Legume intensification leads to social-ecological win-win outcomes globally

Abstract Despite strong evidence that input-intensified agriculture cannot simultaneously achieve positive outcomes for people and nature, increased synthetic inputs are still supported by many governments. Crop diversification introducing legume intercropping and rotations is increasingly proposed as an alternative to sustainable intensify agri-food production. However, few studies have explored the joint social-ecological impacts of this type of sustainable intensification. We systematically review 382 grain legume intensification cases in 183 studies globally, and find win-win outcomes for nature (ecosystem services and biodiversity) and human well-being in 42% of cases, with a further 41% having predominantly positive outcomes. Unlike input-intensified agriculture, our review demonstrates that social-ecological win–win outcomes in agriculture are possible, and outcomes for economic and non-economic well-being increase when provisioning services and biodiversity are increased. We find clear trade-offs between nature and well-being in only 6% of cases, suggesting that legume diversification is a promising pathway to achieving sustainable development goals.