Regenerative agriculture is becoming a central topic in sustainable farming, but moving from existing models of farming to new models is not without challenges.
Croda Agriculture, with its seed enhancement business Incotec, has published a report: Regenerative Agriculture: How to improve natural ecosystems and increase yields, which brings together industry and academic experts to highlight the importance of soil health, biodiversity, data-driven approaches, along with economic support as key enablers of regenerative transition.
As regenerative agriculture gains ground, the paper points out that there is no universal definition for the practice but says: “Most agree that regenerative agriculture should aim to improve soil health, increase biodiversity, minimise chemical use, improve soil water retention, and remove carbon from the atmosphere to store it in soil.”
The paper adds: “Definitions of regenerative agriculture emphasise the need to support the growth of farming as a means to feed the world and recognises that sustainable farming includes enabling farms to be profitable at scale.”
Setting out the difference between organic farming and regenerative agriculture, the paper explains: "Organic farming is an approach with clear definitions around avoiding synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, genetically modified organisms, and emphasising natural processes to grow food sustainably. This has the advantage of being easy to understand for consumers, and easy to validate and label, but it increases the cost of production and has a natural ceiling of people willing to pay for it,” the paper says. On the other hand; “Regenerative agriculture has recommendations on farming techniques but focuses on outcomes – especially improvements to ecosystems and the environment. That leaves the door open to a wide range of farming approaches that can marry environmental improvement with increasing yield and reducing cost. However, that flexibility makes it challenging to measure success and certify farms as regenerative,” the paper says.
The paper notes that with a focus on outcomes; farmers and the agricultural technology sector are able to explore different ways to improve the environment. This creates opportunity for innovation in both farming practices and technologies.
Healthy soil is regarded as the most fundamental part of regenerative agriculture and the paper says: “Conventional farming practices can degrade soil biology. Tillage disrupts soil structure, breaks up microbial habitats, and exposes organic matter to oxygen and rapid decomposition. Monocultures limit plant diversity, which narrows the range of microbial life supported by roots. Overuse of agrochemicals kills beneficial organisms and enzymes. Over time, these practices can diminish microbial diversity, deplete organic matter, reduce enzymatic activity, and impair the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients, ultimately leading to poorer plant health and lower resilience to stress.”
Innovation and technology play a key role in providing and maintaining healthy soils and the paper says that a wide range of technologies exist, or are emerging, that could help reduce harm, improve soil, and ensure crops thrive in these new ecosystems. One step is improved fertilisers and pest treatments that can deliver the same outcomes with less harm. Bayer’s Daniel Glas, a contributor to the paper notes: “Chemical pesticides are not going away any time soon. They are an essential tool in a farmer’s toolbox. But they can be more sustainable, for example by creating products that act in more targeted ways, and which break down quickly, helping to prevent unintended and off-target effects on the surrounding environment.”
Bio-controls are another important tool. These use living organisms, or their by-products, such as beneficial bacteria, fungi, or viruses that target pests or pathogens; as well as beneficial bugs that kill pests, such as certain types of nematodes and mites.
Innovations that improve crop yield and resilience, without increasing the chemical load are also an essential part of the regenerative agriculture toolkit. To this end bio stimulants, the white papers says have an important role. Bio stimulants are molecules that send signals to plants to trigger specific biological processes, often by activating or suppressing gene expression or metabolic activity. They can be delivered into plants via seed treatments, soil treatments, or foliar sprays.
There are several challenges that must be addressed before the benefits of regenerative agriculture can be fully seen. For example, in the area of biostimulants the report says: “Creating biologicals and biostimulants is not as easy as established lines of chemical treatments. Many involve living organisms that have a limited shelf life and need to be stored under certain conditions (often below certain temperatures) to ensure they stay dormant until they are in the soil. That creates a barrier for farmers, reducing the market incentive to develop them.”
There is also a need to support farmers in changing their practices. “In many cases, adding biological solutions without making broader changes to farming practices will have little impact. Biological solutions such as microbes and beneficial nematodes are living organisms. They won’t be able to thrive – and may not even survive – on farms with monoculture, excessive herbicide and nitrogen use, or constantly churned up soil,” the paper adds.
Looking at the economics of regenerative agriculture, the paper sets out what it calls ‘three horizons’ for its financial viability.
The near-term horizon is the regenerative agriculture premium, like paying a premium for organic produce, although this is probably not the route to mainstream adoption. The mid-term horizon is what the paper calls a supported transition; this involves subsidies or other payment mechanisms that get farmers over perceived barrier into regenerative agriculture could be transformative. This finance may not just come from government, but also from private investors and others in the value chain. In the long term however, the paper says: “Regenerative practices make business sense even without premiums because they enable more efficient resource use and long-term sustainable yields.”
Further reading:
- Why regenerative agriculture matters
- New mode of action herbicide aims to tackle weed resistance
- Unilever’s mint and mustard farmers move to regenerative agriculture
- Plant science: Precision breeding takes another step forwards
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