An ecological framework to advance crop diversification in southern Africa

2026-07-22

Crop diversification offers substantial potential benefits for smallholder farmers in southern Africa. Positive interactions between diverse crops can lead to higher and more stable yields, more nutritious diets, better economic returns, and lower agrichemical use. However, choosing the right diversification option to realise these benefits is challenging. Interactions between crops can be negative as well as positive, and it is not yet well understood which features of different crop combinations and their environments determine their overall performance. EcoDiv will address this knowledge gap by undertaking an ambitious analysis of large datasets from agricultural field experiments across Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. Specifically, EcoDiv will 1) quantify the relationships between crop combination productivity and crop traits under different environmental conditions, 2) explore which characteristics of crop combinations are important to meet different socioeconomic needs, and 3) investigate whether the effects of crop combinations on microhabitat conditions explain their performance. This research will produce an ecological framework for crop diversification in southern Africa: an understanding of the key interactions between crop traits and environmental conditions that predict the performance of different crop combinations in different contexts. To achieve EcoDiv’s objectives, Dr Chloe MacLaren (the research fellow) will work with interdisciplinary and international research teams at two host institutes, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT). EcoDiv will advance Dr MacLaren’s career by developing the knowledge, skills, and networks needed to achieve leading research positions in ecology for agricultural development. Both hosts will benefit from transfer-of-knowledge in new statistical methods, and from strengthened collaboration around shared research goals in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sweden

2025-10-01