This study surveys the panorama of research on the importance of aspirations of farming communities, identifies research gaps and prospects for future research. The analysis of 22 studies identified from 419 research articles sheds light on the relationships between aspirations, agriculture, women’s empowerment, poverty, and rural youth. Aspirations of the rural poor play a significant role in shaping their activities and investments. Furthermore, the poor and those who are exposed to natural disasters are more likely suffering from aspiration failure and their resilience needs to be built. Specifically, women’s empowerment could be supported through raising aspirations. In addition, intergenerational aspirations and corresponding investment plans in agriculture are in absolute contrast and parental desires and their children’s aspirations do not align. Overall, development program-specific research is needed to determine policies and programs that successfully and cost-effectively raise the rural poor's aspirations and thereby improve livelihoods in developing countries.

We study the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the groundnut value chain and all the actors involved in its value chain in Ananthapuramu district of Andhra Pradesh, a leading groundnut producing state in south India. The results revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic created a double burden on farmers by disrupting farm production on one side and decreased diet diversity on the other. Disruption in farm productions resulted in a decline in household income and increased consumer food prices. The effect on farmers snowballed to other actors in the value chain, and all the actors were affected variably. Availability of storage infrastructure would have saved the farmer’s household income to some extent during the pandemic. Supply of diverse nutrient foods through the existing public distribution system, which mostly provides wheat and rice, might have helped tackle the diet diversity issue amongst farmers. Farmer’s collectives were perceived to reduce the negative impact during natural disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic by helping to organise smallholder farmers, minimise transaction costs and increase their bargaining power. In addition, effective farm extension services, including market information, could have benefited farmers during the crisis.

Bangladesh’s agriculture is highly rice-centric. Although economically rational, this is also risky, and arguably unsustainable. As a result, there is increasing interest in crop diversification (CD). This study examines the policy environment and the implementation of projects promoting CD in Bangladesh from 1971 to the present. An integrated analytical framework, developed by the International Wheat and Maize Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was used. Despite numerous policies and projects aimed at promoting CD, progress remains limited due to historical biases and various challenges. This research identifies a significant gap in existing approaches, which primarily focus on production aspects while neglecting market systems for new crops. Additionally, inadequate coordination among government agencies has impacted the effectiveness of projects implemented by development partners. The study highlights that CD efforts have been largely project-driven and short-lived, emphasizing the need for mainstreaming CD with dedicated annual funding to ensure long-term sustainability. Key challenges in funding, market development, and implementation are identified. The study recommends mainstreaming CD through annual budgets and enhancing market linkages. Furthermore, it provides actionable guidelines for policymakers and practitioners to effectively promote and sustain crop diversification in Bangladesh’s agriculture.

South Asia's Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP) is home to approximately 450 million people. This region is characterized by the highest global concentration of rural poverty and a predominant reliance on agriculture for nutritional sustenance and economic livelihoods. Agriculture in the EIGP is highly cereal-centric, making crop diversification indispensable for its development. This data article is part of the research conducted by an interdisciplinary team of researchers analysing the status and determinants of crop diversification in South Asia's EIGP. The data presented here were collected from 1,400 farm households across 72 communities in eight locations within the EIGP of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh during the year 2023. The research employed a simple random sampling method for empirical data collection. The primary agricultural decision-makers were given a tailored questionnaire comprising seven modules. These modules sought comprehensive data on livelihood practices, changes in agriculture, aspirations, diet, food security, mechanization, demographics, and asset ownership. The questionnaire was translated from English into Nepali and Bangla to facilitate a thorough understanding of the farmers' livelihoods in the study areas. The survey successfully ended with 1400 properly filled and captured questionnaires, which was quite representative. The cross-sectional data presented here describe location-specific farm-level crop distribution, enabling the analysis of geographic variations in crop diversification. The generation of this dataset addresses a significant gap in the availability of information on the current state of crop diversification in the EIGP, offering a foundational baseline for future research and interventions by regional governments and development partners. We employed the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) to calculate crop diversification and a Tobit Regression Model to identify the region-specific determinants of crop diversification. The dataset is hereby made available as it is considered vital for regional policy and practical recommendations.