Preventing and Controlling Neglected Tropical Disease Through Regenerative/Sustainable Agriculture Practices: Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions

The expansion and intensification of agriculture is disproportionately occurring in the global South where 75% of deaths are attributable to neglected tropical diseases (NTD). Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) further exacerbates this challenge when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites become less treatable. NTDs are currently increasing and frequently exacerbated by agricultural expansion. Regenerative/sustainable agriculture is a holistic farming and ranching approach that works to restore and improve soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystems. Regenerative agriculture is highly effective, but not exclusive to small farms (less than 1 hectare/2.5 acres), which, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), comprise almost ¾ of all farms and produce ¾ of the world’s food. The principles of regenerative/sustainable agriculture can potentially assist in decreasing NTD risk by fostering healthy microbe-rich soils that suppress pathogens and eliminate routine antibiotic use in livestock. Support for and the practice of regenerative/sustainable agriculture holds the potential to assist in deterring NTDs.

The primary goal of this topic is to further initiate an interdisciplinary dialogue between public health and food system/agricultural researchers and policy makers. Governments and politicians often favour larger scale, and often unsustainable agricultural ventures because they are characterized as more profitable. In addition to this, there is a growing misconception that only large-scale commercial farms can feed a growing world population’s nutritional need. While industrial agriculture is efficient at producing high volumes of specific crops, it leads to environmental degradation and relies on unsustainable practices. NTDs are currently increasing and frequently exacerbated by this agricultural expansion. For example, Nipah virus emergence is heavily driven by agricultural expansion and land-use changes that force fruit bats (natural hosts) into closer contact with livestock and humans. Factors such as habitat loss, intensified pig farming, and deforestation facilitate virus transmission from bats to pigs, and subsequently to farmers. Agricultural expansion, particularly through irrigation, rice farming, and land-use changes, significantly increases malaria risk by creating ideal breeding habitats for Anopheles mosquitoes. While boosting food security, these developments often extend mosquito breeding seasons, impacting both rural and urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa. How can regenerative/sustainable agriculture assist in the control and prevention of NTDs?

This Research Topic seeks integrative public health/food systems scholarship, specifically as it intersects with neglected tropical infectious disease. Specific topics can include but are not limited to:
• Land-use;
• Human livelihoods;
• Sustainable environmental management;
• Livestock management;
• Disease surveillance.

We particularly seek articles exploring how sustainable/regenerative agriculture and community based regenerative/sustainable agricultural practices can also offer potential solutions to break the cycle of poverty and/or disease. We welcome research and policy articles incorporating an interdisciplinary One Health, planetary health approach and/or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Small Scale Agriculture, One Health, Sustainable Development Goals, Planetary Health, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Zoonosis, Anthroponotic, Community Development

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.