Growing a broad set of crops does not threaten food security – quite the opposite

Crop rotation is the sequence of crops grown on a field over time. In Sweden, as in many other parts of the world, crop rotations are becoming shorter and increasingly dominated by cereals. These grow well in temperate climates, are easily stored and transported, and have broad markets. 

However, such simple and short rotations have several drawbacks, including great dependence on mineral fertilisers and pesticides, as well as high vulnerability to climate change and weather extremes in particular. The question is also whether such a cropping system truly produces more food than those that also include other types of crops. 

Challenges a common argument

“A typical argument against diverse crop rotations is that food availability decreases when highly productive, calorie-rich cereals are replaced by other crops,” explains Giulia Vico at SLU, and lead author of the study recently published in Nature Food. “We can now conclude that this argument does not hold.”

Together with colleagues in Europe and North America, the SLU researchers show that rotations including cereals plus two crops from either legumes, ley and oil or root crops can deliver more calories, protein and fat – and in some cases even more carbohydrates – compared with continuous cereal production.

This result holds if forage crops are used for milk production. The benefits of diverse crop rotations disappear when forage crops were used to feed animals for meat production, or for bioenergy, highlighting that these uses are less efficient ways of producing food.

Better nutritional composition

Diverse crop rotations also provide a nutrient balance that is more closely aligned with current dietary guidelines, compared with the excess of carbohydrate provided by rotations dominated by cereals.

To come to these conclusions, the researchers analysed data from 16 long-term field experiments across Europe, from northern Sweden to central Italy.

“The experiments have been running for decades, some since the late 1950s. This allowed us to investigate long-term effects under a wide range of growing conditions,” says Alessio Costa, co-author of the study.

“The results are encouraging. They show that a shift towards carefully designed, longer crop rotations with a diverse set of crops can increase nutritional output. At the same time, such systems support more balanced diets and spread risks. This is a way of safeguarding food security,” says Riccardo Bommarco at SLU and co-author of the study.

A combination of factors

The benefits in calories and macronutrients from diverse rotations likely depend on a combination of factors. On average, cereal yields improve when other types of crops are included in the rotation, particularly under more challenging climatic conditions. Diverse rotations also reduce weeds and pests and improve soil health, with benefits for all crops.

Scientific article

Vico G, Costa A, Smith ME, Bowles T, Gaudin ACM, Watson CA, Baldoni G, Berti A, Blecharczyk A, Jonczyk K, Mazzon M, Marzadori C, Morari F, Onofri A, Sandström B, Santín-Montanyá I, Sawinska Z, Stalenga J, Tenorio Pasamón JT, Tei F, Topp CFE, Walker RL, Bommarco R, Functionally rich crop rotations increase calorie and macronutrient outputs across Europe, Nature Food, 7, 185–193 (2026).