Regenerative agriculture lacks connection to existing system
No question of definition
There is an urgent need to give hands and feet to "the magic" of regenerative agriculture, which has a strong appeal to more and more parties. You cannot ignore the regenerative promises of banks, companies, civil society organizations and governments. In response, we and Food Hub created a training with the goal of informing about the complex movement called regenerative agriculture.
Thus - including our own contribution - more and more interpretations of regenerative agriculture are appearing. Whereas Ethan Soloviev (author, farmer and one of the regenerative experts you should definitely follow) has stretched the practice on which you can propel yourself regeneratively, others are actually trying to flatten the term. Isn't it easy if the practice is unambiguous, and the promise measurable? If you are a business party selling a regenerative project, then, following your company's operational logic, you will want to capture the approach, and calculate the impact. Then you'll want your consultants to be aligned, you'll want to provide certainty to your customers and employees, you'll want to provide return on investment.
"You want to base making grants and loans on meaningful, factual information - not just gut feeling."
Controlling can be learned, but also letting go
The need for grip and control, through simplicity, is logical and explainable. We want to do what we already know and more of what we already have. It's in the fibers of our patriarchal, capitalist system. That said, the tendency to trivialize regenerative agriculture completely undermines its potential. Control can be learned, but so can letting go of control. Good regenerative agriculture is not easy and makes most of us a little uncomfortable. Using a holistic, iterative, integrative and context-specific approach as a linear roadmap is like putting a flowing river in a bottle.
It makes sense to explore how to assess the quality of regenerative agricultural practices. In the current system, which depends largely on investment for change, you do want to be able to distinguish between one regenerative ambition and another. You want to base grants and credits on meaningful, factual information - not just gut feeling. The only question is how to frame that assessment (this is explored by Koen van Seijen in his over 200 episode podcast 'Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food.').
"Together, let's find the courage to embrace the complexity, plurality, nuance and diversity of the food system."
Regenerative agriculture is a verb
Regenerative agriculture is about restoring and improving ecosystems, building soil health and strengthening the resilience of farming systems and communities. It is an ongoing process of learning, experimentation and adaptation. So, dear consultants, the idea that regenerative agriculture can have a static definition completely contradicts the nature of the beast. It would do the definition issue good to move from the focus on absolute regenerative agriculture to the verb "regenerate. Let us not, for the umpteenth time in our agricultural history, canonize a particular practice. Regenerative agriculture is a direction that is coming to bring us something.
When the question is how we are going to (regeneratively land) build a fair, diverse and sustainable food system, my suggestion is that we bet on parties that are not afraid. Not afraid of uncertainty, change and feedback. The problem with regenerative agriculture is not that there are different interpretations of the term, as some reports claim. The problem is the penchant for simplicity. What we must guard against is one explanation, one roadmap and one measurement tool coming to dominate a movement that benefits from pluralism. Together, let's find the courage to embrace the complexity, plurality, nuance and diversity of the food system. Create space for experimentation. Don't try to put the river in a bottle, let regenerative agriculture flow freely.
About Joszi Smeets
Joszi Smeets is creative director and co-founder of Food Hub. With Food Hub, she makes a critical and constructive contribution to the regenerative agriculture movement.
Portrait: Tatjana Almuli