{"title":"Does Farmer Group Membership Improve Technology Adoption and Household Welfare? Evidence From Tanzania","authors":"Julius Manda, Erick Mmbando, Shiferaw Feleke, Bekele Hundie Kotu, Poornima Varma","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70213","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Previous studies have demonstrated that membership in farmer groups (MFGs) promotes the adoption of improved agricultural technologies, increases farm incomes, and alleviates poverty. However, these studies often neglect the variability in treatment effects, concentrating primarily on average treatment effects. They also typically rely on single technological components and unidimensional, income-based outcome variables, failing to capture technology adoption and multidimensional poverty comprehensively. In contrast, this article evaluates the effects of MFGs among farmers indifferent to membership (marginal treatment effects, MTEs), distinguishing group membership effects based on observable and unobservable heterogeneity. It also incorporates integrated technological components and multidimensional poverty measures. Analyzing data from a survey of 579 households in Tanzania reveals that MFGs increase the adoption of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices by 31%, improve dietary diversity by 10%, and reduce multidimensional poverty by 5% among members. These effects vary due to differences in unobserved member characteristics. The results support MFGs as a valuable component of agricultural development strategies to enhance technology adoption, income growth, nutritional diversity, and poverty reduction. Given the heterogeneous effects, policymakers should tailor strategies to engage suitable households. Furthermore, the higher potential impact on non-members suggests targeted outreach efforts to maximize the benefits of MFGs.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70213","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Time-Resolved Transcriptomics Reveal Core and Genotype-Specific Pathways Underlying Thermotolerance in Wheat","authors":"Junlong Jiang, Zehao Hou, Shuping Wang, Yingxin Zhang, Dongfang Ma, Yuting Li, Zhengwu Fang","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70218","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Heat stress increasingly threatens global wheat production as extreme temperature events become more frequent under climate change. To better understand the molecular basis of thermotolerance, we evaluated the heat responses of 30 elite wheat accessions and identified substantial natural variation in seedling survival (26.7%), plant height (26.0%–68.8%), and shoot fresh weight (5.7%–86.2%). We subsequently conducted time-resolved transcriptome profiling of two contrasting genotypes, the heat-resistant <i>Huaimai211</i> and the heat-susceptible <i>Chuke316</i>, across five heat-stress durations. RNA-seq analysis revealed 8517 and 4155 genes that were consistently responsive to heat stress in the HR and HS genotypes, respectively, with 3028 core genes shared by both genotypes. These core genes were further enriched in pathways related to Hsp90 binding, protein folding, the unfolded protein response, and glutathione metabolism. Conversely, genes associated with photosynthesis, chlorophyll-binding proteins, and Calvin-cycle enzymes were persistently downregulated across all time points, indicating sustained repression of photosynthetic processes during prolonged heat exposure. Genotype-specific analyses revealed that HR uniquely activated metabolic and protein-folding pathways related to amino-acid biosynthesis, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase activity, and peptidyl-prolyl isomerase function. Co-expression network analysis identified several heat-associated modules, among which the firebrick3 module showed the strongest association with thermotolerance and highlighted <i>TaRbcS-2B.3</i> as a hub gene linking photosynthetic adjustment to stress adaptation. Together, these results reveal a coordinated heat-response framework involving persistent photosynthetic suppression, reinforcement of proteostasis, and genotype-specific metabolic plasticity. The identified pathways and candidate genes provide valuable targets for marker-assisted selection, gene editing, and genomic prediction efforts aimed at improving wheat thermotolerance, thereby supporting yield stability under increasingly frequent heat events.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70218","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does Farmer Group Membership Improve Technology Adoption and Household Welfare? Evidence From Tanzania","authors":"Julius Manda, Erick Mmbando, Shiferaw Feleke, Bekele Hundie Kotu, Poornima Varma","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70213","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Previous studies have demonstrated that membership in farmer groups (MFGs) promotes the adoption of improved agricultural technologies, increases farm incomes, and alleviates poverty. However, these studies often neglect the variability in treatment effects, concentrating primarily on average treatment effects. They also typically rely on single technological components and unidimensional, income-based outcome variables, failing to capture technology adoption and multidimensional poverty comprehensively. In contrast, this article evaluates the effects of MFGs among farmers indifferent to membership (marginal treatment effects, MTEs), distinguishing group membership