Rodrigo Silva (p), Fernanda Lisbinski

Monica Mihaela Tudor

The modernization of Brazilian agriculture has played a relevant role in the country’s economic development, significantly impacting productivity, competitiveness, and rural labor structures. Despite the diffusion of modern agricultural practices, significant regional disparities persist, reflecting historical, economic, and environmental factors. This study aims to measure and analyze the degree of agricultural modernization in Brazilian microregions, proposing an Agricultural Modernization Index (AMI) to assess and compare their trajectories over time. To achieve this, the study employs Factor Analysis, a multivariate statistical method that reduces data complexity by identifying underlying structures among a large set of correlated variables. The dataset consists of 558 Brazilian microregions, covering key indicators extracted from the 2006 and 2017 Agricultural Censuses, conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Sixteen variables were selected, including mechanization levels, use of modern inputs, access to technical assistance, financing, labor intensity, and productivity indicators. The Factor Analysis extracted two key factors: 1 – Adoption of Modern Inputs and Mechanization, which encompasses the use of fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, tractors, and access to credit and technical assistance. 2 – Intensive Use of Labor, which captures employment rates, labor productivity, and salary expenditures per worker. The results reveal a heterogeneous modernization process across Brazilian regions. The Southern, Southeastern, and Central-Western regions exhibited the fastest progress in Factor 1 (Adoption of Modern Inputs and Mechanization), while the Northern and Northeastern regions progressed slower, reinforcing existing regional inequalities. Regarding Factor 2 (Intensive Use of Labor), Southern, Northern, and Northeastern regions showed declines, whereas Central-Western and Southeastern regions experienced significant growth in labor-related modernization indicators. The findings confirm that while agricultural modernization has expanded nationwide, its pace and intensity remain uneven, benefiting more developed regions and exacerbating disparities in rural Brazil. The Southern and Southeastern regions maintain a high level of technological advancement, whereas many microregions in the North and Northeast still face structural barriers to modernization, such as limited access to credit, mechanization, and technical assistance. These results underscore the need for regionally tailored public policies that promote equitable access to modern agricultural technologies, credit lines, and rural extension programs. The AMI proposed in this study serves as a support for policymakers to assess modernization patterns and design interventions that support sustainable and inclusive agricultural development across Brazil.

Monica Mihaela Tudor (p)

Cristina Margalejo

Romanian agricultural system is dual, on one hand there are very large farms operating half of agricultural area and, on the other hand, small and medium farms who generates significant amounts of agricultural raw materials out of which an important part remains outside the market. Although, according to specialist estimates, Romania could produce food for 40 million people, it is unable to cover the needs of its current 20 million inhabitants. More than that, the country registers ever-increasing deficits in the trade balance with food products for which, however, it would have sufficient potential to be covered by national resources. In the current context of frequent crises and external shocks affecting the flow of goods and the availability of food globally (pandemics, armed conflicts, blockages in international transport, price volatility resulting from the growing demand for food from an increasingly large global population), increasing autonomy in ensuring food from internal sources appears as a necessity for ensuring economic and social stability. Agricultural policies are called to contribute to this goal by supporting a better integration of Romanian farm products in national agri-food chains. The paper aimed to carry out an assessment of Romania's vulnerability to food insecurity caused by dependence on agri-food imports during the 2013-2023 period, supplemented by an analysis of the contribution of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) measures to the reduction of this risk. The study caried out a literature review on the analysed topic and a descriptive analysis of secondary statistical data provided by the National Institute of Statistics - regarding the trade balance and by the Payments and Interventions Agency for Agriculture - regarding the public intervention through CAP measures. The study showed that, during the analysed period, Romania consolidated its position as a supplier of agricultural raw materials with low added value and, on the same time, its dependence on processed food imports significantly increased. CAP measures have had low effectiveness in reducing food insecurity risks. Re-shaping of public policy is needed in order to support local processing sectors for which the trade balance registers the largest deficit and for which Romania already supports the increase in the performance of primary production.

Cristina Margalejo (p), Rosa Duarte Pac, Cristina Sarasa Fernandez

Aliza Fleischer

The greater visibility and notoriety of the consequences of climate change on natural resources and the physical environment in which we live have prompted heightened citizen concern and a stronger commitment on the part of the authorities to mitigate environmental degradation. This has led to the establishment of various international commitments aimed at guaranteeing sustainable development that culminate in the carbon neutrality of the European continent in the second half of the century, such as the Paris Agreements and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.
Recent literature has focused its attention on the role of households as significant drivers of environmental impacts, identifying them as pivotal actors when designing environmental policies where shifts in demand contribute to reducing environmental footprints and fostering the development of sustainable and resilient economies.
This provides the context for our research, which seeks to explore the relationship between the current food consumption patterns of European households and their water impact. To achieve this, we develop an environmentally extended multi-regional and multi-sectoral input-output model for all the countries of the European Union using Exiobase. Furthermore, the study examines the environmental impacts of two alternative scenarios involving changes in dietary patterns, which are considered a priori healthy, recommendable, and sustainable—specifically, the Mediterranean diet and the nationally recommended diets.
The results indicate that adopting a Mediterranean diet across Europe would lead to an increase in the water footprint, with Eastern European countries experiencing the most significant rise. In contrast, the country-level recommended scenario would reduce the footprint in the EU as a whole, particularly in more developed nations such as Luxembourg and France, where the reduction would be most pronounced.

Aliza Fleischer (p), Aviv Stern, Ofir Rubin, Yehuda Slater, Iddo Kan

Rodrigo Silva

Policies promoting agrivoltaics face the challenge of balancing between mitigating climate change and farmland preservation. This study applies an ecosystem-services (ESS) approach to evaluate the introduction of transparent solar panels (TSP) as photovoltaic and agricultural greenhouse systems (PVGs) with low impact on agricultural activities. Using a partial equilibrium model of Israel’s vegetative agriculture, we simulate the introduction of TSP on farmers’ optimal land allocation between open-field and covered crops and its sustainability. The model accounts for food and energy production as provisioning vegetative-agriculture ESS (VAESS), and for greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and open-field landscape as non-provisioning VAESS. Our findings suggest that TSP represents an economically viable and sustainable PVG technology. The adoption of TSP, alongside policies that internalize the value of non-provisioning ESS, is projected to convert 1.3% of Israel's cultivable land from open fields to covered crops, contributing approximately 7% to the nation’s electricity supply. The estimated annual increase in VAESS per hectare is valued at $864, comprising $812 from electricity generation, $259 from GHG emission reductions, $277 in consumer surplus from agricultural products, offset by a $441 reduction in agricultural output, and a $43 decrease in landscape value. Our analysis demonstrates how an ecosystem services framework can guide policy decisions toward optimal land-use allocation in agrivoltaic systems.