Positive outcomes between crop diversity and agricultural employment worldwide

• Autores: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro; Pérez Méndez, Néstor
• Año de publicación: 2019
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Agriculture; Employment; Diversity; Human Wellbeing; Rural Development
• Institución: Universidad Nacional de Río Negro

Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentina.
Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentina.
Fil: Pérez Méndez, Néstor. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentina.
Fil: Pérez Méndez, Néstor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural; Argentina.
Understanding the links between biodiversity-friendly landscapes and human wellbeing is key for supporting policy agendas from local to global scales. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals propose full employment (SDG 8) and crop diversity (SDG 2), but it is unclear if there are trade-offs between these goals across rural landscapes worldwide. We tested this idea with agricultural and socio-economic data for 44 countries from all continents during a 15-year period (1999–2013). We show that countries where crop diversity increased also supported more agricultural jobs. Such effects were independent of differences among countries in the size of the agricultural sector or fertilizer use (a proxy for the investment in external inputs and technology incorporation). Greater crop diversity was also compatible with improved crop yields and was not confounded with changes in socio-economic development or economic growth. In general, we found no evidence that the jobs lost in the rural areas were incorporated into other sectors of the economy. Unemployment is a major concern affecting livelihoods all over the world; policies to enhance crop diversity and prevent the loss of associated agricultural jobs are urgently needed.