Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture

Abstract

Agricultural simplification continues to expand at the expense of more diverse forms of agriculture. This simplification, for example, in the form of intensively managed monocultures, poses a risk to keeping the world within safe and just Earth system boundaries. Here, we estimated how agricultural diversification simultaneously affects social and environmental outcomes. Drawing from 24 studies in 11 countries across 2655 farms, we show how five diversification strategies focusing on livestock, crops, soils, noncrop plantings, and water conservation benefit social (e.g., human well-being, yields, and food security) and environmental (e.g., biodiversity, ecosystem services, and reduced environmental externalities) outcomes. We found that applying multiple diversification strategies creates more positive outcomes than individual management strategies alone. To realize these benefits, well-designed policies are needed to incentivize the adoption of multiple diversification strategies in unison.

Published in

Science
2024, volume: 384, number: 6691, pages: 87-93
Publisher: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

SLU Authors

• Vogel, Cassandra

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg

Global goals (SDG)

SDG2 Zero hunger
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
SDG15 Life on land

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj1914

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/131445