From soil health to economic resilience, regenerative agriculture is transforming food systems around the globe. Here’s how.
As a 2024 report by data and analytics firm SPINS notes, soil erosion may reduce up to 10% of crop yields by 2050. Not only is agriculture responsible for 10% of carbon emissions in the United States contributing to climate change, but current farming practices are also impacting wider public health, from the production of unhealthy foods to the abuse of land and soil leading to food and crop shortages around the world.
As such, new initiatives for more carbon-friendly agriculture have grown exponentially in recent years. Lately, the movement gaining the most traction has been that of regenerative agriculture: a food-production system focused on nurturing soil health and biodiversity in and around farms to reduce carbon emissions and even boost future economic resiliency. Just last year, Walmart and General Mills announced a plan to advance 600,000 acres of regenerative farms by 2030.
The Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) corporation, the 35th largest firm in the United States in 2023, planned to enroll 4,000,000 acres of land globally into regenerative farming programs. In 2022, the company announced its regenerative agriculture acres emitted 253,000 metric tonnes less CO2e than the accepted benchmark.
What is regenerative agriculture?
Although there is no set definition for regenerative agriculture or farming at the moment, the principle refers to using farming practices that work in better harmony with nature with the goal of sustainability. Regenerative farms use methods such as limiting chemical fertilizer and pesticide use, reducing water usage and waste, and intercropping to improve biodiversity and soil health.
Many of these practices are not new, but instead a return to traditional farming practices used for centuries. Take intercropping for example, which is where multiple different types of crops are planted together to help nurture the soil and increase the efficiency of nutrient absorption while reducing the need for chemical pesticides.
Intercropping has existed since humans began growing crops. Only recently, however, has it regained popularity, as the negative consequences of mono-crop farming — more vulnerability to pests and diseases — have become more apparent since the boom of industrial agriculture in the 1970s.
Additionally, regenerative agriculture is seen to go above and beyond initiatives to improve sustainability. Michael Ham, co-founder and president at Wild Orchard Tea Company, in a recent speech to The Food Institute, said that “[Regenerative practices] actively contribute to the healing and restoration of ecosystems, aiming for positive impacts, enhanced biodiversity, and natural regeneration.” He added that
“Regenerative agriculture positions itself as a net-positive force, whereas sustainability, while important, may not achieve the desired transformative impact on a large scale,” Ham added.
Legitimizing the boom in regenerative agriculture
One key shift in the movement at the moment is the introduction of internationally recognized certifications and initiatives. The Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA), founded in 2017 by companies including Patagonia, Dr. Bronner’s, and the Rodale Institute, has been developing frameworks for farmers to better prioritize and incentivize regenerative practices.
“The Regenerative Organic Alliance exists to promote regenerative organic farming as the highest standard for agriculture around the world,” ROA Executive Director Elizabeth Whitlow told Food Tank. This goes above simply protecting the soil and crop health of a farm, as Whitlow adds that “any holistic system encompasses the health of all the living beings in that farming community. This means animals, that the livestock are treated humanely, and that workers are treated fairly and farmers are paid a premium.”
As a result, certifications such as the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) have been introduced in recent years and have boomed in popularity as farms and farmers try to differentiate themselves from competitors and raise awareness amongst consumers around the environmental benefits of regenerative farming.
Products with the ROC credential were some of the fastest growing in the past year, with 39% year-on-year unit performance growth in 2023. This news comes as many sustainably certified products have been experiencing a decline in sales performance as of late. While some of this can be attributed to recent economic pressures, other factors such as consumer skepticism surrounding misleading “green” claims are also to blame.
Around the world, regulators are beginning to fight greenwashing through stricter standards and guidelines and even litigations against companies for illegal sustainability claims. In 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Kohl’s and Walmart for advertising a product using rayon fabric as bamboo. In the U.K., the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched investigations into major fashion brands Asda, ASOS, and Boohoo for false sustainability claims, which led to a formal agreement being signed by the firms pledging to only use accurate “green” claims in accordance to set guidelines.
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A study by FAIRR surveyed 79 agrifood companies and found that while 50 have announced regenerative agriculture initiatives, only 18 have formal quantitative targets. So while green claims have grown rapidly over recent years, substantiated improvements in sustainable practices have not — particularly in the agricultural space.
As such, ROA has made it a priority to introduce third-party verification and safeguards combating deceptive practices to ensure credibility and authenticity among these regenerative farming certifications as they grow in popularity.
This has resulted in the ROC being quite difficult to achieve, according to Forbes, taking most who seek the certification 3 to 5 years to do so. Still, it is the credibility these certifications and organizational guidelines give the practice of regenerative farming that will ensure its long-term positive impacts. As Michael Ham explains, this movement is about more than minimizing carbon emissions and having “net-zero” sustainability requirements.
“In the scale from net zero to net positive, regenerative agriculture leans towards the net positive end. While achieving carbon neutrality involves balancing emissions with removals, regenerative practices actively contribute to carbon sequestration and storage in the soil,” said Ham, from Wild Orchard.
The future of regenerative farming
According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, after an initial three- to five-year period in which farmers would be sacrificing profits to implement regenerative practices, farmers could expect their long-term income to increase between 70% and 120%.
These changes will likely only accelerate as more government funding is secured, more legislation is passed, and more innovation in the agrotech space all catalyze the movement towards truly climate-friendly agriculture solutions.
Already, over 150 countries have signed up to the COP28 U.A.E. Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action. In the U.S., the Inflation Reduction Act set aside $19.5 billion for climate-smart agriculture.
According to an estimate by the World Economic Forum, the move to regenerative approaches in the global food system would cost between $250 and $430 billion per year. While this is an enormous figure, it is far less than the estimated $12 trillion hidden cost the global food system has on our economies, health sectors, and environment, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The World Economic Forum argues that aside from benefiting the environment, regenerative agriculture is “a golden opportunity for businesses to tap into new avenues and drive a transformative change within food and farming.” All that is needed is to apply the basic tenets of good management: Adopt a clear and defined framework and strategy focusing on long-term commitments, transparency, and measurable and recognized standards, and regenerative agriculture could become the gold standard for sustainable agriculture worldwide.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Sheep grazing a hillside farm, in Yorkshire, England, April 29, 2020. Cover Photo Credit: Illiya Vjestica.
