Producing Food While Restoring Biodiversity: Study Highlights the Potential of Agriwilding

By Frans Steenhoudt

Agriculture and biodiversity restoration do not have to be at odds. A new study by the WILD research group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and UCLouvain, published in the journal Biological Conservation, demonstrates that agriwilding—a form of nature-inclusive farming—can successfully combine food production with biodiversity restoration.

The researchers studied a 15-year-old agriwilding system in Flanders, Belgium, and compared its biodiversity with that of conventionally managed farmland and nearby nature reserves. Despite covering only two hectares (4.9 acres), the agriwilding system supported a remarkably rich community of butterflies and moths. The findings suggest that agriwilding could provide a promising complement to conventional nature restoration measures in agricultural landscapes. With appropriate policy support, farmers could actively restore and manage biodiversity while keeping their land productive, reducing the need to take farmland out of production to achieve conservation goals.

Agriculture and biodiversity under pressure

Global biodiversity loss continues at an alarming pace. Over the past 50 years, average wildlife population sizes have declined by approximately 75%.