Regenerative agriculture is a set of farming and grazing practices that primary aims to improve soil health and biodiversity, and to reverse climate change.
Soil Rehabilitation and Carbon Sequestration
- Regenerative agriculture places more emphasis on the rebuilding of soil structure and organic matter with minimal disturbance and more water retention and microbiological activity.
- Encouragement in planting cover crops, especially no-till farming for agricultural productivity and carbon sequestration.
- Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing carbon compounds from the environment to reduce the greenhouse effect and mitigate climate change.
- If regenerative practices can be adopted, it can help to carbon-offset about 23 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Biodiversity Improvement through Regenerative Agriculture
- Crop diversification and agroforestry practices promote ecological equilibrium and protect long-term land health.
- Crop diversification is the practice of growing more than one crop in a particular area.
- Agroforestry practices are a combination of forestry and tree planting activities that integrate trees into farming or forestry enterprises.
- The productive agricultural systems become thus resilient towards environmental shocks such as droughts and flooding.
Socio-Economic Impacts of Regenerative Agriculture
- Healthier soils, and better ecosystem services convert to better crop yields and less input costs.
- Moving from conventional to new regenerative agriculture, farmers could actually see 15-25% returns increase.
- Regenerative agriculture contributes towards food security through enhancing crop resistance to extreme weather conditions.
