Key messages from DiverIMPACTS

News

DiverIMPACTS has gathered a wide range of actors of the agri-food system to achieve the full potential of crop diversification. For five years, multi-actor approaches built around field experiments and case studies have generated original insights that can be mobilised to develop more sustainable value chains.

Low vs. high diversity cropping systems - non linear pathway

Figure 1: Cropping systems diversification toward sustainability is a non-linear pathway requiring a continuous adaptive management. Low-diversity systems comprise a small range of major crops belonging to the dominant system. Farmers attempting to diversify their cropping systems face numerous farm-level and socio-economic factors, requiring continuous adaptive management in terms of configuration and management of their cropping systems. This results in a series of diversified cropping systems closely adapted to their farm and socio-economic contexts. Diversified cropping systems produce a large range of crops, requiring ad hoc value chains and coordination and flexibility from all actors.

Current European cropping systems have benefited from research and development efforts carried out over several decades while less effort has been dedicated to diversification due to sociotechnical lock-ins;

However, data from scientific literature, field experiments and case studies has shown that it is possible to build more diversified cropping systems that combine similar or even higher production levels and gross margins than the current systems, with reduced inputs (nitrogen and pesticides) and lower environmental impacts (see, for example, information on the analyses of crop diversification experinces, field experiments, and a life-cycle assessment).

However, trade-offs in performance often remain, mainly due to the following factors:

Crop diversification may be too limited (e.g., only substitution between crops rather than re-designing systems)
Some diversification strategies have not proven to be appropriate for certain local factors (e.g., pedo-climate, markets)
Farmers reluctance to adapt input levels and crop management according to the expected benefits of diversification (e.g., reduction of nitrogen inputs on a cereal crop following a legume crop)
Diversification crops are generally not as well mastered, and are less competitive than major crops, due to less investments from most actors in the agri-food system

DiverIMPACTS has identified factors, or “ingredients”, that increase the chance of successfully diversify cropping systems.

Our results support a gradual introduction of diversification/minor crops and diversification practices rather than a breakthrough from current systems. It is paramount that crop diversification be tailor-made at the cropping system and landscape level to consider evolving pedo-climatic and socio-economic factors (see link to DiverIMPACTS policy brief below).

Gradual introduction and adaptation to local situations call for moving from crop-specific and practice-oriented measures to a dynamic pathway driven by continuous monitoring of diversification performances (e.g., SMART-Diversification Tool). The use of the sustainability assessment tools is also crucial to increase the awareness of stakeholders and of society at large about trade-offs and limits of prescriptive solutions;

More broadly, crop diversification requires coordination between all actors in the agri-food system to effectively engage in the research and development that minor crops require, to create and maintain sustainable value chains. See, for example, the articles on:

Further information

zenodo.org: DiverIMPACTS policy brief - Promoting crop diversification for more sustainable agri-food systems

Disqus

In order to use the comment function, you must register with the third-party provider "Disqus".
When you activate this function, your browser establishes a direct connection with the servers of the third-party provider. We would like to point out that data is transmitted to the third-party provider after activation, and the latter may set cookies that can also be used for analysis and marketing purposes. For more information, please refer to our privacy policy.

Activate