Why agroecology is the only way to protect biodiversity and ensure food sovereignty

Biodiversity is the backbone of food production. Yet, biodiversity loss is occurring at an alarming rate, and wildlife has plunged by 70% since the 1970s. If we want to tackle biodiversity loss and ensure sustainable food production, we need to move away from agribusiness and transition to agroecology.

How biodiversity and traditional farming work together

All agricultural species we depend on today—grains, fruits, vegetables and livestock—originate from wild biodiversity. Over thousands of years, peasants, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and women especially, carefully bred, protected and sustained this diversity, leading to thousands of species of agricultural biodiversity.

Agroecology is based upon the cultural and ecological knowledge that communities use to care for their land and is thus inseparable from biodiversity: it relies on the close cooperation of diverse seeds, plants, animals, microorganisms and ecosystems, coexisting in balance. Agroecology enhances biodiversity in many different ways, for example by using farming methods like growing multiple crops together and rotating them, which mimics natural ecosystems, improves soil health and attracts helpful insects. It also involves planting trees alongside crops and livestock, creating layered habitats for various species. 

In return, biodiversity strengthens the resilience of their systems—supporting natural processes like nutrient cycling, pest control, pollination and soil health. For communities, biodiversity brings a living, evolving relationship—one that embodies the deep connection between people, land and life. Agroecology respects and works with the biodiversity it relies on, making it a sustainable food production system, for peoples and for the environment.

Industrial agriculture is the primary driver of biodiversity loss

To mass produce food, agribusiness relies on the exploitation of biodiversity and the environment: it favours vast monocultures (e.g., soy, oil palm, wheat, maize and even eucalyptus), uses chemicals and clears land. Agribusiness is the primary cause of biodiversity collapse.

Monocultures shrink genetic diversity. Whereas peasants cultivate thousands of species, industrial agriculture produces very few varieties – only 9 species account for 66% of crop production. This eliminates genetic variability, making crops more vulnerable to pests, diseases and climate shocks. Complex habitats that once supported birds, pollinators and insects are being replaced with barren fields that offer little refuge or food for them.

To maintain the supposedly high levels of productivity, agribusiness relies heavily on the chemical industry to obtain benefits provided naturally in agroecology: synthetic fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. But these substances intoxicate the wider web of life: pesticides decimate pollinators, while also severely affecting the people who work with them or live in the surroundings. Monoculture agriculture also depends on genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), causing cross-contamination with wild species and threatening biodiversity globally.

The expansion of corporate agribusiness drives large-scale ecosystem and habitat destruction, destroying vast areas of land for monocultures and large-scale livestock. In South America, soy and cattle expansion have led to the deforestation of biodiversity hotspots, including the Amazon, the Cerrado savannah and the Gran Chaco. In Southeast Asia, palm oil plantations have destroyed tropical forests in Indonesia and Malaysia, severely endangering species like orangutans and tigers. In Africa, industrial crop schemes and land grabs have displaced traditional land use systems and critically degraded savannahs, wetlands and forests. Across all continents, this drive to maximise yields and profits through land conversion is fragmenting ecosystems, reducing connectivity for wildlife and pushing countless species closer to extinction.

Agribusiness corporations are well aware of the impact they have on biodiversity, but they prioritise profit over people and biodiversity. They claim to care about and address biodiversity loss with a set of false solutions, when all they do is protect the agribusiness model and their profits, with disastrous consequences for communities, biodiversity and the environment.  One example is self-certification, a process through which agribusinesses self-assess their compliance with self-defined rules related to sustainability, without external audits. This leads to falsely claiming adherence to sustainable practices, at the expense of biodiversity and communities.

Industrial agriculture undermines the biodiversity it relies on

Ironically, industrial agriculture still depends on biodiversity. All cultivated species originate from biodiversity, and crop breeding continues to rely on the genetic diversity of traditional varieties and wild plants. 

Insects, constituting 90% of species on Earth, are essential to all farming including  agroindustry. Around 75% of global food crop types depend on pollinators, especially for fruits, vegetables and oilseeds. Crops like cacao, brazil nuts and watermelon would nearly vanish without them. Others like cucumbers, apples and almonds would see production fall by 40–90%. Insects also improve soil quality and reduce plant pests by decomposing manure and dead plant matter.

Similarly, soil fertility in industrial systems, though supplemented with synthetic fertilisers, still depends on living processes. When bacteria, fungi, nematodes and earthworms are wiped out, soils collapse and erosion increases. Fertilisers therefore become less effective. Industrial agriculture then becomes increasingly dependent on external inputs to compensate, but this can never entirely replace living soils.

​​Agriculture also relies on climate regulation and stable ecosystems. Forests, wetlands, grasslands and coastal systems regulate rainfall, maintain watersheds, buffer floods and droughts and moderate local temperatures. In short, industrial agriculture undermines the very biodiversity it relies on, making itself more fragile. It attempts to replace nature with chemicals and machines but remains dependent on biological systems. Without biodiversity, it cannot endure.

Agroecology is the only food production system that can tackle biodiversity loss and ensure food sovereignty for all 

As agribusiness continues to destroy biodiversity and undermine the livelihoods of peasants, smallholder farmers and Indigenous Peoples, we need a fair and ecologically sound transition plan, built by and for the peoples, rooted in solidarity and in respect for the communities it serves and the biodiversity it relies upon.

We urgently demand policymakers to shift course: government support and subsidies must be redirected away from calamitous agribusiness, illegitimate land grants and grants for research on GMOs or support for huge-scale sales systems. They must be put toward small-scale agroecological farming, the only sustainable food production system for peoples, biodiversity and the climate. Subsidies should support smallholders practising agroecology and growing diverse crops in harmony with local ecosystems. Government support should also invest public funds into research to strengthen agroecology under climate crisis, revive traditional practices, restore seed diversity and regenerate soil health through natural methods. This transition must prioritise farming systems that respect local cultures, livelihoods and traditional knowledge, while ensuring sustainable food production for generations to come. In short, it would be a transition to food sovereignty. 

Change is already happening as small-scale food producers organise themselves alongside other movements. In September 2025, in Sri Lanka, the 3rd Nyéléni forum will take place, bringing together communities, social movements and small-scale food producers to build a movement dedicated to transforming food systems towards environmental, social, economic, gender and racial justice. Friends of the Earth International is participating in and supporting this necessary step towards real system change led by and for the peoples. Food production has never been disconnected from biodiversity, the climate and the environment it is produced in, and it never will be.