effects based on observable and unobservable heterogeneity. It also incorporates integrated technological components and multidimensional poverty measures. Analyzing data from a survey of 579 households in Tanzania reveals that MFGs increase the adoption of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices by 31%, improve dietary diversity by 10%, and reduce multidimensional poverty by 5% among members. These effects vary due to differences in unobserved member characteristics. The results support MFGs as a valuable component of agricultural development strategies to enhance technology adoption, income growth, nutritional diversity, and poverty reduction. Given the heterogeneous effects, policymakers should tailor strategies to engage suitable households. Furthermore, the higher potential impact on non-members suggests targeted outreach efforts to maximize the benefits of MFGs.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70213","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Time-Resolved Transcriptomics Reveal Core and Genotype-Specific Pathways Underlying Thermotolerance in Wheat","authors":"Junlong Jiang, Zehao Hou, Shuping Wang, Yingxin Zhang, Dongfang Ma, Yuting Li, Zhengwu Fang","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70218","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70218","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Heat stress increasingly threatens global wheat production as extreme temperature events become more frequent under climate change. To better understand the molecular basis of thermotolerance, we evaluated the heat responses of 30 elite wheat accessions and identified substantial natural variation in seedling survival (26.7%), plant height (26.0%–68.8%), and shoot fresh weight (5.7%–86.2%). We subsequently conducted time-resolved transcriptome profiling of two contrasting genotypes, the heat-resistant <i>Huaimai211</i> and the heat-susceptible <i>Chuke316</i>, across five heat-stress durations. RNA-seq analysis revealed 8517 and 4155 genes that were consistently responsive to heat stress in the HR and HS genotypes, respectively, with 3028 core genes shared by both genotypes. These core genes were further enriched in pathways related to Hsp90 binding, protein folding, the unfolded protein response, and glutathione metabolism. Conversely, genes associated with photosynthesis, chlorophyll-binding proteins, and Calvin-cycle enzymes were persistently downregulated across all time points, indicating sustained repression of photosynthetic processes during prolonged heat exposure. Genotype-specific analyses revealed that HR uniquely activated metabolic and protein-folding pathways related to amino-acid biosynthesis, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase activity, and peptidyl-prolyl isomerase function. Co-expression network analysis identified several heat-associated modules, among which the firebrick3 module showed the strongest association with thermotolerance and highlighted <i>TaRbcS-2B.3</i> as a hub gene linking photosynthetic adjustment to stress adaptation. Together, these results reveal a coordinated heat-response framework involving persistent photosynthetic suppression, reinforcement of proteostasis, and genotype-specific metabolic plasticity. The identified pathways and candidate genes provide valuable targets for marker-assisted selection, gene editing, and genomic prediction efforts aimed at improving wheat thermotolerance, thereby supporting yield stability under increasingly frequent heat events.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70218","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Improving Agricultural Spatial Sustainability: Spatial Optimization and Zoning Control Through the Integration of Industrial Advantages and Agricultural Multifunctionality","authors":"Sinan Li, Junwei Pu","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70214","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Accurately identifying regional agricultural advantageous industries and optimizing their spatial layout are critical for advancing sustainable peri-urban land systems. However, existing studies often overlook public preferences and fail to integrate industrial development with agricultural multifunctionality. To address these gaps, this study introduced an integrated spatial optimization and zoning management framework that jointly considers industrial advantages and multifunctional performance. Using Hangzhou's peri-urban region as a case study, we combined multi-source geospatial data to identify agricultural advantageous industries based on both industrial competitiveness and public preference. Building on an evaluation of agricultural multifunctionality, we further explored spatial optimized pathways for agricultural advantageous industries that leverage synergies between industrial advantage and multifunctionality. Results indicated that between 2016 and 2024, townships dominated by cash crops expanded, and agricultural industries became more spatially clustered. The dominant agricultural function largely shifted from ecological to production-ecological advantage functions, and a pronounced synergy emerged between industrial competitiveness and cultural landscape function. The spatial optimization framework proposed by this study strengthened the synergy between advantageous industries and dominant functions, with the production efficiency scenario yielding the most effective layout. Three tailored agricultural development zones were delineated to support differentiated governance. This research advances methodologies for identifying agricultural advantageous industries and provides an effective pathway for integrative agricultural spatial planning, contributing to global efforts toward sustainable agricultural land system design.