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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that to limit warming to 1.5 °C, Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) is required. Integrated assessment models (IAMS) predict that a land area between the size of Argentina and Australia is required for bioenergy crops, a 3–7 time increase in the current bioenergy planting area globally. The authors pose the question of whether vertical farming (VF) technology can enable BECCS deployment, either via land sparing or supply. VF involves indoor controlled environment cultivation, and can increase productivity per unit land area by 5–10 times. VF is predominantly being used to grow small, high value leafy greens with rapid growth cycles. Capital expenditure, operational expenditure, and sustainability are challenges in current VF industries, and will affect the ability to utilise this technology for other crops. The authors argue that, whilst challenging, VF could help reach wider climate goals. Application of VF for bioenergy crops could be a game changer in delivering BECCS technologies and may reduce the land footprint required as well as the subsequent associated negative environmental impacts. VF bioenergy could allow us to cultivate the future demand for bioenergy for BECCS on the same, or less, land area than is currently used globally.

The phenotypic and genotypic characterization of eight rhizobial isolates obtained from Arachis hypogaea nodules grown under stress environment was performed. Isolates were screened for their ability to tolerate different abiotic stresses (high temperature (60° C), salinity (1–5% (w/v) NaCl), and pH (1–12). The genomic analysis of 16S rRNA and housekeeping genes (atpD, recA, and glnII) demonstrated that native groundnut rhizobia from these stress soils are representatives of fast growers and phylogenetically related to Rhizobium sp. The phenotypic characterization (generation time, carbon source utilization) also revealed the isolates as fast-growing rhizobia. All the isolates can tolerate NaCl up to 3% and were able to grow between 20 and 37 °C with a pH between 5 to 10, indicating that the isolates were alkali and salt-tolerant. The tested isolates effectively utilize mono and disaccharides as carbon source. Out of eight, three rhizobial isolates (BN-20, BN-23, and BN-50) were able to nodulate their host plant, exhibiting their potential to be used as native groundnut rhizobial inoculum. The plant growth promoting characterization of all isolates revealed their effectiveness to solubilize inorganic phosphate (56–290 µg mL−1), synthesize indole acetic acid (IAA) (24–71 µg mL−1), and amplification of nitrogen fixing nifH gene, exploring their ability to be used as groundnut biofertilizer to enhance yield and N2-fixation for the resource poor farmers of rainfed Pothwar region.

This study aimed to realize Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), i.e., no poverty, zero hunger, and sustainable cities and communities through the implementation of an intelligent cattle-monitoring system to enhance dairy production. Livestock industries in developing countries lack the technology that can directly impact meat and dairy products, where human resources are a major factor. This study proposed a novel, cost-effective, smart dairy-monitoring system by implementing intelligent wireless sensor nodes, the Internet of Things (IoT), and a Node-Micro controller Unit (Node-MCU). The proposed system comprises three modules, including an intelligent environmental parameter regularization system, a cow collar (equipped with a temperature sensor, a GPS module to locate the animal, and a stethoscope to update the heart rate), and an automatic water-filling unit for drinking water. Furthermore, a novel IoT-based front end has been developed to take data from prescribed modules and maintain a separate database for further analysis. The presented Wireless Sensor Nodes (WSNs) can intelligently determine the case of any instability in environmental parameters. Moreover, the cow collar is designed to obtain precise values of the temperature, heart rate, and accurate location of the animal. Additionally, auto-notification to the concerned party is a valuable addition developed in the cow collar design. It employed a plug-and-play design to provide ease in implementation. Moreover, automation reduces human intervention, hence labor costs are decreased when a farm has hundreds of animals. The proposed system also increases the production of dairy and meat products by improving animal health via the regularization of the environment and automated food and watering. The current study represents a comprehensive comparative analysis of the proposed implementation with the existing systems that validate the novelty of this work. This implementation can be further stretched for other applications, i.e., smart monitoring of zoo animals and poultry.

Sufficient production, consistent food supply, and environmental protection in urban +settings are major global concerns for future sustainable cities. Currently, sustainable food supply is under intense pressure due to exponential population growth, expanding urban dwellings, climate change, and limited natural resources. The recent novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic crisis has impacted sustainable fresh food supply, and has disrupted the food supply chain and prices significantly. Under these circumstances, urban horticulture and crop cultivation have emerged as potential ways to expand to new locations through urban green infrastructure. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the salient features of contemporary urban horticulture, in addition to illustrating traditional and innovative developments occurring in urban environments. Current urban cropping systems, such as home gardening, community gardens, edible landscape, and indoor planting systems, can be enhanced with new techniques, such as vertical gardening, hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, and rooftop gardening. These modern techniques are ecofriendly, energy- saving, and promise food security through steady supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables to urban neighborhoods. There is a need, in this modern era, to integrate information technology tools in urban horticulture, which could help in maintaining consistent food supply during (and after) a pandemic, as well as make agriculture more sustainable.

