As global food production is projected to double to meet future food demand, reshaping agricultural systems to balance productivity with environmental sustainability is a critical challenge. Cambodia, where smallholder farming dominates and rural communities face increasing socioeconomic and environmental pressures. This study aims to provide empirical evidence on viable intensification strategies for smallholders in Northwest Cambodia which enhance food security, reduce poverty, and promote environmental sustainability, offering practical insights to address these global priorities through locally grounded solutions. This study integrates demographic-socioeconomic data from a census of 997 upland households and farming practices from 46 maize plots to assess trade-offs and to navigate pathways for sustainable and resilient agricultural production. The analysis reveals moderate-investment practices, defined by targeted and efficient input application, were highly effective, achieving yields comparable to high-investment practices (characterised by intensive chemical application), while significantly reducing environmental costs (US$134.79 per hectare) compared to low-investment practices (which applied inputs minimally). If extended, this reduction could translate to annual environmental cost savings of US$700,597 in Cambodia and US$1.16 billion across Southeast Asia. Additionally, these practices reduced production costs by US$116 per hectare and increased profits by US$23 per hectare, resulting in annual profit gains of US$707,200 in Cambodia and US$198 million across Southeast Asia. Both low- and high-investment strategies exhibited inefficiencies and higher environmental costs, underscoring the importance of balanced resource use. The analysis further uncovers critical challenges faced by smallholders, including financial constraints, climate variability, and technical knowledge gaps, which hinder their capacity to adopt sustainable practices. This study contributes to the global discourse on sustainable intensification by demonstrating moderate-investment practices can optimise farm profitability and environmental sustainability. By addressing the triple challenges of climate variability, resource constraints, and technical knowledge gaps, these findings offer actionable strategies for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers aiming to develop sustainable and resilient agricultural systems that align with global sustainability goals. • Environmental, agronomic, and economic stresses threaten to the sustainability and resilience of agricultural systems. • Supporting smallholders in sustainable intensification improves impr food security, income, and environmental sustainability. • Innovative financing mechanisms, climate-resilient infrastructure, and extension services help overcome adoption barriers. • Moderate-investment practices were the most effective, balancing productivity and environmental sustainability.

Policy issues in most nations include adapting primary agricultural production to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Commitments have been established through multi-lateral agreements targeting GHG emission reductions to abate climate change impacts. In response to policy initiatives targeted at industries such as agriculture, producers are adopting innovative production methods and technologies to provide environmental services and mitigate emissions. GHG emissions arising from livestock production contribute to a damaging narrative surrounding agriculture, particularly beef production. The purpose of this study is three-fold, quantifying (a) net emissions, 2 2 Net emissions are calculated as gross emissions less carbon sequestration as soil carbon storage. (b) changes in practice, and (c) economic outcomes attributed to the forage production facet of cow-calf production. The Saskatchewan Forage Production Survey was developed to gather forage management practices data, placing emphasis on land use and land management changes. Canada's whole-farm assessment model, Holos, was applied as a carbon accounting framework to derive the net emissions of the forage production cycle. Results indicate carbon sequestration increased between the periods of 1991–94 and 2016–19. Gross emissions decreased to a larger degree and net emission results for the forage production facet of the Saskatchewan cow calf sector are −0.123 Mg CO2e/ha/yr in 2016–19. Recommendations include the renewal of forage rejuvenation funding programs that may improve forage yields and carbon sequestration potential. Further, the expansion of term conservation easement programs to include non-native forage lands is recommended to incentivize the retention of forage land. Saskatchewan soil organic carbon flux provincially and by ecoregion. • Fall fertilizer applications have fallen by 50 %. • Forage legume production has increased by 20 %. • CO 2 sequestration has risen from 0.0006 to 0.123 Mg/ha/yr.