Farmers, as the first link in the agri-food value chain, are key in assuring its sustainability. Farmers’ behavior and attitudes towards implementing sustainable farm practices is influenced by their perceptions of risk affecting the farm and their household, either directly or indirectly. In this study, we elicit farmers’ perceived risk perception and preferences and test their robustness and validity using a sample of Greek smallholder farmers since they represent the majority of Greek holdings. Results suggest that farmers exhibit risk aversion in most situations of farm-level decision making. In many situations, farmers will prefer on-farm environmental sustainability strategies over other risk mitigation strategies. More specifically, higher age, higher education, farm size, proportion of rented land, and the existence of a farm succession plan reveal an increase in farmers’ preference for on-farm environmentally sustainable strategies and suggest reduced incentives towards implementing other on-farm or off-farm solutions.

According to the FAO, wheat, corn, and rice are staple crops that support global food security, providing 50% of the world’s dietary energy. The ability to predict accurately these key food crop agricultural commodity prices is important in stabilizing markets, supporting policymaking, and informing stakeholders’ decisions. To this aim, machine learning (ML), ensemble learning (EL), deep learning (DL), and time series methods (TS) have been increasingly used for forecasting due to the rapid development of computational power and data availability. This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of peer-reviewed original research articles focused on forecasting the prices of wheat, corn, and rice using machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), ensemble learning (EL), and time series techniques. The results of the study help uncover suitable forecasting methods, such as hybrid deep learning models that consistently outperform traditional methods, and they identify important limitations in model interpretability and the use of region-specific datasets, highlighting the need for explainable and generalizable forecasting solutions. This systematic review adheres to the PRISMA 2020 reporting guidelines.

Precipitation and temperature variability present significant agricultural risks worldwide. Northern Iran’s agriculture mainly depends on paddy fields, which are directly affected by precipitation and temperature variability. The main aim of this study is to explore farmers’ attitudes towards precipitation and temperature variability and their adaptation strategies in paddy fields in a typical agricultural province in northern Iran. Primary survey data were collected from a sample of 382 paddy farmers of Rasht County in Guilan Province. Data have been analyzed using both summary statistics and bivariate analysis (Pearson, Spearman, and Eta correlation coefficients). Empirical findings reveal that most paddy farmers had experienced precipitation and temperature variability and were taking measures to reduce its negative impacts on their crops. Results also indicate that farm size and household income influence farmers’ perception to precipitation and temperature variability, while availability of water resources also influence farmers’ adaptation decisions.

The exploitation of agri-food industrial by-products to produce novel foods is a promising strategy in the framework of policies promoting the bioeconomy and circular economy. Within this context, this study aims to examine the effect of food neophobia and food technology neophobia in the acceptance of a novel food by consumers (through an EU research project: Sybawhey). As a case study, a functional yogurt-like product was developed by synergistic processing of halloumi cheese whey, enriched with banana by-products. The present study contributes to the literature by examining consumers’ perceptions for such a novel food, identifying the profile of potential final users and classifying them according to their “neophobic tendency”. A comparative approach among groups from Greece, Cyprus and Uganda was adopted to explore whether respondents have a different attitude towards this novel yogurt. Results suggest that there is a potential for increasing consumption of novel foods derived by agri-food industrial by-products, but more information about the importance of using by-products are required to enhance consumers’ acceptance of this novel food. Such results may be useful to policy makers, aiming to promote strategies towards the effective reuse of food outputs leading to the manufacture of sustainable novel foods.