Member of SCNAT

The umbrella organisation of Swiss geographers aims to link science, teaching and practice, to promote dialogue between the regions and linguistic groups of Switzerland and to contribute to current debates on socio-political issues.more

Image: elen31, stock.adobe.commore

Variety is the source of life

Agrobiodiversity benefits, challenges, and needs

For millennia, humankind’s food security and resilience were ensured by thousands of cultivated plant species, dozens of domesticated animal species, and the wider biodiversity from which they derive. But with the expansion of industrial agriculture and globalized standardized food systems, this long-running agricultural biodiversity has fallen steeply. Today, just three plant species account for half of all plant-based food calories, and only four animal species account for the vast majority of meat supplies. Looking ahead, restoring agrobiodiversity – the richness of what we cultivate, breed, consume, and conserve in the wild – is crucial to ensure resilient food systems against the backdrop of climate change. In particular, we must safeguard the livelihoods of the “guardians of agrobiodiversity”: approximately 500 million small farms across the world – particularly those in the global South. This factsheet outlines causes and consequences of agrobiodiversity loss, areas of promise, and options for policy and research.

Variety is the source of life: Agrobiodiversity benefits, challenges, and needs
Image: KFPE

Related topics

Making Food Systems Equitable

Making food systems equitable

Marginalised groups are denied access to affordable, nutritious food, because of who they are. Millions of people working in food are forced to work long hours for low wages with

Icon CRISPR Webinars blue

Moderne Pflanzenzüchtung: Mehr Agrobiodiversität für eine umweltschonende Landwirtschaft

Könnten die neuen Pflanzenzüchtungsverfahren wie die Genom-Editierung genutzt werden, um die biologische Vielfalt in der Landwirtschaft zu erhöhen? Wenn ja, welche Rahmenbedingungen braucht es dazu? Wo liegen die Grenzen dieser

Image: Forum for Genetic Research, SCNAT

Categories

English, German, French