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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

Sec. Land, Livelihoods and Food Security

Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1704772

This article is part of the Research TopicA Roadmap for Sustainable Food Systems: Prioritising Diets and Eradicating Hunger (SDG 2)View all 5 articles

Nexus between Agricultural Challenges, Farming Practices, and On-Farm Losses of Selected Arable Crop Farmers in Nigeria: A Valuation Constellation Approach to Advancing Sustainable Food Systems

Provisionally accepted
  • Justus-Liebig-Universitat Giessen, Giessen, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Food loss remains a critical barrier to the sustainable transformation of global food systems, especially in the Global South, where systemic inefficiencies and data gaps persist. Despite increasing attention to food loss, less than 35% of global studies focus on losses at the primary production stage, with most research centred in the Global North. This geographical and methodological imbalance limits understanding of the complex, context-specific drivers of food loss in developing regions. This study explores how agricultural challenges influence farmers' valuation processes and practices, and how these practices may contribute to on-farm losses, offering insights within the specific contexts studied rather than generalisations for all of Nigeria, a country facing recurrent food insecurity and malnutrition. Using a valuation constellation perspective, conceptualising food systems as dynamic networks of interconnected actors, actions, and resources, the research explores food loss as a socially and structurally mediated phenomenon rather than a linear or isolated issue. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) were held with purposively selected farmers, facilitated by local extension agents, to gather nuanced insights into how farmers assign value, prioritise actions, and interpret constraints. Findings reveal that pests and diseases, while prominent, are embedded within a broader constellation of factors, including knowledge gaps, economic limitations, and weak institutional support. These interconnected challenges contribute to both pre-and post-harvest losses, undermining food availability and worsening hunger. The study emphasises the need for co-created, farmer-led strategies that address the constellation of social, material, and institutional dynamics shaping on-farm decision-making. It advocates for participatory valuation processes in policy development to ensure that farmers' voices and rationales are structurally integrated into food system reforms. By reframing food loss through the lens of valuation constellation, this research offers a pathway towards more equitable and sustainable food system transformations.

Keywords: Food loss, food systems, farming practices, Sustainable food systems, valuation constellation, Pest and diseases

Received: 13 Sep 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Abulude. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Ifeoluwa Abulude, ifeoluwa.ayodeji.abulude@ag.uni-giessen.de

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