Environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and climate change threaten the stability of our planet. Inappropriate approaches to food production interact with hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty, especially in the tropics and sub-tropics. These approaches, in turn, enhance social deprivation and limit rural development, both of which are drivers of economic migration and civil conflict. Exacerbated by population growth, food systems lie at the heart of these global issues. Here, a planet-proofing approach developed in Africa is presented that illustrates that it is possible to diversify and rehabilitate degraded farmland with species producing highly nutritious and marketable traditional foods in ways that improve food production by conventional staple food crops. Furthermore, it rebuilds agroecological functions and creates new local business opportunities to kick-start rural economies and enhance social well-being. Together, these benefits promote livelihoods and social justice, the mitigation of and/or adaptation to climate change, and the provision of wildlife habitat. This approach offers a highly adaptable model that enhances past investments in the Green Revolution in ways that address both the environmental and social constraints limiting both mainstream agriculture in Africa — and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals globally.

环境退化，生物多样性丧失和气候变化威胁着我们星球的稳定。粮食生产方法不当会与饥饿，营养不良和赤贫相结合，在热带和亚热带尤其如此。这些方法反过来又加剧了社会匮乏并限制了农村发展，这两者都是经济移民和内乱的驱动力。人口增长加剧了粮食系统，成为这些全球性问题的核心。在这里，提出了一种在非洲发展起来的防行星方法，该方法说明，通过生产高营养和可销售的传统食品的物种，可以通过改良传统主粮作物的方式来提高其退化程度并使其多样化。此外，它重建了农业生态功能，并创造了新的本地商机，以启动农村经济并增进社会福祉。这些好处共同促进了生计和社会正义，减轻和/或适应了气候变化，并提供了野生动植物栖息地。这种方法提供了一种高度适应性强的模型，该模型以解决限制非洲主流农业的环境和社会约束以及全球实现可持续发展目标的方式，增加了过去对绿色革命的投资。