While much research has been devoted to analyze the benefits of intercropping and agroforestry systems on yield, through the concept of Land Equivalent Ratio, little literature is available on the benefits of such systems for reducing yield variability. In the present study, we intend to introduce the notion of yield variability in the Land Equivalent Ratio and to combine both concepts in a new framework. Through an application of this new framework on cases selected from literature, we show how intercropping or agroforestry systems may result in both an increase in yield and a decrease in its variability. This exploratory work may nevertheless be completed with further studies to confirm and evaluate the situations under which such benefits can be expected.