Feeding a growing global population sustainably while avoiding cropland expansion and biodiversity loss remains one of the defining issues of our time. The problem is particularly acute in low-income countries, where both the quantity and nutritional quality of food are often insufficient to meet basic dietary requirements. At the same time, food systems face multiple interacting pressures, including climatic variability, demographic change, constraints on key resources such as land, fertilizer, and water, and geopolitical instability.

Agronomy lies at the center of these interconnected issues, as effective crop and soil management practices are fundamental to enhancing agricultural productivity while safeguarding natural resources. However, ensuring food security, adapting to a changing climate, and conserving biodiversity require multidisciplinary approaches, strategic investments, and careful navigation of trade-offs among competing environmental, economic, and societal objectives. Our research follows an “agronomy-at-scale” approach with a focus on sustainable intensification and farming systems research.

Learn more about our research approach and key research areas.