According to the World Economic Forum, regenerative agriculture is a way of farming that focuses on soil health, which indirectly produces more food and nutrition, stores more carbon, and increases biodiversity—the variety of species. By : Sentinel Digital Desk | 22 Dec 2023 6:27 AM Dr. Mukul C. Bora (Director, Dibrugarh University Institute of Engineering and Technology. He can be reached at drmukulcbora@gmail.com) According to the World Economic Forum, regenerative agriculture is a way of farming that focuses on soil health, which indirectly produces more food and nutrition, stores more carbon, and increases biodiversity—the variety of species. It is reported by Australia’s New South Wales Government that “a teaspoon of soil contains up to 6 billion microorganisms, as the soil is also a habitat for species, including insects and fungi.” A healthy soil supports others, like water, land, and air environments and ecosystems, through natural processes including water drainage, pollinaion, and the fertilisation of plants. Also Read – Embracing the art of ignorance: A pathway to unleashing your true potential Soil plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Because plants absorb carbon from the atmosphere, convert it to plant tissue, and return it to the soil as plant residue, soils globally act as the world’s largest sink of active carbon. Farming practices influence how much carbon soils retain and how much is released into the atmosphere. Regenerative agriculture refers to a set of agricultural techniques that improve soil health by increasing soil organic matter and the carbon content of soil. Regenerative agriculture not only improves soil health, productivity, and resilience to weather extremes, raising farm yields and income while strengthening regional food security in the face of a changing climate, but can also form part of a region’s broader climate strategy. Under improved management, soils have the potential to absorb hundreds of millions of tonns of atmospheric CO2 more than they do today. Soil organic matter (SOM) refers to plant and animal matter in soil in various stages of decomposition as well as the cells and tissues of soil microbes. SOM makes up 2–30% of the soil’s mass and is critical for its health because it provides nutrients and improves soil fertility, water retention, structure, and nutrient recycling. 2. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a component of SOM and refers to the carbon content of soils. High levels of carbon improve soil structure, increasing physical stability. This in turn improves soil aeration, water drainage, and retention, and reduces erosion and nutrient leaching. SOC content is also important for the soil’s chemical composition and biological productivity, improving the soil’s fertility and nutrient holding capacity. Also Read – Kanaklata Barua: Assamese women’s dedication in India’s Freedom Movement More than half of the world’s agricultural land is degraded. This leads to productivity losses o $400 billion a year and is a risk to food security in the future. Regenerative farming can restore agricultural land and reduce the industry’s environmental impact, including lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture, which today is responsible for approximately one-third of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 80% of tropical deforestation, can also be the solution for fighting and adapting to climate change. Farmers and primary producers, who are the stewards of that land, have a critical role to play in helping the world transition towards a net-zero, nature-positive, and equitable future. Also Read – Can AI dislodge on-field umpiring? Regenerative agriculture techniques include biochar, a highly fertile substance generated from burning organic matter in an anaerobic environment. When added to soils, biochar is a source of nutrients, helping to create a fertile soil. Organic mulch and crop residue—wood chips, straw, or crop residue—are used to cover soil around plantings to prevnt carbon losses. As the mulch and crop residue decompose, soil organic carbon and soil organic matter increase. Compost is a nutrient-rich substance made from animal, plant, and food waste that replenishes soil organic matter, supporting soil health and productivity. Compost can be spread on top of fields or mixed with soil and reduces the need for fertilizers, thus decreasing emissions associated with fertilizer manufacturing. Cover crops: fast-growing plant species are used to cover the soil between growing seasons. Cover crops, protect soils, and prevent soil erosion. They increase soil carbon pools, improve water and nutrient cycling, and promote biodiversity. Perennial crops: perennial crops are crops that are planted year-round. They develop thick root systems that improve soil water retention. When used as cover crops between growing seasons, perennials increase biodiversity and ensure that the soil’s integrity is maintained between seasons. Agroforestry is the use of trees in griculture and livestock production: planting rows of trees between crops, planting trees in livestock pastures, or creating canopies over cropland or pastures. Agroforestry improves biodiversity, sequesters carbon, protects the plants from extreme weather, and improves water retention. Managed grazing involves rotating livestock through different parts of a pasture. This permits crops to develop strong root systems, provides livestock with constant food, and allows manure to be integrated into the pastures. Reduced or zero tillage—tilling mixes soil with air, causing the soil