MUMBAI, 15 July 2025: In a year that marked the highest global temperatures ever recorded, regenerative agriculture has entered the global mainstream, offering a viable and sustainable alternative to conventional, carbon-intensive farming.
Once considered niche and driven by grassroots environmentalists, regenerative practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, and integrated pest management are now being adopted by multinational corporations and commercial growers alike. These techniques aim to restore soil health, increase biodiversity, and reduce chemical inputs—providing greater resilience to climate change while maintaining food security.
A recent multi-country study by the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA) compared 78 regenerative farms across 14 nations with their conventional counterparts. Results showed that yields under regenerative methods were only 1% lower on average but required 62% less nitrogen fertilizer and 76% less pesticides per hectare. Moreover, regenerative farms reported 27% higher overall land productivity between 2020 and 2023.
“The fourth agricultural revolution is here,” said Simon Krämer, Executive Director of EARA. “We are moving beyond the Green Revolution by combining ancestral knowledge with new science and technology.”
Beyond the Buzzword: What Is Regenerative Agriculture?
Rooted in Indigenous agricultural traditions, regenerative agriculture emphasizes nutrition over calorie maximization and ecosystem health over yield alone. According to experts, the system treats farms as living ecosystems, contrasting starkly with extractive conventional models.
Techniques include cover cropping with legumes to enrich soil, zero tillage to preserve topsoil, enhanced fertilization through site-specific nutrient planning, and biological pest control using tools like pheromones instead of chemicals.
Black soldier fly larvae, for instance, are now being deployed by startups like Insect Biotech to turn olive waste into high-protein feed and soil-enriching fertilizer—illustrating the innovation behind this movement.
Why Agribusiness Is Now On Board
The recent disruptions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict served as a wake-up call for global food supply chains. Coupled with increasing climate variability and market volatility, agribusiness giants are now investing heavily in regenerative models to secure long-term supply.
“Climate risks are already affecting profit margins and food availability,” said Anastasia Volkova, CEO of Regrow Ag, which works with major players like Cargill and Oatly. “Farming systems must become more self-sustaining.”
In Asia, the motivation is equally economic. “Farmers are looking to escape debt traps created by input-heavy conventional systems,” said Peter Bracher, a regenerative rice grower in Thailand. “They’re realizing regenerative agriculture can be more profitable.”
The Challenges Ahead
Despite its promise, large-scale adoption remains constrained by several hurdles—foremost being reluctance among smallholders to take risks without financial safety nets. Although interest is rising, transitions can be capital intensive, and support remains uneven.
Certification is another grey area. While the EU has launched a Carbon Removals and Farming Regulation, and other regional certifications exist—such as Regenerative Organic Alliance (USA) and Nature Positive (Australia)—experts caution that universal standards are still lacking.
“Certification builds trust,” noted David Baggs, CEO of Global GreenTag. “But we need robust frameworks that also account for ecosystem services, not just carbon metrics.”
Looking Forward
Despite policy gaps and transition challenges, regenerative agriculture’s growing adoption signals a shift in global food systems. As climate change threatens yields and ecosystems, this approach offers resilience, sustainability, and better nutrition.
“We’re giving farmers the tools to cope with rising climate risks and fluctuating markets,” said Bianca Dendena, Senior Project Manager at PUR. “And for consumers, it means healthier, more sustainable food.”
Image credit: edengreen.com
