The COVID-19 pandemic has had immediate and cascading impacts on global agricultural systems. In Senegal, the immediate impacts include inaccessibility of inputs due to disruption in markets and supply chains, availability of labor, and changes in crop and livestock management practices. To understand the range of impacts on the biophysical and socioeconomic dimensions of smallholder farming systems, a survey was designed to identify the risk factors, assess the impacts, and explore appropriate mitigation strategies. The survey was administered to 917 smallholder farmers in 14 regions of Senegal in collaboration with a national farmer’s organization and the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA). The sample was comprised of farmers (men and women) and was stratified in each region to ensure representation from all agroecological zones of the country. The survey examined variables such as access to inputs, ability to plant, impacts on yields, markets, labor, the gendered division of labor, food security, and community well-being. The survey response indicated that 77.7% of respondents experienced a reduction in access to inputs, 70.3% experienced a reduction in ability to plant crops during the planting season, 57.1% experienced a reduction in ability to rent farm machinery, and 69.2% reported a reduction in yields. Similar findings were observed for labor, market conditions, and adaptation measures to reduce the impacts on farming systems and household livelihoods. This study advances the research on characterizing risk factors, assessing the impacts, and designing mitigation strategies for strengthening smallholder farming systems resilience to future shocks.

According to recent studies, food insecurity affects from 34%-59% of college students. This will continue to be an issue as tuition increases and more low-income and first-generation students enter universities and colleges. Nearly 52% of college students live at, or near, the poverty level, compared to a national poverty rate of 14.5%. This leaves many undergraduate and graduate students with challenging decisions around meeting their basic housing, nutritional, and educational expenses. To assess food insecurity at Kansas State University (KSU), a random sample of undergraduate and graduate students was surveyed. Findings include a high rate of food insecurity (44.3%) among respondents. This measure was calculated by summing the affirmative responses to the USDA short-form food security questions in the survey. This means that during a 7-month period during the 2016 to 2017 academic year, 44.3% of respondents experienced at least two of the following: 1) didn’t have enough food to last and didn’t have money to buy more, 2) couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals, 3) cut the size of or skipped meals, 4) ate less than they felt they should because they didn’t have enough money, or, 5) were hungry and didn’t eat. This finding is consistent with other studies that report food insecurity rates between 34% and 59% at U.S. universities and community colleges. Fifty-seven percent of respondents were generally aware that food insecurity is a significant problem on college campuses. A majority of respondents (63%) reported that they knew students besides themselves who, currently or sometime during the academic year, had problems with food insecurity or hunger. Yet food assistance (e.g., food pantries) and SNAP are seldom used and responses regarding the use of an on-campus food pantry were mixed. Despite this mixed response, over 2,000 students had used the campus food pantry within the one-year period between opening in 2017 to 2018 (Bishop 2018).

The tallgrass prairie has persisted in the Flint Hills of east-central Kansas for both biophysical and socioeconomic reasons, and has been one of the key elements in the development of the region. A population boom in the latter part of the 19th century and the subsequent increase in cattle in the 1860s-1870s were key factors in the transition of this landscape into a major cattle grazing region by the turn of the 20th century. At various points in the past 150 years, this social ecosystem has exhibited remarkable resilience in episodes of both drought and over-grazing. The resilience of the bluestem pastures had implications for stability in the rural economy. Yet, the land use regimes have undergone change since Euro-American arrival, thus the human signature on the land is by no means static. We approach the human-environment relationship as an ecological dialogue that includes both biophysical and social elements mutually shaping each other, and driven by human interests as much as biophysical factors. Current threats to the tallgrass prairie, including fragmentation and invasive species are discussed.

We surveyed Extension educators in the southern Great Plains about their attitudes and beliefs regarding climate change, their interactions with constituents surrounding climate change, and challenges they face in engaging constituents on the topic of climate change. Production-oriented and sociocultural challenges in meeting constituents' information needs exist. Educators reported (a) lacking capacity for addressing climate change issues and (b) needing information, especially regarding drought and extreme or unseasonable weather events and related management practices. Educators also identified a need for more educational resources, including print materials and online decision aids. Implications are relevant to educators working beyond the study area and in any agricultural production system.

This paper explores the school choice decisions of middle-class parents in Lucknow City, India. The study highlights the indices that appeal to middle-class sensibilities in their pursuit of choosing the best schooling option for their children. The study unearths the influence of informal social networks on school choice decisions. Additionally, the relationship that the parents share with the school and their expectations from the school are discussed. The paper reveals how middle-class parents, by virtue of having a congruence of values and desires, form a privatist community in order to maximize the educational gains for their children. The findings are analyzed through the lens of rational choice and Bourdieusian theories. The study is qualitative in nature, and the primary methods for data collection were observation and interviews. As part of the study's data-gathering procedure, a total of 20 parents were interviewed. A semi-structured interview schedule was prepared for the study, and questions were open-ended.