Opuntia Cactus Pear for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems: Ecosystem Services, Livelihoods, and Value Chains

Global food systems are increasingly challenged by climate change–induced droughts, floods, heat waves, and wildfires, with disproportionate impacts on drylands and vulnerable populations, as highlighted by FAO. In this context, Opuntia cactus pear stands out as a climate-resilient crop capable of thriving under water scarcity, poor soils, and extreme temperatures. It is already used in current food production systems in several ways: as a low-water fruit and vegetable crop grown on more than 3 million hectares globally, mostly in Mexico, where per capita consumption of nopalitos reaches 6.4 kilograms a year (FAO); as drought-tolerant fodder for livestock, with Brazil alone home to over 500,000 hectares of cactus plantations for forage and Ethiopia’s Tigray region managing around 180,000 hectares for the same purpose (FAO); and as feedstock for bioenergy and bioproduct value chains in arid regions. Beyond its agronomic advantages, cactus pear delivers a wide range of ecosystem services, including soil protection, water-use efficiency, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity support. These services underpin multiple value chains spanning food, feed, fodder, bioenergy, and bioproducts, contributing to livelihoods, food and nutrition security, and landscape restoration. By linking agronomy, ecosystem services, and value chain development, cactus pear offers a scalable pathway to advance sustainable and resilient food systems and multiple Sustainable Development Goals.Despite growing recognition of Opuntia cactus pear as a climate-resilient crop, research remains fragmented across disciplines, geographies, and segments of the value chain. Existing studies often focus narrowly on agronomy, fodder use, or specific ecosystem services, without adequately linking production systems to processing, market development, and sustainability outcomes at food system and landscape scales. Moreover, the multifunctionality of cactus pear—spanning ecosystem services, circular bioeconomy potential, and regenerative agriculture—remains underexplored in an integrated and comparative manner across arid and semi-arid regions globally.This Research Topic aims to address this gap by advancing interdisciplinary and systems-based research that links ecosystem services, agronomy, and diversified cactus pear value chains. The collection will highlight recent advances in production systems, biomass valorisation, processing technologies, and fodder applications, while assessing environmental, socio-economic, and nutritional impacts. By presenting comparative and context-specific case studies from arid and semi-arid regions across the Americas, Africa and Madagascar, the Mediterranean and Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Australia, the collection seeks to generate actionable evidence to support sustainable, resilient, and regenerative food systems under increasing climate stress.This Research Topic welcomes interdisciplinary contributions that examine the role of Opuntia cactus pear in advancing sustainable, resilient, and regenerative food systems in arid and semi-arid regions globally. The scope spans the full continuum from agronomic production and ecosystem services to value chain development and food system outcomes, with relevance across diverse geographic contexts.Authors are invited to address, but are not limited to, the following sub-themes:• Climate change adaptation and resilience in cactus pear–based systems• Agronomy, genetics, and management practices for cactus pear under climate stress• Species (spp.) and cultivar characterization, exchange, and adaptation• Ecosystem services of Opuntia, including land restoration, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity support• Risks of subsoil drought and its implications for cactus pear-based systems• Fodder and livestock integration in pastoral and mixed farming systems• Sustainable processing, product innovation, and value addition• Food, fodder, and feed applications in crop–livestock systems• Circular bioeconomy pathways, including green energy, biogas, and biofuels• Integration of cactus pear into regenerative agriculture and sustainable land management• Socio-economic, policy, and market dimensions of cactus pear value chainsThe Research Topic welcomes original research articles, reviews, systematic reviews, case studies, and perspective papers. Topic editors: Mounir Louhaichi, Sawsan Hassan, Maryna De Wit, Paolo Inglese Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83870/opuntia-cactus-pear-for-sustainable-and-resilient-food-systems-ecosystem-services-livelihoods-and-value-chains