Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

On-farm biodiversity and dietary diversity

Jones, A.D.

2017

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Summary

Published in Global Food Security, this paper by Jones (2017) reviews the evidence linking on-farm agrobiodiversity — including crop species richness and livestock variety — with household dietary diversity, particularly among smallholder farming communities. The paper likely interrogates the strength and conditionality of this relationship, acknowledging that market access, gender dynamics, and income mediate how farm biodiversity translates into dietary outcomes. It contributes to ongoing debate about whether biodiversity-focused agricultural interventions can serve as a lever for improving nutrition.

UK applicability

The findings are primarily relevant to low- and middle-income country smallholder contexts and have limited direct applicability to UK farming systems; however, the underlying principles regarding diversified farming and diet quality may inform UK agri-food policy debates around diversification and public health co-benefits.

Key measures

Dietary diversity scores (DDS); species richness on farm; household food consumption indicators

Outcomes reported

The study examined the relationship between the diversity of crops and livestock species produced on farms and the dietary diversity of farming households, likely drawing on cross-sectional or review evidence from low- and middle-income country contexts.

Theme
Farming systems, soils & land use
Subject
Agrobiodiversity & nutrition-sensitive food systems
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Global
System type
Smallholder mixed farming
Catalogue ID
XL0501

Topic tags

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