According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
traditional agriculture practices involving the use of synthetic fertilizers,
monocultures, and chemical treatments, contribute to around one-quarter of
global greenhouse gas emissions. Prioritizing food production to fulfill its
growing demands has taxed soil over the years and left farms less diverse, less
healthy, and less resilient. Constant soil destruction and loss of indigenous
seeds with chemical pollution, erosion, desertification, etc., can lead to a
qualitatively degraded food supply chain characterized by diminished nutrition.
Why Regenerative Farming is Need of the Hour?
Without protecting and regenerating the arable soil, it will be
impossible to feed the world within the next 50 years. The danger of losing
topsoil cannot be underestimated as our lives depend on the health of natural
ecosystems. The emerging soil crisis had led to a great need to find
alternative farming methods that do not degrade land, rather improve it to
produce high quality and nutrient-dense food. While organic
farming is a suitable option for minimizing environmental damage and
reducing carbon footprint, the alternate agriculture practice cannot rebuild or
regenerate the soil. However, regenerative farming can help address the mortal
threat to our future survival. The techniques involved in this kind of
agriculture can help rebuild soil health and promote plant health, nutrition,
and farm productivity.
Nature has an incredible capacity to renew itself. The core
philosophy of regenerative farming is to develop healthy and robust soil with
minimal or zero tilling techniques, smart crop rotation, and abstaining from
the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Minimized disruption to the soil cause
microorganisms to thrive and keep the plant roots connected to unique
communities. Cover cropping allows for water and carbon to be absorbed by the
soil, further eliminating soil erosion and preventing desertification. Cover
cropping 85% of annually planted US cropland could sequester around 100 million
tons of CO2. Reduction or elimination of synthetic chemicals discourages
plants from seeking nutrients from deeper soil layers and working with microbes
to assimilate nutrients.
Another purpose of regenerative
agriculture is to restore the carbon content in the soil, which will
further improve its water drainage ability that could replenish the underground
water levels. This means improved resilience against draughts as well as
increased protection against floods during heavy rainfall, which tend to ruin
crops and contribute to soil erosion. Practitioners of regenerative farming
also adapt cover cropping where farmers raise plants not to sell or eat them
but improve the health of the soil where agriculture takes place. With this
ancient method, crops can grow on healthier soil.

Soil As a Carbon Sink
About a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come
from land use and agriculture combined. However, the right kind of farming
practices can help sequester atmospheric carbon in agricultural soils, which
can help reverse the effects of climate change. Through photosynthesis, plants
pull carbon out of the atmosphere and deposit it in the ground underneath,
which results in healthy plants. However, conventional agricultural practices
tend to have opposite effects on the soil as synthetic fertilizers and chemical
pesticides degrade the soil and release carbon into the atmosphere. As per
estimates, if all the world’s agricultural land sequestered around 0.5 tons of
carbon per hectare annually, it could store around 2.5 gigatons of carbon every
year. This could offset around 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Besides, planting trees among row crops on 10% of US croplands could sequester
up to 82 MMT CO2e/year.
The ability of the soil to sequester carbon depends on multiple
factors, such as the practices involved in regenerative farming and the
topography of the land. Advanced remote imaging technologies allow farmers to
measure the amount of carbon in their soils. Until now, the expense and time
associated with measuring soil organic carbon content used to be a major
limitation for farmers hoping to capitalize on the growing demand for carbon
offsets.
How Can Regenerative Agriculture Help
Farmers?
According to a study, it has been found that farms with regenerative
practices were 78% more profitable than conventional plots, mainly due to
factors like low input costs and growing end market. Practices involved in
regenerative farming require fewer external inputs in the form of seeds and
fertilizers, which saves almost a third of farmers’ gross income that used to
go into conventional farming practices. Increasing the diversity of insects
with no use of pesticides can lead to stronger crops and more income for
farmers.
