This study investigates the sustainability practices employed by cattle farmers in Indonesia, applying the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) framework. As global concerns surrounding environmental degradation and resource depletion intensify, understanding sustainable agricultural practices, particularly in livestock farming, has become imperative. A qualitative approach was employed, gathering data through interviews and field observations with seven cattle farmers from Boyolali and Salatiga, two districts recognized for their significant cattle farming activities. The analysis focused on four key dimensions of sustainability: environmental integrity, social well-being, economic resilience, and good governance. It was found that while farmers implement various sustainable practices, such as crop rotation and the use of organic fertilizers, significant challenges remain. These include limited access to environmentally friendly technologies, inadequate financial resources, and insufficient government policy support. The selection of participants was based on their ability to provide in-depth insights into sustainability practices in cattle farming, complementing the qualitative data collected. The findings highlight the necessity of improving technological adoption and enhancing community engagement to drive more sustainable outcomes in the sector. Additionally, the study underscores the role of policymakers in fostering more supportive environments for sustainable agriculture. This research fills a critical gap in the literature on the sustainability of cattle farming in Indonesia, offering practical recommendations to stakeholders, including policymakers, to promote more resilient and environmentally sustainable farming practices. By detailing the current practices and challenges encountered by farmers, the study contributes to the development of informed agricultural policies aimed at ensuring long-term sustainability within the cattle farming sector in Indonesia.

The mismanagement of sewage sludge generated by wastewater treatment plants poses significant environmental and health risks, necessitating the exploration of sustainable alternatives for its reuse in forestry production. This study aims to assess the impact of sewage sludge stabilization and composting, utilizing effective microorganisms (EM), on the growth performance of Tecoma stans. A completely randomized experimental design was implemented in two phases. In the first phase, four treatments were tested with 12 kg of mixture in each: Treatment 1 (T1) (100% sludge with EM), Treatment 2 (T2) (75% sludge and 25% organic waste with EM), Treatment 3 (T3) (50% sludge and 50% organic waste with EM), and Treatment 4 (T4) (25% sludge and 75% organic waste with EM). The second phase involved testing five composite substrates, mixing agricultural soil with compost derived from each treatment and a control substrate, for the cultivation of Tecoma stans seedlings. Each substrate was tested with 20 experimental units, containing 15 seedlings per unit, totaling 300 seedlings. T3 demonstrated superior results in the first phase, containing 34.78% organic matter, 1.39% nitrogen, a carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio of 14.7, and a pH of 7.4, adhering to Chilean, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Mexican standards. In the second phase, T3 exhibited enhanced seedling growth, with an optimal nitrogen concentration and a Dickson quality index (DQI) of 0.768. The findings suggest that composting sewage sludge with organic residues in equal proportions and inoculating with EM produces mature, high-quality compost that meets international standards for forestry applications. This approach offers a sustainable solution for wastewater sludge management, promoting environmental restoration and supporting local forestry development.

The global food system faces significant vulnerabilities due to pandemics, which not only disrupt economies and governmental functions but also threaten food security and public health. Organic farming, particularly within cooperatives, plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable agriculture and enhancing rural development while contributing to ecosystem protection. This study investigates the production efficiency of 306 agricultural cooperatives in Hung Yen Province, Vietnam, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The efficiency assessment utilizes the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model to examine the influence of factors such as the potential of cooperatives, labor resources, production processes, supply chains, and governmental support on the technical efficiency of these cooperatives. The findings indicate that organic cooperatives in Hung Yen maintained production efficiency throughout the pandemic, largely due to the adoption of advanced technologies and active participation in supply chains, which facilitated swift adaptation to new challenges. Among the influencing factors, the internal potential of cooperatives, labor resources, product development processes, and supply chain dynamics were identified as the most significant, whereas governmental support was found to have the least impact (0.07 for the first group, 0.06 for the second, and 0.06 for the third) during the pandemic. Additionally, three key factors—years of operational experience, product diversity, and business procedure support—were determined to have the greatest effect on production efficiency across different cooperative groups in the COVID-19 context. The study underscores the importance of enhancing the intrinsic potential of organic cooperatives to better adapt to rapid changes, thereby supporting rural development and agricultural productivity in the face of economic shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The necessity to optimize feed crop cultivation in Kazakhstan's steppe zone is underscored by evolving climatic conditions and sustainable agriculture demands. This study, conducted from 2021 to 2023 in the Akmola region, evaluated the nutritional value and production efficiency of annual and perennial grass mixtures. A randomized complete block design was utilized for annual grasses, while a sequential scheme was applied for perennial grasses, each with three replications per plot. Statistical data processing was employed to analyze the outcomes. Results indicated that mixed-feed crops exhibited superior nutritional composition and energy value. Specific combinations of annual grasses, such as oats with peas or oats, peas, and vetch, alongside multicomponent mixtures incorporating legumes for perennial grasses, demonstrated optimal results. The ideal harvest timings for these grass mixtures were also established. It is recommended to cultivate combinations like Sudan grass with peas and vetch, or oats with peas and vetch for green feed, and for hay and pasture, combinations of red fescue, bluegrass, wheatgrass, and alfalfa, as well as red fescue, bluegrass, brome, sainfoin, and alfalfa. This research emphasizes the importance of diverse crop mixtures to enhance feed nutritional value, thereby contributing to sustainable agricultural practices, food security, and environmental resilience amid climate change.

