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

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illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Grist or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: A new global review finds that Indigenous farming systems could help address climate-driven challenges in agriculture,
• However, it warns there is still a major “gap between advocacy and evidence” when it comes to proving how these traditional practices can scale to feed a growing global population.

🔭 The context: The study, published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, analyzed 49 research papers on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) agriculture
• While many highlight benefits such as soil health protection, biodiversity preservation, and resilience, few provide rigorous data on productivity or economic scalability compared with industrial farming

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Modern food systems account for around 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions and are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss
• Integrating traditional ecological knowledge, such as multi-crop systems like maize, beans, and squash, could help build more resilient and sustainable agricultural systems

⏭️ What’s next: Researchers argue that governments and institutions should invest more in studying and supporting Indigenous farming systems, combining traditional practices with modern agriculture
• Without targeted funding and policy support, valuable ecological knowledge risks being lost while global food systems struggle to adapt to climate pressures

💬 One quote: “The key message is that if we highlight the non-monetary values of these food systems, we hope this can attract more attention from policymakers.” — Kamaljit Sangha

📈 One stat: Food systems currently account for about 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions, underscoring the urgency of transforming how food is produced

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