The agriculture sector is the principal source of income for around 20% of the EU-26 population, which live in predominantly rural regions that would be devastated without its contribution. Moreover, the combined agricultural and food sector forms an important part of the EU economy, accounting for 15 million jobs (8.3% of total employment) and 4.4% of GDP. The 12 million active farmers across Europe today, have an average farm size of about 15 ha, and are expected to meet the needs of 500 million Europeans. In addition, they are also expected to promote a sustainable and balanced development of their land, also in areas where production conditions are difficult. Yet, despite the relevance of the sector, the use of land for agriculture purposes is not very sustainable. Among other issues, there is a serious problem in respect of the abandonment of agricultural land. Based on the perceived need for research on this topic, the aim of this paper is to examine the causes and consequences of agricultural land abandonment, outlining its social, economic and environmental impacts, as well as the implications for territorial integration.

Milk is a food of high nutritional value processed by heat treatment. Heat treatment of milk is a technological process designed to inhibit the growth of microorganisms and extend the shelf life of products. The heating process directly affects the molecular structure of whey proteins by the process of denaturation. It leads to the formation of a whey protein–casein polymer complex. Based on these facts, milk heat-treatment conditions should be controlled during milk processing. This work focuses on describing the whey protein denaturation process and formation of the complex of whey protein with casein. The effect of heat treatment on individual milk protein fractions alpha-casein (α-cas), beta-casein (β-cas), kappa-casein (κ-cas), beta-lactoglobulin (β-lg) and alpha-lactalbumin (α-la) was studied by SDS-PAGE. Formation of the whey protein–casein polymer complex increased significantly (p < 0.05) on increasing the temperature and duration of the heat treatment.

The participation of young people in agriculture is crucial in generating job opportunities and fostering the growth of agri-food systems in developing countries, particularly in Africa. This study aims to provide an in-depth review of existing studies on young people’s perceptions and factors influencing their participation in agribusiness. Additionally, the study aims to investigate the impact of the skill training intervention on youth engagement in agribusiness. The study also identifies and analyzes the constraints that hindered their engagement. The PRISMA guideline was followed to analyze 57 studies across Sub-Saharan Africa. Studies published from 2012 to 2022 were retrieved from various digital libraries, such as Google Scholar, Emerald Insight, Taylor & Francis Online, Wiley Online Library, and Science Direct. The review findings highlight that many young people in Africa view agriculture as a profitable industry and a means of subsistence. However, it was also observed that there are divergent opinions regarding agribusiness among young individuals. Factors such as access to finance, education, skills training, perceived social support, and prior experience in farming emerged as critical determinants influencing their decision to engage in agribusiness. Moreover, the study reveals that skill training programs positively impact youth participation in agribusiness. These interventions enhance their skills, increasing productivity, income, and employment opportunities. Nevertheless, access to finance and other essential resources, such as land and extension support, were identified as significant barriers to the involvement of young people in agribusiness. In order to promote the advancement of agri-food systems in Africa through youth participation, youth policies must prioritize access to various resources, including but not limited to capital, education, skills training, land, extension support, social support, mentoring, and private-sector involvement.

Sustainable food security assumes the elimination of food resources adulteration that is already present on farms. This paper is focused on changes in physical and chemical properties of raw cow’s milk treated by the addition of water and NaCl. The main studied factor is the freezing point of milk, which is strongly influenced by the chosen treatment. Adulteration of milk by water can be detected by the changed freezing point of the milk, but this can be brought within the range of standardized limits by the addition of NaCl. Determining the concentration of chloride ions in milk by the titration method is a proxy for the added NaCl. The analysis of raw cow’s milk from 17 agricultural farms in Southwest Slovakia revealed a negative correlation between the content of chlorides and the freezing point. In another laboratory experiment, the differences in the milk freezing points were statistically significant in the samples treated with different amounts of NaCl. The relationship of chlorides and the freezing point to other milk components (minerals, lipids, proteins, solids-not-fat, lactose, pH, and milk acidity after Soxhlet–Henkel) were analysed, as well. The results showed that the chosen method of chlorides detection to identify the adulteration of milk, by added water and NaCl, was not effective due to the unstable composition of milk and uncertainty in measurements (the coefficient of determination was very low, R² = 0.3022).

The agricultural land market and its legal and political limitations play an important role in sustainable agricultural production. This study analyzed the agricultural land market in particular regions of Slovakia in terms of the sustainability of agricultural production. We focused on the development of proposed land prices between 2014 and 2018 to find out whether the prices proposed by landowners align with administrative land prices reflecting the soil quality in particular regions of Slovakia, or whether they are influenced by the proposed land prices of neighboring regions. Moreover, we focused on the existence of regional differences in proposed land prices in Slovakia, including differences in supply prices of arable land and permanent grasslands in particular regions. Statistical induction tools, together with multiple range tests and spatial autocorrelation, were used to confirm or refuse our expectations. We confirmed statistically significant differences in proposed land prices between regions. Moreover, we found that landowners are only influenced by the proposed land prices of their neighboring regions to a slight degree. However, we found that the price scissors between proposed land prices and administrative land prices open towards smaller administrative land prices, meaning that land of poorer fertility is supplied at a higher price than land of the best soil quality. There is a risk that expensive and poorer land plots will be used by investors for non-agricultural purposes, and agricultural production will be crowded out from these regions. Therefore, we propose that changes to the prepared legislative measures are necessary in order to promote the sustainability of agricultural production in all regions of the country.

Biomass is a highly versatile renewable energy source used on a global scale. The paper discusses the current state of biomass energy use in the EU and Slovakia. Residual biomass was found as a key feedstock for the European bioeconomy. Slovakia is one of the most forested and rural countries in the EU. Therefore, biomass energy has the highest technical potential from all renewables in Slovakia. The main objective of the paper was to evaluate the phytomass production of the selected crops and their energy potential in individual self-governing regions of Slovakia. It is focused on the production of usable post-harvest residues theoretically used for energy purposes from the following studied main crops: wheat, rye, oats, barley, maize, potatoes, oilseed rape and sugar beet. The results show the estimated production of usable post-harvest residues of the selected crops and their energy potential in individual self-governing regions in Slovakia in 2019. The total production of usable post-harvest residues from the studied crops was 4,854,017 t and their estimated energy potential was 68 PJ. This amount of energy would cover 10% of the total energy consumption in Slovakia. The top three productive crops were maize, wheat, and sugar beet. Maize had the highest energy potential of 28.1 PJ, followed by wheat at 19 PJ and sugar beet at 14.2 PJ. The highest yields of post-harvest residues, as well as energy potential, were found in the Nitra region.