Culture associations, which involve coexisting multiple species in the same plot, are a cornerstone of agroecological transition. By mobilizing positive interactions between plants, they represent a significant potential for sustainable transformation of food systems.
A Decoded Potential
This new study is based on a massive dataset of 4,195 observations from 334 studies conducted in 60 countries.
By deciphering the success mechanisms of crop associations on a global scale, this meta-analysis by Cirad now identifies the specific levers to fully exploit the potential of this cropping strategy. The effects of crop associations on yields had been difficult to anticipate, with varying results depending on local conditions and different studies.
Until now, the complexity of biological interactions made yields unpredictable. By using machine learning to analyze the functional traits of plants – such as their height or planting density – we were able to decode some of the factors determining the success of a crop association. Our study goes beyond observing results: it reveals the mechanisms to design, on a global scale, tailored and highly efficient systems.
Damien Beillouin
Agronomist at Cirad
Increased Production without Expansion of Cultivated Areas
Researchers characterized the agroclimatic conditions (soil and climate) as well as the specific traits of each crop for each of the considered studies. Through machine learning algorithms, they identified the factors explaining performance variability. The analysis shows that the success of crop associations depends mainly on the ability to promote complementarity between species rather than competition for resources.
Three key levers emerge to optimize yields:
- planting density, adjusting the number of plants to maximize soil occupancy;
- temporal niche differentiation, shifting growth cycles to limit competition at critical times;
- differences in height, staggering plant cover to improve light capture.
Adopting optimal strategies on these aspects reveals a considerable untapped potential to increase production of major cereals.
Tangible Gains for Resilient and Sustainable Agricultural Systems
To make these results concrete, researchers modeled scenarios of intercropping deployment for optimized crop mixes on a global scale.
An optimized deployment of crop associations on existing agricultural lands would theoretically lead to a significant increase in global production, with up to +62% for corn or +6.3% for barley.
Rémi Prudhomme
Economist at Cirad
Overall, these scenarios indicate that global production could increase by 702 million tons of corn thanks to maize-soybean associations.
These results are encouraging in the current uncertain context and considering the challenges facing the global agricultural and food system. Linked to climate change, agricultural productions could significantly decrease, especially for corn whose yields could decrease by up to 50% by the end of the century. This, at a time when global food production should increase by 2050 to feed the growing world population.
Marie Ruillé
Agro-modeler at Cirad and lead author of the article
These results show that optimized crop associations are a major lever to sustainably increase production while preserving natural resources. Further research is now needed to assess the economic profitability and contributions to ecosystem services of crop associations, to guide their large-scale adoption.
Reference
Ruillé, M., Beillouin, D. & Prudhomme, R. Ecological drivers of intercropping performance for enhanced global crop production. npj Sustain. Agric. 4, 8 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00110-z