The purpose of this research is to introduce a qualitative sustainability performance assessment framework for food supply networks, based on the perception of their key stakeholders’ upper management. Moreover, the paper provides industry insights by exemplifying the value of the proposed framework for the UK food industry. A critical review on the most acknowledged sustainability assessment methodologies and tools resulted in the synthesis of the proposed framework. An illustrative application follows, based on data from semi-structured interviews with C-level executives from key players of the UK poultry sector. The results demonstrate an easy-to-use approach, with a comprehensive and sharp outcome on supply chain sustainability performance assessment. Industry insights demonstrate an adequate sustainability performance with respect to the entire supply chain. A detailed view on different echelons reveals specific areas that could be improved, such as the environmental performance at both farming (production) and processing levels. This work extends the scope of current sustainability performance assessment tools by providing a tangible triple bottom-line overview, as well as echelon-specific and indicator-specific details, in a user-friendly, yet straightforward, way. UK food industry insights are valuable for practitioners and academics. The illustration is based exclusively on C-level executives’ viewpoint; thus, any generalization of the results should be considered to this effect. Supply chain stakeholders, policy-makers, and researchers could perform a quick and reliable supply network sustainability performance assessment.

Interest in urban food production is growing; recent research has highlighted its potential to increase food security and reduce the environmental impact of food production. However, resource demands of urban horticulture are poorly understood. Here, we use allotment gardens in the United Kingdom to investigate resource demands of urban horticultural production across the country. We conducted a nationwide citizen science project using year-long allotment ‘diaries’ with allotment gardeners (n = 163). We analysed a variety of resources: transportation; time; water use; inputs of compost, manure and topsoil; and inputs of fertilisers, pest control and weed control. We found that, overall, an allotment demands 87 annual visits, travelling 139 km to and from the plot; 7 fertiliser additions; 4 pest control additions; and 2 weed control additions. On average, each kilogram of food produced used 0.4 hours’ labour, 16.9 L of water, 0.2 L of topsoil, 2.2 L of manure, and 1.9 L of compost. As interest in urban horticultural production grows, and policy makers build urban horticultural spaces into future sustainable cities, it is of key importance that this is carried out in a way that minimises resource requirements, and we demonstrate here that avenues exist for the diversion of municipal compostable waste and household-level city food waste for this purpose.

Cover crops (CCs) are a promising strategy for maintaining and enhancing agroecosystem sustainability, yet CCs’ effects on the subsequent crop yield are highly variable. To quantitatively synthesize the effects of CCs on subsequent crop yield, a meta-analysis of 672 observations collected from 63 recent studies (2015 to 2021) in temperate climates was conducted. Legume CC species increased subsequent crop yield significantly more than grass (by 14%), nonlegume broadleaves (by 7%), and mixtures (by 2%). Incorporation of CC residue into soil increased crop yield by approx. 15% compared to leaving the CC residue on the soil surface. Relative to the no-CC control, the adoption of grass and legume CC species in non-organic vegetable cropping systems enhanced crop yield by 14% and 19%, respectively. Likewise, crop yield with legume CCs in coarse and medium textured soil, and under high precipitation conditions (>700 mm), was significantly greater than the no-CC control by 18%, 4%, and 11%, respectively. Cover crops significantly increased vegetable crop yields and decreased the silage corn yield; however, grain corn, soybean, and winter wheat yield did not decrease with CC. Adoption of CC in no-tillage and plow tillage systems contributed to an increase in crop yield compared to the no-CC control. Our meta-analysis highlights that crop yield response to CC might become more robust when pedo-climatic conditions and agronomic factors are considered.

Identifying local energy sources and devising a circular economy could improve self-sufficiency in many Pacific Islands. On the islands with significant agriculture, the residue from the cultivation of plants has promising energy potential. The waste stream is another potential source of energy that otherwise should undergo proper treatment. Additionally, cold-storage capacity improves the preservation of crops and increases the agricultural exports of these islands. This study proposes a combined cooling and power (CCP) system driven by biomass from agriculture residue and waste streams as fuel for different districts in Tonga. The units supply a fraction of the districts’ electricity demand and provide sufficient cold-storage capacity to preserve the prospective yield of a fraction of fallow lands. The technical and economic performance of the CCP units was analysed for different fractions of electricity demand and fallow land exploitation in each district during a year of operation. The results show that the optimum combination of the CCP units supplies 38% of the total electricity demand of Tonga and prevents the annual consumption of 7.4 million litres of diesel and emission of 20 kilotonnes of CO2. In addition, it provides 3700 m2 of cold-storage area, which is sufficient for preserving the prospective yield of the exploitation of 27% of the total fallow land of Tonga. Annual export revenue of about AU$10 million is expected from such a cold-storage capacity for Tongan farmers. Furthermore, the units consume 10,000 tonnes of annual waste, significantly reducing waste management costs. This study presents an example of a comprehensive circular-economy solution for a remote island state that improves its socioeconomic and environmental condition by supplying the community’s local needs from its available and abundant resources under a viable business model. The solution presented in this study can be adapted to many island communities with significant agriculture in the economy and crucial energy and cooling needs.