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70214","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Improving Agricultural Spatial Sustainability: Spatial Optimization and Zoning Control Through the Integration of Industrial Advantages and Agricultural Multifunctionality","authors":"Sinan Li, Junwei Pu","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70214","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Accurately identifying regional agricultural advantageous industries and optimizing their spatial layout are critical for advancing sustainable peri-urban land systems. However, existing studies often overlook public preferences and fail to integrate industrial development with agricultural multifunctionality. To address these gaps, this study introduced an integrated spatial optimization and zoning management framework that jointly considers industrial advantages and multifunctional performance. Using Hangzhou's peri-urban region as a case study, we combined multi-source geospatial data to identify agricultural advantageous industries based on both industrial competitiveness and public preference. Building on an evaluation of agricultural multifunctionality, we further explored spatial optimized pathways for agricultural advantageous industries that leverage synergies between industrial advantage and multifunctionality. Results indicated that between 2016 and 2024, townships dominated by cash crops expanded, and agricultural industries became more spatially clustered. The dominant agricultural function largely shifted from ecological to production-ecological advantage functions, and a pronounced synergy emerged between industrial competitiveness and cultural landscape function. The spatial optimization framework proposed by this study strengthened the synergy between advantageous industries and dominant functions, with the production efficiency scenario yielding the most effective layout. Three tailored agricultural development zones were delineated to support differentiated governance. This research advances methodologies for identifying agricultural advantageous industries and provides an effective pathway for integrative agricultural spatial planning, contributing to global efforts toward sustainable agricultural land system design.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70214","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Food, Health, Nutrition, Energy and Environment (FHNEE) Security Nexus: Future Mission for Sustainable Agriculture","authors":"Chittaranjan Kole, Phullara Kole, Sarita Pandey, Stanislaus Antony Ceasar, Rodomiro Ortiz","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70217","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70217","url":null,"abstract":"<p>World agriculture faces several challenges that include an increase in population, rising incidences of chronic human diseases, zoonosis, malnutrition, rapid depletion of fossil fuels, increasing environmental pollution, land use changes, soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and above all, global warming and climate change. These interconnected issues give rise to five critical and interdependent global security challenges: food security, health security, nutrition security, energy security, and environmental (FHNNE) security. Global warming and climate change affect all these insecurities and interconnect them strongly, and so these challenges cannot be addressed in isolation due to their complex interrelationships, forming what is termed the FHNEE security nexus. We elucidate here on the multifaceted nature of these interconnected challenges, examining their individual and collective impacts, and propose potential strategies of designed agriculture for mitigating their effects and fostering a more sustainable future through developing designed cultivars and adopting designed crop production methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70217","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147563564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Food, Health, Nutrition, Energy and Environment (FHNEE) Security Nexus: Future Mission for Sustainable Agriculture","authors":"Chittaranjan Kole, Phullara Kole, Sarita Pandey, Stanislaus Antony Ceasar, Rodomiro Ortiz","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70217","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70217","url":null,"abstract":"<p>World agriculture faces several challenges that include an increase in population, rising incidences of chronic human diseases, zoonosis, malnutrition, rapid depletion of fossil fuels, increasing environmental pollution, land use changes, soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and above all, global warming and climate change. These interconnected issues give rise to five critical and interdependent global security challenges: food security, health security, nutrition security, energy security, and environmental (FHNNE) security. Global warming and climate change affect all these insecurities and interconnect them strongly, and so these challenges cannot be addressed in isolation due to their complex interrelationships, forming what is termed the FHNEE security nexus. We elucidate here on the multifaceted nature of these interconnected challenges, examining their individual and collective impacts, and propose potential strategies of designed agriculture for mitigating their effects and fostering a more sustainable future through developing designed cultivars and adopting designed crop production methods.