Modern agriculture is collapsing under climate change. Indigenous farming has answers.

Over the past five years, indigenous agriculture has gained academic attention as an alternative, albeit smaller-scale, model to modern agricultural systems. Research has shown that some traditional farming systems, like growing corn, beans and squash together, protect soil health, reduce biodiversity loss and support indigenous knowledge, known as traditional ecological knowledge.

Kamaljit Sangha, an ecological economics researcher at Charles Darwin University, wanted to explore how many of these elements of traditional agriculture can successfully translate into larger agricultural production models, while little research defines their economic value, in a new study published earlier this month in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.

“How can we look at things from a perspective where there are holistic and multiple values? [of Indigenous farming]which are mostly hidden in the current way of measuring the importance of these food systems? Sangha said. “The key message we wanted to convey is that if we highlight the non-monetary values ​​of these food systems, we hope that this can attract more attention from policy makers and governments to support the food systems of these indigenous peoples and local communities.

In assessing the number of publications that include rigorous empirical evidence to measure the potential scalability and sustainability of indigenous agricultural systems compared to traditional agriculture, “a gap exists between advocacy and evidence,” the report states.

In the study, researchers from Sangha and Charles Darwin University found that when reviewing 49 published research articles on indigenous peoples and local communities, known as IPLCs, most of the publications highlighted the benefits of the communities’ traditional agricultural practices. This comes at a crucial time, as the world’s industrialized agricultural systems are swept aside by the risks of climate change. The study also revealed a lack of research examining the quantitative productivity and scalability of IPLC farming, an area Sangha hopes to see more literature on in the near future.

An estimated 35 to 56 percent increase in food production, achieved while suspending land clearing for agricultural purposes, is vital to feeding the projected 10 billion people by 2050. As climate change emerges as a threat, food producers are turning to these reliable traditional forms of agriculture.

As average temperatures increase, climate change decreases biodiversity, alters nutritional values ​​and degrades soil health. These effects disrupt both global food production and indigenous food systems. Currently, food systems are responsible for 26 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Sangha said this review cannot be carried out without recognizing the impact of colonialism on traditional agriculture. “In countries like Australia, many of the food practices of indigenous people have been severely affected, as have many other countries,” she said. The expansion of “traditional food systems” has led to changes in the diets of indigenous communities and a widespread loss of the knowledge needed to pass these practices on to future generations.

The study also argues that merging the two systems, rather than seeing them as opposites, is necessary to combat the climate crisis. With government investments and targeted policies, IPLC agriculture can build a resilient wall against climate change threats, while modern agricultural industries can learn from these traditional methods of food production. Otherwise, both systems risk losing ecological, economic and cultural resources.

“Beyond market value, IPLC agricultural systems generate significant non-market economic contributions by reducing household spending on food, medicine, fiber and fuel,” the report states. The study suggests that government funding and support can enable large food producers to think about how to address the growing challenges caused by climate change and the impacts of fertilizers on soil health.

In 2024, the UN Global Biodiversity Framework approved investments to dedicate 20% of its resources to supporting IPLC initiatives to improve their lands and conserve biodiversity. Yet, so far, a global commitment to specifically fund efforts to conserve traditional food systems is lacking.

“If we highlight these non-monetary values ​​of these food systems, and they are important for policy decision-making, we hope that this can attract more attention from policy makers and governments to support the food systems of these indigenous peoples and local communities,” Sangha said.