A groundbreaking global study conducted by the University of Copenhagen and University of Hohenheim has investigated the impact of diversified agriculture. The findings are crystal clear—positive effects increase with each measure, while negative effects are scarce.
Their hard work has finally paid off. Their research article, featured in Science, sends a strong and well-supported message to agriculture: “Move away from monoculture and industrial practices and embrace diversified farming—it’s worth it,” says Rasmussen, from the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management.
“The results from our extensive study are remarkably clear. While we observe minimal negative effects from agricultural diversification, there are numerous significant advantages. This is especially true when combining two, three, or more measures. The more, the better, particularly in terms of biodiversity and food security,” she explains.
The researchers note the most substantial positive effects on food security, closely followed by biodiversity. Additionally, social well-being also saw a significant improvement.
Out of the various strategies implemented, livestock diversification and soil conservation yielded the most favorable results.
2024-04-04 21:00:03
Link from phys.org