carbon to oxidise into the atmosphere. It also degrades the soil structure and decreases soil fauna, such as earthworms, that contribute. Also Read – Letters to the EDITOR: Two great pals Farming as usual is no longer an option Food and agriculture systems, and the way they use natural resources, are large drivers of our current climate and biodiversity crises. This is not only an ecological crisis. Today, $400 bllion per year is lost in productivity due to the degradation of 52% of agricultural production land. It is predicted that further land degradation could reduce global food productivity by 12%, thereby increasing food prices by 30% over the next 25 years. Put simply, this could mean that an average American would spend an additional $780 on food every year. Poorer countries, where people are already spending up to 50% of their income on food, compared with 7% in the US, would be much harder hit. Business as usual is no longer an option. In addition to ecological and economic fallout, land and soil degradation and unpredictable, extreme weather patterns are creating humanitarian challenges. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of migrants from Central America to the US increased fivefold, coinciding with a dry period that left many without enough food. Madagascar is currently experiencing a terrible famine and unimaginable suffering. And for the first time in modern history, it has been soely caused by climate change. Why is regenerative agriculture needed? Agriculture today, including the use of heavy machinery, fertilisers, and pesticides to maximise food production, is contributing to soil degradation and loss. Within 50 years, there may not be enough soil left to feed the world, according to the regenerative farming organisation Regeneration International. Intensive farming also churns up CO2 naturally stored in the soil and releases it into the atmosphere. This contributes to the global warming that is driving climate change. Agriculture accounts for over a third of greenhouse gas emissions globally, according to the United Nations (UN). Damaged soil and eroded land can make environments more vulnerable to extreme weather events like flooding, which are increasing in frequency and intensity as the Earth warms. What does regenerative agriculture involve? Regenerative farming methods include minimising the ploughing of land, according to Regeneration International. Tis keeps CO2 in the soil, improves its water absorbency, and leaves vital fungal communities in the earth undisturbed. Rotating crops to vary the types of crops planted improves biodiversity, while using animal manure and compost helps to return nutrients to the soil. Continuously grazing animals on the same piece of land can also degrade soil, explains the regenerative agriculture in Europe report from the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council. So, regenerative agriculture methods include moving grazing animals to different pastures. What are the benefits of regenerative agriculture? Regenerative farming can improve crop yields—the volume of crops produced—by improving the health of the soil and its ability to retain water, as well as reducing soil erosion. If regenerative farming were implemented in Africa, crop yields could rise by 13% by 2040 and up to 40% in the future, according to a Regenerative Farming in Africa report by conservation organisations such as the Internatioal Union for Conservation of Nature and the UN. Improved yields will help feed the world as the global population grows. Regenerative farming can also reduce emissions from agriculture and turn the croplands and pastures, which cover up to 40% of Earth’s ice-free land area, into carbon sinks. These are environments that naturally absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, according to climate solutions organisation Project Drawdown. These restored agricultural lands could absorb the equivalent of between 2.6 and 13.6 gigatons of CO2 a year, Project Drawdown notes in its report, Farming Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis. In the European Union, the World Economic Forum estimates that greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture could be 6% lower a year by 2030 if a fifth of farmers adopted “climate-smart” agriculture, such as regenerative farming. The Forum’s 2022 report, Transforming Food Systems with Farmers: A Pathway for the EU, also finds that soil health would improve over an area equivalent to 4% of agricultural land across the 27-country grouping. Farmers could also boost their incomes by between €1.9 and €9.3 billion a year. Other benefits of regenerative agriculture include more efficient water use and fewer pests because greater biodiversity makes the land more resilient, the Forum says. Where is regenerative farming already being used? Regenerative farmers and networks are growing regenerative agriculture globally. Regeneration International lists a network of partners across Asia, Latin America, the United States, Canada, Africa, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In Australia, the case of regenerative farmer Neils Olsen is one such example. He is the first farmer in the world to be paid through a government system to sequester soil carbon. Olsen’s system involves planting a mixture of crops and grazing plants—like pulses and grasses—in strips in the same field to increase soil nutrients, yield, and carbon. In Brazil, cotton farmers are planting second and third vegetble crops, including sesame, pumpkin, and corn, alongside their main cotton crop. They are also using