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a process that produces a renewable gas (biogas) and an organic fertilizer (digestate). Energy cover crops, grown between two main crops, are expected to become the predominant AD feedstock in France and other European countries, potentially reshaping cropping systems and agricultural practices. However, farming systems linked to AD remain understudied, potentially leading to AD assessments disconnected from actual farming practices. Our aim was to address this gap by characterizing the cropping system changes in French farms associated with biogas plants mainly relying on energy cover crops in cereal-growing regions and to discuss the differences with agricultural practices usually considered in AD assessments. We conducted interviews on 33 farms in French cereal-growing regions between late 2020 and 2023 to characterize changes in cropping systems of non-livestock farms associated with AD. The interview guide covered general farm and biogas plant information, main crop and energy cover crop management, farm-scale fertilization and digestate management. Land cover changes before and after AD were considered, as well as the calculation of a simplified farm-scale nutrient (N, P and K) balance. Key findings revealed that energy cover crops were grown on an average of 30 % of farm surfaces each year. They were generally treated with pesticides, and irrigated on half of the surveyed farms when cultivated in summer. Their introduction implied significant reductions in surfaces of crops with longer growing periods, such as wheat and rapeseed, while the surface of barley, maize and other cereal crops increased. Yield losses of −10 % to −40 % in main crops following winter energy cover crops were reported by 39 % of respondents, who mainly attributed them to delayed sowing dates of summer crops, resulting in a shorter growth period. Potential fertilizer savings achievable through digestate application varied across farms and were positively correlated with the proportion of agro-industrial byproducts in the digester. This study provides the first description of agricultural practices of non-livestock farms with AD based mainly on energy cover crops in cereal-growing regions. It highlights discrepancies between observed practices and those considered in AD assessments. Future local or national assessments of AD should account for actual on-farm practices, evaluating the impacts of climate change and the potential water scarcity on cropping systems with AD. This is necessary to mitigate any adverse effects resulting from the energy transition. • Farming practices on non-livestock farms producing biogas were described. • These practices differed from those considered in anaerobic digestion evaluations. • Energy cover crop production was associated with changes in main crop species. • Energy cover crops were generally treated with pesticides and sometimes irrigated. • Fertilizer savings correlated with the agro-industrial waste level in the digester.

As China's breadbasket, the Yangtze River Basin plays a critical role in global food security, yet its agricultural stability is increasingly threatened by the climate emergency. This study aimed to (1) identify the critical climatic variables that drive wheat yield variability across Yangtze River Basin; (2) reveal the key climatic variables that contribute to regional yield gaps, and (3) quantify yield increase and associated environmental costs under current nitrogen application rates and estimate the nitrogen fertiliser required to achieve full yield potential with improved genetic traits. We combined process-based crop model knowledge, fine-scale municipal wheat yield data (1980–2020) and statistical analytics to benchmark regional yield gaps under historical and future climates and we then analysed 8192 hypothetical genotypes with diverse yet realistic ranges of phenology, growth, radiation use efficiency and yield components to assess their impact on reducing yield gaps and associated environmental costs. We found that many arable areas exhibited statistically significant correlations (R 2 = 0.94) between climate and wheat yield variability. Changes in precipitation explained the largest proportion of yield variance (R 2 = 0.38), while temperature (R 2 = 0.31) and solar radiation (R 2 = 0.29) exerted nearly identical influences on wheat yield fluctuations. Yield gaps were well explained by photothermal quotients, which ranged from 0.55 to 1.14 across the Yangtze River Basin. Due to increased extreme climatic events, simulated rainfed wheat yields decreased by 12 % and 24 % in 2050s under emissions scenarios SSP245 and SSP585, respectively. Adoption of cultivars with optimised traits (higher RUE and larger grain size) could increase grain yield by 61–80 % under current and future climate. However, trait-optimisation for yield revealed clear trade-offs for nitrogen demand (16–36 % increase), N 2 O emissions (30–50 % increase), greenhouse gas emission intensity (24–35 % increase) and nitrogen-use efficiency (13–21 % decrease), heralding dire ramifications for breeding programs that optimize traits for productivity benefits alone. We advocate that crop breeding programs include sustainability indicators encompassing nitrogen demand, use, and use-efficiency to avoid environmental impacts associated with increasing yields to feed a burgeoning global population. • Changes in rainfall explained the largest proportion of wheat yield variance • Regional yield gaps linked to differences in photothermal quotient • Wheat yields may decline due to more extreme events under future climates • Climate-resilient wheat breeding can offset negative climate change effects • Significant tradeoffs exist between ideotypes and environmental sustainability

