Recent global shocks and perceptions of their dimensions – uncertain food stocks, the aftermath of the last financial crisis and the new crisis many are facing now, reconstruction of stable economies, climate change and extreme weather events, energy pricing and shortage – influence state dispositions and priorities regarding agriculture and food production. These developments also impact the future of rural areas. This Special Issue of IJSAF engages with these challenges at several levels in its call for empirical and theoretical articles dealing with the following issues.