Although crop rotation is widely practiced across Europe — particularly for controlling pests, diseases, and invasive weeds — monocultures1 remain dominant in much of Africa and South Asia. In other regions, continuous monocultures persist as well, especially in areas like South America where soybean monocropping continues to meet high global demand.
To help guide the global transition toward more sustainable agricultural systems, it is crucial to quantify both the costs and benefits of crop rotation compared with monoculture, while considering the unique conditions of each major agricultural region. Despite decades of experimental research, until now no comprehensive, multi-criteria global analysis of the effects of crop rotation had been undertaken.
In response, INRAE, working with an international team coordinated by China Agricultural University in Beijing, compiled and analyzed a global dataset of 3,663 paired field trial observations drawn from 738 experiments conducted between 1980 and 2024. The study evaluated the impact of crop rotation on three key dimensions: yield performance (including average output and variability), nutritional value (energy, protein, and micronutrients), and farm revenue, according to a press release.
Rotation Boosts Yields and Revenue by 20%
The results of this extensive meta-analysis show that, when considering entire rotational sequences and all crop combinations, rotational cropping increases total yields by 20% compared with continuous monoculture. This benefit is even greater when rotations include leguminous crops such as peas, beans, clover, or alfalfa (+23%) rather than only non-legumes (+16%). Crop rotations also lead to more stable yields from year to year.
Nutritionally, foods produced under rotation systems contain 24% more energy and 14% more protein than those from monocultures. Micronutrient levels also rise significantly — with iron up 27%, magnesium up 17%, and zinc up 17%. In economic terms, farm revenues increase by an average of 20% under rotational systems compared with continuous cropping.
Regional Insights and Global Relevance
The study also provides region-specific recommendations for optimizing crop rotation systems. In Argentina and Brazil, for instance, soybean–maize rotations can increase calorie output by 118%, nutritional quality by 191%, and farm income by 189% compared to continuous soybean monocultures. In Western and Southern Africa, a sorghum–maize rotation offers comparable gains — 94% higher calorie content, 91% higher nutritional quality, and 89% higher revenue relative to continuous maize systems.
Toward More Sustainable Agriculture
These findings demonstrate that crop rotation significantly enhances yield, nutritional value, and profitability, reinforcing its essential role in building resilient and sustainable agricultural systems worldwide. They also highlight the need to address barriers that limit its adoption — such as entrenched farming practices, supply chain constraints, and market incentives — to unlock its full potential for global food security and environmental sustainability.
[1] The exclusive cultivation of a single plant species on the same agricultural land in successive years.
