Windows of Opportunity 

15th December 2023

Regenerative farming     

The World Economic Forum advocates for regenerative farming as “an agricultural technique that essentially focuses on the health of the soil more than other types of agriculture tend to do. Obviously, soil is effectively the base of any farm, and surprisingly, it can sequester quite a bit of our planet’s CO2. Therefore, treating it organically, with natural products and less human disturbance, is key.” (1) 

Scottish based Farming For a Better Climate describes regenerative farming as “an approach centred around improving and revitalising soil health. The group are focusing their work around the following principles:

• Minimise soil disturbance – help support a healthy soil food web.
• Maximise crop diversity – different crops bring different rooting depths and attributes,
• supporting a range of biodiversity both above and below ground.
• Provide constant soil cover – protect soils from wind and water erosion; reduces water loss.
• Keep a living root in the system – root exudates benefit microbial populations, supporting soil health.
• Integration of livestock – promoting species diversity from microbes to mammals and putting dung back into the system.” (2)

A report produced by the World Economic Forum in 2022 found “that if just an additional 20% of farmers adopted climate-smart , by 2030, the EU could reduce its annual agricultural GHG emissions by 6% and improve soil health over an area equivalent to 14% of EU’s agricultural land while improving livelihoods by between €1.9 €9.£ billion annually.” (3)

And not just in Europe. 

“By 2040, through just a 50% adoption of regenerative agriculture across Africa, farmers could see:

• 30% reduction in soil erosion
• Up to a 60% increase in water infiltration rates
• 24% increase in nitrogen content
• 20% increase in carbon content, or higher depending on the intervention – and not just topsoil (this is huge as soil is the second biggest storehouse of carbon, after oceans). The benefits are even greater when shrubs and grasses are promoted through agroforestry.”

1. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/regenerative-agriculture-revolutionize-farming-climate-cahnge/
2. https://www.farmingforabetterclimate.org/
3. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Transforming_Food_Systems_with_Farmers_A_Pathway_for_the_EU_2022.pdf
4. https://www.iucn.org/news/nature-based-solutions/202110/regenerative-agriculture-works-new-research-and-african-businesses-show-how