Globally, current food consumption and trade are placing unprecedented demand on agricultural systems and increasing pressure on natural resources, requiring tradeoffs between food security and environmental impacts especially given the tension between market-driven agriculture and agro-ecological goals. In order to illustrate the wicked social, economic and environmental challenges and processes to find transformative solutions, we focus on the largest concentration of greenhouses in the world located in the semi-arid coastal plain of South-east Spain. Almería family farming, predominantly cooperative, greenhouse intensive production, commenced after the 1960s and has resulted in very significant social and economic benefits for the region, while also having important negative environmental and biodiversity impacts, as well as creating new social challenges. The system currently finds itself in a crisis of diminishing economic benefits and increasing environmental and social dilemmas. Here, we present the outcomes of multi-actor, transdisciplinary research to review and provide collective insights for solutions-oriented research on the sustainability of Almeria’s agricultural sector. The multi-actor, transdisciplinary process implemented collectively, and supported by scientific literature, identified six fundamental challenges to transitioning to an agricultural model that aims to ameliorate risks and avoid a systemic collapse, whilst balancing a concern for profitability with sustainability: (1) Governance based on a culture of shared responsibility for sustainability, (2) Sustainable and efficient use of water, (3) Biodiversity conservation, (4) Implementing a circular economy plan, (5) Technology and knowledge transfer, and (6) Image and identity. We conclude that the multi-actor transdisciplinary approach successfully facilitated the creation of a culture of shared responsibility among public, private, academic, and civil society actors. Notwithstanding plural values, challenges and solutions identified by consensus point to a nascent acknowledgement of the strategic necessity to locate agricultural economic activity within social and environmental spheres.This paper demonstrates the need to establish transdisciplinary multi-actor work-schemes to continue collaboration and research for the transition to an agro-ecological model as a means to remain competitive and to create value.

Although a large number of pesticides of different compositions are regularly used in agriculture, the impact of pesticides on the physiology of field crops is not well understood. Pesticides can produce negative effects on crop physiology―especially on photosynthesis―leading to a potential decrease in both the growth and the yield of crops. To investigate these potential effects in greenhouse sweet peppers, the effect of 20 insecticides and 2 fungicides (each sprayed with a wetting agent) on the photosynthesis of sweet pepper leaves was analyzed. Among these pesticides, nine caused significant reductions in photosynthetic activity. The effects were observed in distinctive ways—either as a transitory drop of the photosynthetic-rate values, which was observed at two hours after the treatment and was found to have recovered after 24 h, or as a sustained reduction of these values, which remained substantial over a number of days. The results of this study suggest that the production of a crop may substantially benefit when the frequent use of pesticides can be substituted with alternative pest control methods (e.g., biological control). Our results advocate further investigation of the potential impact of pesticides, either alone or in combination, on the photosynthesis of crop plants.