As our world grapples with the complex challenges posed by a changing climate, depleting natural resources, and a growing global population, the imperative to transform agricultural practices towards sustainability has become increasingly apparent. In response to this, regenerative agriculture has emerged as a promising approach that not only aims to boost productivity but also endeavors to revitalize the ecosystems it relies upon. However, the path toward regenerative agriculture is deeply entwined with legal, social, and economic considerations, encompassing farmers' rights, contract farming, and the continuously evolving policy landscape. Within the ever-changing global agricultural, the dynamic interplay among regenerative practices, farmers' rights, and policy frameworks assumes a central role. It is essential to explore and understand the intricate relationships shaping the agricultural sector amidst policy transformations. There is a complex web connecting farmers, policies and agricultural practices, thereby enriching the ongoing discourse on regenerative agriculture within the context of contemporary policy changes.

Within this context, this Research Topic aims to impart an in-depth understanding of regenerative agriculture that strives for sustainable practices amidst the changing policy landscape. We welcome diverse contributions, spanning empirical research, theoretical frameworks, case studies, and policy analyses, to illuminate this critical and timely intersection. This Research Topic will also showcase cutting-edge research on the development and application of tools and methods for sustainable agricultural systems. This includes precision agriculture technologies; biological tools like biopesticides, biofertilizers and GMOs; sustainable farming practices including crop rotation and polyculture; advanced water management systems like drip irrigation, rainwater harvesting, and renewable energy sources; data analytics and AI, through big data, machine learning, and decision support systems, provide actionable insights for farm management; climate-smart agriculture focuses on climate-resilient crops ensuring a balanced approach to productivity and sustainability. It aims to shed light on innovation systems and multi-stakeholder arrangements that support or catalyze change, thereby forming policy decisions.

The collection seeks to explore how farmers' rights, contractual arrangements, and sustainable practices are shaped, challenged, and advanced within the dynamic context of changing agricultural policies, and will include topics such as, but not limited to:
• Evolving policy landscape for sustainable agriculture
• Regenerative agriculture: role of policy, process, and education
• Current government intervention in agriculture across different countries focusing on small holders
• Evolution of farm subsidies over time, applying participatory modelling and impact analysis
• Machine learning and the role of artificial intelligence in agriculture (statistical analysis are applicable)
• Impact of agricultural subsidies on small holders
• Development and application of tools and methods for sustainable agricultural systems like climate smart agriculture, precision agriculture, and remote sensing
• Innovation systems and multi-stakeholder arrangements that support or promote change and/or informs policy decisions through integration of diverse perspectives and evidence-based insights, ensuring that policies are practical, inclusive, and aligned with the needs of all stakeholders involved
• Technological and institutional innovation affecting food systems and accessibility
• Challenges in sustainable agricultural practices: Climate change, biodiversity loss, and severe impacts on soil and water quality
• Assessment of regenerative agricultural practices using an outcome-based framework
• Evidence based studies on sustainable farm practices
• Literature on agricultural networks, polycentric governance, social learning, agricultural education, and farmer characteristics that lend themselves to ecologically mindful change, thereby identifying interventions that tend to provide traction for change
• Studies on agricultural innovations (namely contract farming, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and Agri-startups) and examination of their role in enhancing farmer incomes, improving market access, fostering sustainable practices, and driving rural economic development
• Impact assessment of technologies disbursed among farmers in agriculture and allied sectors, e.g. sex-semen technology, advanced crop production technology, and biotechnological interventions
• Big data, the digitalization of agriculture for precise monitoring, leveraging data analytics and digital tools, towards the aim of ensuring sustainable and resilient agricultural systems

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Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

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