Transformation of Agricultural Production towards Regenerative Agriculture 

Group 18:

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Coach: Heitor Teixeira

Client: Solidaridad Europe

Eleanor Carter – MSc Sustainable Development –Energy & Materials

Peppi Boesler – MSc Sustainable Development – Environmental Change and Ecosystems

Frederik Leemkuil – MSc Sustainable Development – Earth System Governance

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Claire Walker – MSc Sustainable Development – International Development

Milena Niesen – MSc Sustainable Development – Earth System Governance

Júlia Ramos Nardy – Joint Master in Sustainable Development – Earth Systems Governance & Corporate Sustainability Management

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Photo by Daniel Hajdacki

Problem Description

Environmental impacts of the agricultural sector 

Soil depletion and decreasing yields threatening food security

Global South: smallholder farms struggle to compete in global supply chains

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Regenerative agriculture as a widely promoted approach 

Determine whether there is a strong case from the farmer's perspective for a shift towards regenerative agriculture: 

Financially, environmentally & politically

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Three Case Studies

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India: Cotton (annual crop)

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East Africa: Coffee (perennial crop)

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Indonesia: Palm Oil (perennial crop)

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Is Regenerative Agriculture feasible considering economic, environmental and social aspects?�

Sub-Questions

1. What practices are associated with RA in cotton (India), coffee (Kenya, Uganda), and palm oil (Indonesia) farming? 

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2. What are the environmental impacts of regenerative agriculture compared to conventional agriculture?

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3. From a smallholder farmer perspective, is there a viable business case of regenerative agriculture in comparison to conventional agriculture?

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4. What are the social and political drivers for farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture?

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Methodology

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9 Interviews

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Literature Review

1. RA Practices

• Cotton: Agroforestry, intercropping, livestock integration, crop rotation, and organic cotton

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• Coffee: Agroforestry, intercropping, livestock integration, and cover cropping

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• Palm Oil: Agroforestry, intercropping, and cover cropping

2. Environmental Assessment

       Soil Health

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       Water

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       GHG emissions

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       Biodiversity

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Soil Health

Soil structure

• Conflicting Results
• Bulk density increase for livestock 
• Conflicting results for agroforestry
• Rest improves soil structure

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Soil Fertility 

• Generally improvement over conventional
• Improved nutrient availability
• Nitrogen fixing
• N, P, K, availability increased
• But: Livestock manure can carry disease and fungi

Water

Water Quality

• Improvement over conventional
• Enhanced natural system, requires less chemical usage 🡪 improved water quality

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Water Availability

• Generally improved
• Less soil water evaporation
• Increased water infiltration of the soil
• Conflicting organic cotton results: literature says both more and less irrigation needed

GHG Emissions

C storage in soil  

• Improvement
• Increased C storage in soil due to agroforestry, crop rotation and organic cotton

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C emissions 

• Improvement
• Decrease in chemical input such as fertilizers and pesticides 🡪 less emissions

Biodiversity

Animals

• Improvement
• More plant variation and abundance increases habitat possibilities of wildlife
• Less chemical input increases biodiversity

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Plants 

• Improvement
• Initial improvement of biodiversity
• Increase in plant biodiversity in surrounding areas

3. Financial assessment

Indicators

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• Yield
• Costs for production
• Labour costs
• Certification

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• Premium prices & Carbon Credits (CC)
• Return of investment
• Diversification

Cotton (India)

4. Actor Mapping (Cotton – India)

Integration

Thank you for your attention