Regenerative agriculture might generate $1.4 trillion and 62 million jobs by 2030

Analysts at the World Economic Forum define the cultivation method as revolutionary. Agricultural practice can combine food production with restoration and strengthening of the soil ecosystem

As one of the ecosystems with the greatest biodiversity on the planet and the second major depository of CO2 in nature, the soil guarantees not only the productivity and quality of crops, but also the survival of many species of fauna and flora, including humans. It is therefore impossible to think about the future of food without considering the urgency of recovering the health of the earth.

Currently, half of the global agricultural area is depleted, which leads to a loss of productivity in the order of US$ 400 billion a year, warn analysts of the World Economic Forum (WEF, its acronym in English).

“The way agriculture is practiced today, with the intensive use of heavy machinery, fertilizers and pesticides, greatly contributes to soil degradation. In 50 years, there may not be enough soil to feed the world.” “And, responsible for more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, intensive agriculture contributes to global warming.”

In the report “The Future of Nature and Business”, WEF experts defend regenerative agriculture as one of the most important strategies in the transition to more sustainable, productive and inclusive production models.

For them, agricultural practice can revolutionize the countryside, by combining food production with the restoration and strengthening of the soil ecosystem. Adopted on a large scale, by 2030, the method could generate US$ 1.4 trillion in business per year and create 62 million new jobs.

The principles of regenerative agriculture were established in the 1980s, by the American editor and farmer Robert Rodale (1930-1990), when corn and soybean producers in the Midwest of the United States faced a serious productivity crisis due to the impoverishment of the land.

The proposal is a holistic look at plantations. And the motto, interfere as little as possible, avoiding doing what nature would never do. There are five most fundamental principles of regenerative agriculture.

Crop rotation, the system that combines two or more species in the same area of ​​the crop.

1) Adopt cover plants to prevent soil erosion.

2) Reduce (if possible, abolish) the use of plows and synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

3) Integrate farming, livestock and forestry.

4) Promote fair labor practices for farmers and animal welfare. After all, there is no sustainable development and incompatible where there is abuse and mistreatment.

Soil is the most important metric to ensure the profitability and resilience of crops. A teaspoon of healthy soil contains a wide variety of species, such as earthworms and termites, and up to 6 billion microorganisms, including fungi and bacteria, according to researchers at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

In the interaction of these bugs and microbes with organic waste, essential nutrients for plant nutrition are produced. The socio-economic value of soil biodiversity exceeds US$1.5 billion, according to FAO, the United Nations agency for food and agriculture.

Recently released, another study by the WEF, in partnership with the consulting firms Deloitte and NTT Data, the document “Transforming Food Systems with Farmers: A Pathway for EU” brings a detailed survey of the environmental, economic and social impacts of adopting “agriculture intelligent”, such as regenerative.

If only a fifth of European farmers converted their plantations to sustainable farming models, by 2030, farmers’ incomes could increase by between €1.9 billion and €9.3 billion, with a 6% reduction in annual carbon emissions rates. greenhouse gases.

Research by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shows that if, by 2040, half of the crops in Africa operated under the regenerative model, yields would grow by at least 13%, with an additional additional 62 million tons of food and US$ 70 billion.

In addition, five million jobs would be created, soil erosion would be reduced by 30%, soil water infiltration rates would rise by 24%, and CO2 absorption would be 20% higher. “Regenerative agriculture secures supplies, strengthens livelihoods and sequesters carbon”, states the document “Regenerative Agriculture: An opportunity for businesses and society to restore degraded land in Africa”.

At first, converting a crop to regenerative agriculture may seem too complex and expensive, IUCN analysts acknowledge. Returns usually come after two to five years of cultivation. But in the long term, restored land can deliver between 3 and 26 times greater gains than traditional farming methods.

At the current pace of environmental deterioration, half of global GDP, the equivalent of US$44 trillion, is under threat, reports the WEF. If nothing is done to change this scenario, by 2050, the world will lose an enormous amount of agricultural land, the size of South America, warn researchers at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

“Modern agriculture has changed the face of the planet like no other activity. We urgently need to rethink global food systems,” says Ibrahim Thiaw, the organisation’s executive secretary. “The current model is responsible for 80% of deforestation, 70% of freshwater use and the biggest cause of loss of terrestrial biodiversity.”

Source: Neofeed