In Northern Queensland, farmers have limited information on options to increase resilience to climate variability and market volatility by diversifying production activities in large-scale rangeland grazing farms. To quantify benefits and trade-offs of co-designed diversification options of large-scale rangeland grazing farms in Northern Queensland. A diversification framework, specifically designed for large-scale farms ( Adhikari et al., 2023 ), guided a participatory modelling exercise to co-design alternative production options. Two representative case-study farms, a dryland cropping (DC) and a dryland rangeland (DR), were selected from Northern Queensland's Gilbert region. Discussions with farmers were used to parameterise the APSIM model and simulate farmer's proposed alternative production systems. For DC, the baseline scenario was the existing dryland cotton-maize rotation, and the farmer's interest was to diversify into irrigated cotton, legume, and winter cereal rotations. For DR, the baseline scenario was growing dryland forages, and the diversification options included a dryland cotton-mungbean crop rotation. Benefits and trade-offs were quantified on economic, risk, environmental and social indicators. Irrigating legumes, and winter crops, alongside the existing cotton-maize rotation, increased the mean gross margin by ∼$1500 ha −1 year −1 and reduced downside risks by ∼25 % in the DC. Under irrigation, adding double-cropped winter-maize in rotation with cotton tripled ground cover and reduced erosion losses by ∼6 t ha −1 year −1 . However, this was at the expense of a lower water-use efficiency ($ML −1 ), which was undesirable to the farmer. For the DR farm, the proposed dryland cropping increased downside risk by >65 % over the existing forage system, and reduced erosion by ∼3 t ha −1 year −1 reinforcing farmers' preference to maintain the current forage production system. In both cases, “peer-learning” emerged as the preferred method for upskilling as it does not necessitate substantial investment, is based on trust, and yet promises considerable positive impact in the farming business. Our results show that diversification doesn't always ensure positive outcomes. By co-designing options and quantifying benefits and trade-offs across multiple dimensions, discussions between researchers and farmers were better informed, allowing for improved decision making. Additionally, aligning diversification options with the local context and farmers' needs improves the likelihood of adoption and facilitates the scaling-up of these efforts. A major constraint includes inherent complexities of the participatory modelling approach that require skilling up of regional development agencies to actively engage and assist stakeholders for the agricultural development of Northern Australia. • N. Queensland farmers lack actionable information on alternative farming options. • We showed that diversification doesn't always ensure positive outcome. • Participatory modelling guides diversification investments in large-scale farms. • The scaling of the approach will require skilling up regional developing agencies.

Diversified cropping rotations mitigate key challenges associated with continuous or mono-cropping, including soil fertility depletion, increased pest pressure, and reduced economic resilience due to limited diversification opportunities. However, an effective rotation sequence depends on a mix of agronomic and economic factors. This study aimed to assess the profitability and risk levels associated with rotations integrating non-traditional hard-seeded annual pasture legumes (NHL) in the mixed farming zone of southern Australia. Utilizing the Land Use Sequence Optimizer (LUSO), a study was conducted over a 30-year period (1991–2020) across three locations to compare the profit and conditional value at risk (CvaR) of rotations comparing two levels of biotic stress (high or low). Rotations including NHL pasture were more profitable and exhibited lower risk compared to traditional improved annual pasture-legumes (TIL) or continuous cropping. These findings were consistent across various climate conditions. However, at one location (Condobolin), continuous cropping slightly outperformed the NHL rotation sequence in terms of both profit and lower risk. This was attributed to higher rainfall and temperature, where extended spring rainfall boosted canola and wheat yields. Despite greater fluctuations, overall moisture and warmth favoured continuous cropping. In contrast, at the other locations (Corrigin and Lameroo), NHL rotations were more profitable and less risky than continuous cropping. Rotations incorporating NHL pastures consistently showed resilience in locations prone to high biotic stress across all three sites. The inclusion of NHL pasture phases in mixed farming rotations improves profit and reduces risk, particularly in drier, variable regions, by withstanding dry periods and enhancing soil moisture. This is particularly beneficial in areas with variable rain-fed production, such as southern Australia's low- to medium rainfall regions. These findings highlight the ecological and economic advantages of incorporating NHL into rotations, contributing to contributing to more diversified and resilient farming systems. • Continuous cropping systems in southern Australia face biotic and abiotic stress challenges. • Land-use sequence optimiser (LUSO) model optimizes crop rotations, considering biotic stresses and current land use impacts. • Non-traditional hard-seeded legumes (NHLs) increase profitability by $12–$89/ha/year. • NHLs improve soil fertility, livestock feed, and ground cover as a break phase in cropping sequences. • NHL rotations reduce risk under high biotic stress and outperform mono-cropping economically.