Regenerative Agriculture for Environment and Food Security

Introduction

Traditional or mechanized agriculture has negative impacts on nature. It contributes to pesticide pollution, nutrient runoff, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil degradation while regenerative agriculture is the opposite. It is not like “organic farming,” but it is promising farm productivity and environmental protection. The concept of regenerative agriculture was first proposed in the 1980’s It can reduce carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, soil degradation and water and soil pollution. For a sustainable future, regenerative agriculture can be a source of hope in a world that is food insecure and facing climate change.

Key Benefits

Zero tillage or minimum tillage practice minimizes the carbon emissions that are produced by farm operations and contributes to climate change. Agriculture produces one-third of total carbon emissions in the world.

Practices involving minimum tillage and the addition of organic wastes for soil fertility. It can improve soil structure and reduce soil erosion. Practices like crop rotation also improve soil health.

Intercropping, cover cropping, and ley cropping in regenerative agriculture positively impact biodiversity in fields like natural enemies, soil quality, organic matter in soil respectively. Traditional monoculture cropping negatively impacts biodiversity. More biodiversity means fewer insect pests as the ecosystem gets complex. Less insect infestation improves food quality.

When only organic matter is added to the agroecosystem, it minimizes the use of fertilizers and risks associated with fertilizers like runoff and accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in water bodies. This practice reduces water pollution.

Regenerative agriculturealso includese grazing systems. Rotational grazing refers to prolonging the resting periods of grazing animals. These practices are designed to improve farmland soil health while profitably delivering high-quality farm products.

Adoption

In some countries, some practices of regenerative agriculture are being practiced such as intercropping, agroforestry, and cover cropping. However, there are many challenges in the adoption of regenerative agriculture.