organic alternatives to chemical fertilizers. Their cotton yield has tripled in the two crops since they started, while yields of the other crops have grown as much as seven times, according to conservation news site Mongabay. Other regenerative farming examples include farmers in Tanzania and East Africa growing beans, bananas, and maize alongside commercial crops such as cardamom. Regenerative agriculture focuses on improving the health of the soil, which has been degraded by the use of heavy machinery, fertilisers, and pesticides in intensive farming. There may not be enough soil left to grow food to feed the world within 50 years. Regenerative agriculture and other farming methods that don’t harm the climate can improve farmers’ incomes, as well as cut emissions and boost soil health. Soil biodiversity: Soil biodiversity is the variety of life that exists within the soil, includingbacteria, fungi, earthworms, and termites. A teaspoon of topsoil typically contains a vast range of different species and up to 6 billion microorganisms. The maintenance of soil biodiversity is essential to both the environment and agricultural industries. Soil is by far the most biologically diverse material on Earth. Soil contains a large variety of organisms that interact and contribute to many global cycles, including the carbon and nitrogen cycles. Soil provides vital habitats for microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, as well as insects and other organisms. Importance The diversity of organisms living within soils is critical to all earth ecosystems because soil organisms: Are essential for the cycling of ecosystem nutrients. Are necessary for plant growth and plant nutrition. Improve the entry of water into the soil and its storage in the soil. Provide resistance to erosion. Suppress pests, parasites, and disease Aid in the capture of carbon Are vital to he world’s gas exchange cycles, and Break down organic matter. Soil biodiversity is recognised as a critical influence on agriculture as it can enhance sustainability through improved: Soil structure Soil-water movement Nutrient availability Suppression of pests and diseases. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United States (FAO) estimates the socio-economic value of soil biodiversity exceeds US$1542 billion. Soils and ecosystem biodiversity Soils are a vital component of ecosystems because: The majority of plants grow in soil. Soils determine the nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and micronutrients, that are available for plants. Soils, with climate and topography, can determine the available water for plants. Soils can prevent some plant species from growing because of waterlogging, poor aeration, acidity, aluminium, heavy metals, and high soil strength. Soils influence the distribution of animals, as the ocurrence of plant species provides food and shelter for them. Maintaining soil biodiversity: Soils that support natural, non-agricultural ecosystems usually have the greatest soil biodiversity. In agriculture, soils that receive fewer manufactured inputs (e.g., chemical fertilisers and pesticides) generally have higher soil biodiversity. Grazing systems that encourage plant diversity usually have higher soil biodiversity due to the greater availability of food resources from roots and litter, which support a greater variety of organisms in the soil. Cropping systems generally have low soil biodiversity unless they increase inputs of carbon and nitrogen to the soil, which will increase soil microbial populations. Crop management techniques that increase soil organic matter will also increase soil stability and soil biodiversity. The application of organic matter to the soil, such as crop stubble, supports greater populations of surface-feeding creatures, including earthworms. Management echniques such as crop rotation and reduced tillage increase the quantity and quality of organic matter available to soil organisms and develop a more stable environment that encourages more soil biodiversity. From the above discussion, it is observed that to preserve the soil and its microorganisms and micronutrients, the soil should be able to provide livelihood for those who have been destroyed by the use of man-made chemicals and fertilisers. The same concept in other forms is found in our oldest literature of the world, i.e., the Rigveda, which also gives a description of agriculture without killing the soil on which plants grow. The health of the soil is directly related to the availability of nutrients in fruits and vegetables. That is why the consumption of these agricultural products does not lead to the health of the human population. It is worth mentioning that monkeys have been banned from eating bananas at a British zoo because those grown for people are too sweet and sugay for them, as all are hybrid in nature and lack their natural properties. According to Dr. Amy Ploughman, “Giving this fruit to animals is equivalent to giving them cake and chocolate,” said the head of conservation and advocacy at Paignton Zoo in southwest England. “People usually try to improve their diet by eating more fruit, but fruit cultivated for humans is much higher in sugar and much lower in protein and fiber than most wild fruit because we like our fruit to be so sweet and juicy.” So this is the high time for us to adopt the Vedic System, or the modern name of regenerative farming, without which human health will be at stake and all the wealth we have acquired will remain on this earth without any caretakers
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