Remarkably few plant and animal species dominate global agriculture and food production. Cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry make up most of the livestock sector, while wheat, maize, rice and soya account for 60 per cent of the world’s total crop output. Fewer than 30 species account for more than 95 per cent of human food needs.

Food security experts are pressing for diversification. “We rely too much on a very small number of crops,” says Professor Toby Bruce, a plant pest expert at Keele University.

“We see four crops travelling around the world, yet as human beings we have harvested 7,000 crops,” says Sayed Azam-Ali, professor of food security at Nottingham University, who runs the Crops for the Future research centre near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.