In this overview, Laura Monikowska summarises key insights from a recent Evidensia blog by Dr Iris Berger and Dr Oscar Morton, which examines new evidence from South India’s Zero Budget Natural Farming programme, showing that agroecology can increase farmer profits, maintain crop yields, and support biodiversity at scale. These findings offer timely insights as sustainability systems explore how to deliver meaningful, wide-reaching outcomes.

Evidence from the world’s largest agroecological programme

In the blog, Can farmers increase profits while enhancing biodiversity and maintaining crop yields?,  Berger and Morton share findings from their research on a Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) programme in Andhra Pradesh, India. The programme operates across approximately 64,000 km², roughly the size of Sri Lanka, making it the largest agroecological initiative in the world.

Agroecology offers a framework for redesigning the food system. It integrates ecological principles into farming, alongside social and political dimensions that focus on equity, diversity, and resilience. The approach already features prominently in national and international sustainability agendas. For example, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes a target involving upscaling agroecological practices, and the UN Food Systems Summit identified agroecology as one of the systemic levers for change.  

Despite this policy momentum, rigorous evaluations of large-scale agroecological programmes remain limited, leaving uncertainty about whether they can deliver both socioeconomic and biodiversity benefits. The research discussed in the blog helps address this gap by evaluating how ZBNF compares with conventional, agrichemical-based farming systems across multiple outcomes.  

Higher profits, stable yields, and gains for biodiversity

The study compared 26 ZBNF and conventional agricultural landscapes to assess farmer profits, crop yields, and bird biodiversity.

Key findings include:

• farmers practising ZBNF more than doubled the profits of those using agrichemical-based systems, primarily due to lower input costs.
• crop yields under ZBNF were equivalent to those observed in conventional systems.
• ZBNF landscapes supported higher bird densities, including those that feed on agricultural pests.
• trade-offs between bird abundance, yields, and profits were less pronounced in ZBNF landscapes than in conventional farming systems.

The research also found that most species of high conservation concern were largely restricted to nearby forest habitats, highlighting the continued importance of protecting and restoring natural ecosystems alongside agroecological farming.

What this evidence means for sustainability systems

The findings offer insights for sustainability systems seeking to understand how farm-level practices can contribute to landscape-level outcomes. In particular, they highlight the potential for agroecological approaches to deliver environmental and livelihood benefits when implemented across large programmes, rather than through small-scale or pilot initiatives.

Read the full Evidensia blog.

Find out more:

• Dive into the full research paper.
• Explore other research on landscape approaches in the agriculture sector.
• Learn more about ISEAL’s work on sustainable landscapes.