Agricultural Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition security

Emile Frison, Director General of Bioversity International, and co-authors have this week published a paper arguing that agricultural biodiversity is essential for a sustainable improvement in food and nutrition security.

“There is clear evidence that diversity at all levels can increase the productivity of farming systems in a range of growing conditions, and more diverse farming systems are also generally more resistant to shocks,” said Frison. “These are important elements of food security.”

Drawing on a range of published evidence, the authors argue that there is more that agricultural biodiversity can deliver, from more nutritious diets to more fertile soils, and that research should devote more attention to intensification without simplification.

Agricultural biodiversity is also vitally important to allow farmers to prepare for and cope with climate change.

The authors argue that because the many benefits of agricultural biodiversity are manifested at different ecological and human scales, and cut across political divisions, a cross-sectoral approach is needed to reassess the role of agricultural biodiversity in sustainable and secure food production.

The paper is a contribution to a special issue of the open-access journal Sustainability, focused on Food Security and Environmental Sustainability.

For further information, contact:  Jeremy Cherfas