Study finds that agricultural diversity has a positive impact on food security

Agricultural diversity can be an important driver of food security, but the magnitude of the contribution depends on the broader socio-economic and biophysical characteristics of the local farming system.

A new paper, “The benefits and trade-offs of agricultural diversity for food security in low- and middle-income countries: A review of existing knowledge and evidence” published in the journal Global Food Security, researchers have found that in almost two-thirds of all cases, agricultural diversity had a positive effect on food security, but in about one third of the relationships there was no effect of agricultural diversity on food security, or the results were mixed.