Protect small farms to safeguard nutrition (report)

Small farms need protection to safeguard nutrients and diversity

New research shows that a diverse landscape made up of a patchwork of small to medium-sized farms produces the vast majority of the world’s nutrients. As farm size increases this diversity decreases, authors of the study emphasise, in light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Addressing global food needs is not just about quantity – it’s also about the quality of global food supplies. The study involved more than 400 scientists from 19 different institutions. The researchers found that it is the landscapes with more diversity that produce more nutrients and that the diversity of agricultural and nutrient production diminishes as farm size increases.