods [3]. Within agricultural economics, the concept primarily focuses on the economic organization and performance of agricultural exchange systems, including market structure, competition, pricing behavior, transaction mechanisms, and the transmission of market information [1][4]. It differs from agricultural production economics, which examines resource allocation and production decisions at the farm level, by emphasizing interactions among market participants and the functioning of exchange relationships.
  • 5
  • 23 Sep 2026
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