With the growing demand for “organic” farm produces with no use
of fertilizers or pesticides, farmers receive higher premiums for crops. Using
the farm to grow more than just one crop with inter-cropping can help farmers
generate a diversified income stream. Over time, regenerative agriculture can
increase the profitability of farmland and increase the value of investors’
farmland assets. Besides, the farming method can also present opportunities
beyond ownership, such as infrastructure investments, etc.
Brands Leading the Way in Regenerative Farming

Many companies are turning to carbon offsetting to reduce their
carbon footprint, revamping agricultural and supply chain systems.
·
Alter Eco
A sustainable chocolate-centric food company Alter Eco is
mitigating climate change with the adoption of regenerative agriculture
practices. The chocolate company is making huge investments for making a
transition to regenerative farming in the cacao-growing regions of Central and
South America. With conventional agricultural practices, the quality of the coffee
will no longer be suitable in the coming decades. Alter Eco provides funding,
educational tools, and training to help farmers pursue agroforestry, which can
help address soil health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Till now, about
400 of 1800 Ecuador farmers have made the transition to regenerative farming.
The regenerative farmed cacao could increase carbon sequestration by 85 metric
tons of CO2 over the next two decades. If regenerative agriculture extends
across the cacao industry, around 2.5 gigatons of CO2 could be
sequestered, which would be equivalent to removing 30 million vehicles off the
road.
·
Nestle
Nestle has planned to intensify its efforts towards climate
crisis by accelerating the transition to a regenerative food system. To reduce
its carbon emissions by half by 2050, Nestle will be working with its food
system partners, including 500,000 farmers and 150,000 suppliers, to advance
regenerative and support farming practices aimed towards soil conversation,
regeneration of water cycles, and biodiversity enhancement. The food and
beverage brand is leveraging its vast network of R&D experts and
agronomists to provide technical assistance to farmers and apply
state-of-the-art technology to develop high-yield coffee and cocoa varieties with
low environmental impact. Besides, the company supports farmers financially by
co-investing with them, facilitating lending, and working with partners to test
and learn the best regenerative agriculture.
·
General Mills
One of the most significant achievements of the world’s
fourth-largest producer of organic and natural foods General Mills in 2020 was
the company’s ability to reach its objective of 100% sustainably sourcing its
top ten priority ingredients such as wheat, oats, cocoa, corn, dairy, fiber
packaging, sugar beets, sugarcane, palm oil, and vanilla. General Mills has
enrolled 70,000 acres of land in the company’s regenerative agriculture pilot
and has committed to expanding the practice to 1 million acres by 2030.
·
PepsiCo
PepsiCo has partnered with global farming organization LEAF
(Linking Environment and Farming) to assist its Quaker Oats farmers in adopting
regenerative agricultural practices. The aim is to take a rigorous approach
towards delivering more sustainable farming to improve the health of the soil.
The company has planned to expand its regenerative farming practices to 7
million acres of cultivated land. The push towards regenerative agriculture by
the company could eliminate at least 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions
by the end of the decade..
·
Unilever
Unilever, a global brand used by 2.5 billion people worldwide,
is expected to introduce a new set of guidelines to their existing code called
“Unilever’s Regenerative Agriculture Principles” that have positive impacts on
soil health, water and air quality, carbon capture, and biodiversity. The
principles also aim towards enabling local communities to improve their
environment by optimizing the use of renewable resources and producing crops
with sufficient yield to meet existing and future needs. Besides, the company
has set the target of achieving a deforestation-free supply chain by 2023,
enhancing traceability and transparency through advanced digital technologies.
Conclusion
Regenerative agriculture is becoming the higher standard for
consumers seeking food labeled as “organic” to protect their health and the
planet. Although regenerative farming has been around for centuries as
indigenous communities managed to protect soil and the local ecosystem, the
farming strategy has gained fresh attention due to the sudden spike in demand
for “organic” food items. In 2020, the sales value of organic produce topped
USD2.2 billion as shoppers sought to avoid the foods produced with chemical
fertilizers and pesticides. Regenerative agriculture will look different from
farm to farm, but it has a high potential to change our environment and improve
the climate.