The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that climate change is an unequivocal fact, presenting significant challenges due to its adverse impacts. Understanding climate change is crucial for agricultural students, as climate variability and extreme weather events directly affect agriculture. This study examined agronomy students’ perceptions and knowledge of climate change at a technical university in Cotopaxi, Ecuador. An online structured questionnaire was used to gather data on students’ perceptions and knowledge. The questionnaire had two sections, i.e., perception and knowledge. The perception section employed a Likert scale covering the following six components: skepticism, perceived benefit, economy, environmentalism, perceived risk, and negative effects. The knowledge section included true/false questions across four dimensions, i.e., causes, effects, concepts, and human relationships. The results indicated that most students had a medium level of perception (55.85%) and knowledge (54.25%) regarding climate change. A low but significant correlation was found between perception and knowledge (rs = 0.12, p = 0.02). Based on these findings, the researchers recommend incorporating specific climate change courses to better prepare students for sustainable agricultural development in a changing climate.

Sustainable agriculture (SA) has emerged as an alternative to feeding an increasing global population. Several frameworks have been used in SA research. This study proposes understanding SA under five components: environment, economy, society, resilience, and persistence. The decision-making process for adopting SA is determined by several factors, such as knowledge and attitudes. Both constructs play a decisive role in SA’s development, a field where university students are called to be leaders and decision-makers. Despite the increase in the body of SA literature, little is known about SA in Latin America. This research aimed to analyze university students’ attitudes and knowledge of SA and the relationship between both constructs. A completely structured questionnaire was designed and distributed online. A Likert-type scale was used for attitude and multiple-choice questions for knowledge. It was found that, among participants (n = 374), the majority had a high level of attitude (71.9%) and a moderate level of knowledge (62.1%) of SA. Participants’ attitudes towards SA were positive, regardless of gender (p = 0.17) and perceived knowledge does not predict measured knowledge (R² = 0.074; p < 0.001). Moreover, a low positive relationship was found between attitude and knowledge (r_s = 0.252; p = 0.000). Further research should focus on analyzing other factors that could affect attitude and knowledge of SA.

Environmental and ecological degradation has raised concerns worldwide. Negative attitudes toward the environment plus disinterest have led to improper behavior, influencing climate change and global warming. Awareness could have a positive environmental impact by influencing attitudes and behaviors. One way to generate awareness and ensure positive behavior is through education. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), a 33-questions survey was implemented to college students from Texas, Louisiana, and Honduras to (1) compare students’ environmental attitudes, behaviors, and subjective norms at the three universities; and (2) predict how much of the undergraduate students’ environmental behavior variance could be explained by their environmental attitude, subjective norms, and perceived environmental knowledge. Multivariate analysis of variance and hierarchical regressions were performed to address the objectives, respectively. Results showed that Honduras and Louisiana students’ environmental attitudes, behavior, and subjective norms are significantly different than Texas students, and TRA variables increased the prediction of behavior variance by 15%. Understanding interactions between behavior, attitude, knowledge, and subjective norms among college students from different universities may help assess environmental interventions and design successful programs based on group needs.

In the last decade, rural youth worldwide have grappled with a crisis marked by limited economic opportunities, inadequate services, and underdeveloped infrastructure in their home communities. This has driven a significant uptick in rural-to-urban migration, especially among young people in developing countries. Despite its lower urbanization rate compared to neighboring nations, Ecuador has seen a consistent rise in rural-to-urban youth migration. This trend is primarily attributed to environmental degradation, community conflicts, and rural areas' lack of educational and employment prospects. This study investigated the migration intentions of high school students in rural Ecuador, specifically those enrolled in agricultural and non-agricultural programs. The findings reveal that agricultural programs significantly influence youth migration intentions. Those in agricultural programs express an inclination to migrate. Moreover, students who have migrated before are more likely to migrate. These results underscore the importance of tailoring educational initiatives to inspire youth to explore opportunities within their rural communities. Future research should delve into the perspectives of rural youth and evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural education programs, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of rural development and strategies for retaining youth in rural areas.

Agricultural innovation is pivotal to meeting global food, climate, and livelihood challenges. This study systematically reviews publications from 2021 to 2025 on agricultural technology adoption. We combine Everett Rogers’s diffusion of innovation theory with a supervised machine learning technique: Random Forest (RF), an ensemble tree-based method within the broader AI toolkit, to identify key factors that influence adoption outcomes across 571 cases from 531 publications. Our stepwise approach integrates systematic bibliometric searches, rigorous textual coding and numerical conversion, and RF modeling to synthesize diverse empirical evidence into actionable, data-driven guidance. The RF model, which demonstrates good predictive performance, highlights extension access, climate risk awareness, and perceived relative advantage (along with perceived simplicity and training participation) as the most influential predictors of adoption decisions. Education, or more broadly, innovation literacy, emerges as essential in specific local contexts but less influential across all cases, while peer networks exert moderate, context-dependent effects. These findings suggest that extension messages and programs should emphasize clear, observable benefits, manageable complexity, and climate-related risk information that directly address farmers’ needs and concerns. Overall, this integrated methodological approach provides robust and nuanced insights, offering practical guidance for agricultural development policy, extension strategies, and future research.

Latin America’s Indigenous are as varied as the place they live in and focus on past, beliefs, and culture. In Ecuador, the Indigenous Salasacas are famous for being strict in their cultural preservation, language, customs, agricultural practices, and costumes, which are considered unique. This ethnographic study aimed to understand the Salasacas’s agricultural identity across different generations and reports the experiences and perceptions of 12 Salasacas participants. Participants reported that many Salasacas have changed from agriculture to other economic activities, such as textiles, due to the limited agricultural programs and the influence of Hispanic culture. Participants informed the researchers that cultural pride and unity are fundamental Salasacas traits. They encourage new generations to continue studying to overcome racial issues with academic preparation. Program implementers must know how to honor Indigenous knowledge while introducing new knowledge and consider participants’ characteristics, such as age and gender, which is imperative for successful outcomes.