A new study published earlier this month in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems has uncovered a gap between advocacy and empirical evidence for scaling indigenous farming systems to counter climate change impacts on agriculture. Researchers led by Kamaljit Sangha at Charles Darwin University reviewed 49 articles on practices by Indigenous peoples and local communities, or IPLCs. The findings highlight benefits like soil protection and biodiversity support, but call for more data on productivity and economic value.
Kamaljit Sangha, a researcher in ecological economics at Charles Darwin University, led the review examining traditional farming methods, such as intercropping maize, beans, and squash. These practices have been shown to protect soil health, reduce biodiversity loss, and preserve traditional ecological knowledge. However, Sangha noted a lack of rigorous studies measuring their scalability and quantitative productivity compared to mainstream agriculture, which faces growing climate risks like rising temperatures, soil degradation, and altered crop nutrition. Food systems currently account for 26 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and a 35 to 56 percent production increase is needed by 2050 to feed 10 billion people without further land clearing, the researchers stated. Sangha emphasized non-monetary values, including reduced household spending on food, medicine, fiber, and fuel. “How do we take it from the perspective where there are holistic and multiple values [of Indigenous farming], which are mostly hidden in the current way of measuring the importance of these food systems?” Sangha said. She hopes highlighting these will draw policy attention and government support. The study also addresses colonialism's role in eroding Indigenous practices and diets, advocating for integration of traditional and modern systems with targeted investments. In 2024, the United Nations Global Biodiversity Framework Fund allocated 20 percent of resources to IPLC land improvements and biodiversity conservation, though specific commitments for traditional food systems remain absent.