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70217","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147563556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Empowering Senegalese Farmers Through Adaptive Expenditure Strategies for Climate Resilience","authors":"Mohammad Tirgariseraji, A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70216","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Farmer households employ various coping strategies to address climate and non-climate shocks, which are primarily categorized into production-focused and consumption-focused approaches. While the former has been extensively remarked on in recent studies, the latter has received little attention in the literature. In this study, we developed consumption-focused coping strategies by balancing the likelihood of household shock exposure with welfare outcomes for 1369 farmer households in Senegal. The outcomes are estimated using a discrete choice model regression. We then modeled the challenges faced by Senegalese farmer households using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach, enabling us to measure household efficiency in achieving balanced gains. The household shock exposure regression equation results confirmed the role of food and non-food factors in controlling the probability of shock; however, outcomes may vary across households, particularly in expenditure items linked to lifestyle transformations. The DEA results revealed a non-linear relationship between shock exposure probability and efficiency scores, explaining the variability observed in household expenditure outcomes. Excitingly, the nonlinear impact of shock efficiency was rarely observed for food expenditure items, highlighting an unexpected resilience in this crucial area. These results indicate that policies aimed at improving consumption-based welfare should be differentiated rather than uniformly applied. The empirical findings show relatively consistent responses in food consumption across households, supporting the use of broadly implemented food-related assistance and nutrition security programs. In contrast, nonfood consumption responses exhibit substantial heterogeneity, particularly for health, education, and mobility-related expenditures. Accordingly, interventions targeting these domains should be tailored to household characteristics and efficiency levels to more effectively buffer welfare losses under economic and environmental shocks.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70216","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147563480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Empowering Senegalese Farmers Through Adaptive Expenditure Strategies for Climate Resilience","authors":"Mohammad Tirgariseraji, A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi","doi":"10.1002/fes3.70216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fes3.70216","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Farmer households employ various coping strategies to address climate and non-climate shocks, which are primarily categorized into production-focused and consumption-focused approaches. While the former has been extensively remarked on in recent studies, the latter has received little attention in the literature. In this study, we developed consumption-focused coping strategies by balancing the likelihood of household shock exposure with welfare outcomes for 1369 farmer households in Senegal. The outcomes are estimated using a discrete choice model regression. We then modeled the challenges faced by Senegalese farmer households using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach, enabling us to measure household efficiency in achieving balanced gains. The household shock exposure regression equation results confirmed the role of food and non-food factors in controlling the probability of shock; however, outcomes may vary across households, particularly in expenditure items linked to lifestyle transformations. The DEA results revealed a non-linear relationship between shock exposure probability and efficiency scores, explaining the variability observed in household expenditure outcomes. Excitingly, the nonlinear impact of shock efficiency was rarely observed for food expenditure items, highlighting an unexpected resilience in this crucial area. These results indicate that policies aimed at improving consumption-based welfare should be differentiated rather than uniformly applied. The empirical findings show relatively consistent responses in food consumption across households, supporting the use of broadly implemented food-related assistance and nutrition security programs. In contrast, nonfood consumption responses exhibit substantial heterogeneity, particularly for health, education, and mobility-related expenditures. Accordingly, interventions targeting these domains should be tailored to household characteristics and efficiency levels to more effectively buffer welfare losses under economic and environmental shocks.</p>","PeriodicalId":54283,"journal":{"name":"Food and Energy Security","volume":"15 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fes3.70216","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147563735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}