Since the 1960s, in parallel with the sharp fall in the number of farms, a dual specialisation of agricultural systems has taken place during the agricultural modernisation phase: regional specialisation, with a reduction in livestock and mixed farming, and specialisation within plant and animal production systems. Agriculture has thus gradually specialised in terms of production systems and of number of species grown, with the aim of increasing the economic efficiency of agrifood systems. This modernisation phase made it possible to achieve the production targets set for agriculture at the time, but it also had negative impacts on the environment and of human health. The transition of European agriculture towards systems based on biodiversity and relying on ecosystem services is a major way to meet the challenges of balancing production and environmental protection. Crop diversification increases biodiversity within fields, provides numerous ecosystem services and helps close nutrient cycles, while replacing chemical inputs. However, despite these benefits and stated political objectives, specialisation is still at work.

The reason for this is the existence of numerous interconnected barriers, not only technical but also organisational and institutional (agricultural policies, regulation, research, education, etc.), resulting from the alignment and high degree of coherence of the sociotechnical regime put in place during the modernisation phase. This 'lock-in' must be overcome by a deep transformation of the sociotechnical system that governs today's agrifood systems. Unlocking strategies include (i) supporting stakeholders in managing transformation rather than providing ready-to-use solutions, (ii) reorienting research priorities and the way research is managed and organized to support diversification, (iii) revising exclusive commodity chain logics and aligning strategies within agrifood commodity chains, as well as (iv) radically revising public policies and regulations to encourage the transformation of agrifood systems.