Bioversity International's Agrobiodiversity Index

The challenge: Today’s food systems are failing on both the consumption and production sides:

Malnutrition is affecting one in three people on the planet.
Fruit and vegetable production provides only 78% of the world population’s nutritional needs.
Planetary boundaries are being pushed beyond safe limits – agriculture contributes around 24% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and is the single largest user of fresh water on the planet.
Agricultural supply chains and agribusiness are encountering operational risks from climate change and face reputational risks from resource intensive production and low nutrition production lines.

The solution: Increase agrobiodiversity in supply chains and land management to transform food and agriculture systems.

What is the Agrobiodiversity Index?

The Agrobiodiversity Index is a consistent, long-term monitoring tool to measure and manage agrobiodiversity across three dimensions: diets, production and genetic resources.

It will help decision-makers – governments, investors, companies, farmers and consumers – ensure that food systems are more diverse and sustainable.

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Why do we need the Agrobiodiversity Index?

Currently, there is no way for governments, private sector and other decision-makers to assess agrobiodiversity across food systems, or track change, in both food production and consumption. Such knowledge gaps also extend to measuring how agrobiodiversity is delivering progress to meet multiple interconnected global targets including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Who is it for?

The Agrobiodiversity Index is critical for decision-makers to measure and manage actions towards developing sustainable food systems:

Companies implementing sustainable business practices that increase long-term shareholder value both by reducing risks in the supply chain and enhancing attractiveness to consumers.
Governments pursuing sustainable development by investing in progressive food, agriculture and conservation actions and monitoring country progress towards global goals.
Investors in Green Bonds contributing capital to sustainable environmental and climate-focused development projects.
Farmers, consumer groups and local organizations wanting information to inform their decisions about sustainable practices and purchases.

Feature publication

Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity in Sustainable Food Systems

Bioversity International's new open access book summarizes the most recent evidence on how to use agrobiodiversity to provide nutritious foods through harnessing natural processes.

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The Agrobiodiversity Index and the private sector

By mainstreaming agrobiodiversity in supply chains, food and agriculture businesses can reduce risks and seize opportunities. At the same time, investors in the agri-food sector can stabilize their portfolios by directing capital toward supply chains and food brands that promote and benefit from agrobiodiversity.

Reducing risks and seizing opportunities: integrating biodiversity into food and agriculture investments explains how using the Agrobiodiversity Index, companies and governments can reduce operational and reputational risks and seize opportunities, by estimating and monitoring the agrobiodiversity impact of supply chain investments.

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