Methodology matters. Which figures scientists and researchers choose as benchmarks, what papers they choose, or exclude for their calculations, matter. This is because of the power of statistics to shape narratives and provide arguments that call for distinct solutions. The debate and backlash to the recent FAO report Pathways to Lower Emissions, a global assessment of emissions in livestock agri-food systems is over precisely this point; how the use of a single statistic has the potential to shape ideas about the future of food. 

The study analyses how crop diversity impacts yield stability at a national scale, and finds that the stabilising effect of crop diversity increases as the land area increases. This doesn’t diminish the importance of field-level diversity, but it has implications for national strategies to diversify crop production. 

Groundwater exploitation across the world is causing land degradation and hunger, but stopping it without complementary policies would also undermine food security, the study finds. It explores five scenarios and finds that increasing efficient use of rain, investment in agricultural R&D would mitigate the effects of ending groundwater exploitation. Eating less animal products in high income countries would enhance this further. 

This paper argues that research on genetically engineered crops in Africa fails to consider and report the social impacts, mainly focusing on crop yield and income and little or no attention paid to poverty alleviation, food security or gender equality.