The productivity of sandy tropical soils may be enhanced through the application of composted organic materials. This study investigates the effects of composted mixtures of brewery spent grain (BSG) and animal manures on the growth of green amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus L) under field conditions. Composted treatments included BSG mixed with poultry droppings (PD) or cattle dung (CD) in volumetric ratios of 1:1 and 2:1 prior to composting, resulting in four compost variants: BSG+PD_(1:1), BSG+PD_(2:1), BSG+CD_(1:1), and BSG+CD_(2:1). Additionally, composted BSG alone served as a reference. Each amendment was added at 20 t ha^–1, alongside an un-amended control for comparative purposes. Growth and yield assessments conducted four weeks post-sowing revealed that not all amended treatments outperformed the control. Notably, the BSG+PD_(1:1) treatment consistently increased total biomass (fresh and dry matter yields by approximately 143% and 58%, respectively) as immediate effects, and significantly more (184% and 108%, respectively) as residual effects when compared to the control. Leaf yields under this treatment showed increases of 173-177% (immediate effects) and 122-125% (residual effects). These variations in amaranth growth and yield were primarily attributed to improvements in soil exchangeable calcium (Ca) and total nitrogen (N) content due to the compost application. The findings suggest that a composted equal-volume mix of BSG and PD may serve as an effective organic amendment for enhancing the yield of short-duration leafy vegetables like amaranth in coarse-textured soils of the humid tropics.

The atmospheric El Nino phenomenon, characterized by elevated sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean, leads to reduced precipitation and increased temperatures in Indonesia due to diminished influx of moist air. These conditions necessitate the development of drought-resistant rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) seedlings, particularly for regions susceptible to such climatic variations. This study focuses on the PB 260 clone, investigating the efficacy of burnt husk applications in enhancing drought resilience. Employing a non-factorial randomized block design (RBD), three treatments were administered to the seedlings: no burnt husk, burnt husk as mulch, and burnt husk as a planting medium, with each treatment replicated three times and utilizing 30g of burnt husk per polybag. It was observed that the application of burnt husk as mulch significantly promoted root growth compared to the other treatments. This was quantified by measurements showing an increase in root length (98.7m), surface area (45.54m²), and volume (30 mL). These results suggest that the use of burnt husk as mulch might offer a viable strategy for enhancing drought adaptation in Hevea brasiliensis, providing a foundation for earlier tapping maturity through improved root development under drought conditions.

In Tanzania, seed infection by bacterial leaf spot (BLS) pathogen (Xanthomonas perforans) causes yield losses up to 45% in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.; Solanaceae family). Several studies have been conducted and wedged ecological organic agriculture (EOA) technologies (i.e., on botanicals/ biopesticides) which are significant to organic farmers in Tanzania. Nevertheless, these studies have been conducted in laboratory and greenhouse conditions, hence the technology cannot be disseminated to organic farmers for application before being validated. The current study was laid out as a 2x3 factorial experiment with five replications. Factor A was two common tomato cultivars “Rio grande” and “Malkia F1”, while factor B was seed treatment with three levels of crude plant extracts namely A. vera, C. arabica, and A. vera + C. arabica and untreated/control. To make the individual crude extracts, the roasted C. arabica beans powder (5g) and A. vera juice (5 ml) were mixed into 50 ml of clean water to get 10% weight/volume (w/v), respectively, while A. vera + C. arabica combination was obtain at a volume (ml) ratio (1:1). Tomato seeds were then soaked in 1 ml of the 10% w/v plant extracts for 12 hours, then air-dried for 1 hour before sowing. The highest efficacy against Xanthomonas perforans was obtained from a combination of extracts from A. vera + C. arabica at volume (ml) ratio (1:1) hence, recommended for seed treatment. Organic tomato farmers need to adopt seed treatment practices that ensure seedlings’ start-up and enhance crop growth and productivity. Although the results of validation comply with the recommendations from previous research findings, further study is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of plant extracts subject to seasonal variability among the production areas.

Several scientific reports indicate lower as well as higher relative yield stability in organic and conventional (chemical) agriculture systems. This study presents the results of on-farm trials conducted on leafy vegetables grown in organic and conventional management systems. Four leafy vegetables collard green (Brassica oleracea cv. acephala), kale (Brassica oleracea cv. sabellica), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. cv. cicla) were grown in organic and conventionally managed plots in the spring 2018 and 2020. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Organic Program (NOP) standards were followed for cultural and management practices in organically managed experimental field plots. Synthetic chemical fertilizer was applied in the experimental field plots managed in the conventional production system. Data on plant height, leaf number and total fresh weight of leafy vegetables were measured at the end of the experiment. There was no difference in plant height and number of leaf count between the two production systems for all four crops. Collard was the tallest in the organic system in both years, kale in 2018 and collard in 2020 were tallest in the conventional system while lettuce was the shortest in both the production systems. In terms of leaf number, organic kale had the highest leaf number; however, all other crops have the same number of leaves. In organic production, lettuce fresh weight was significantly higher than the collard and similar to the rest of the crops. In conventional production, kale fresh weight was significantly higher followed by collard, swiss chard and lettuce. Moreover, lettuce fresh weight was significantly higher in organic than conventional system, no difference was recorded for swiss chard between two systems while collard and kale fresh weight was significantly higher in conventional than organic production. Our results suggest that the organic system can be a best choice for lettuce and conventional system is best choice for collard and kale.

Organic certification, especially for smallholders, often uses group certification procedures. An internal control system (ICS) visits all farmers, and then the external certification body (CB) inspects a sample to assess the ICS’ performance. Harmonised methods for measuring the ICS’ reliability are missing so far. Here, we define criteria of “ICS performance”, propose a new procedure for quantifying this performance and, based on this procedure, suggest that the sample size can be determined using classical statistical methods for survey sampling, instead of using the square root or a percentage of group size as in current practice.