Regenerative Agriculture: a €500 billion carbon credit pathway to sustainable food systems
Regenerative agriculture is a newer sector, popularized more as a viable option in recent years. While we are looking at and trying to adapt our plant agriculture, other concepts must be explored that have the potential to reshape the entire future of the plant agriculture landscape so we may find a reality based on logic. In particular, this article touches on the realm of regenerative agriculture, including its practices, likelihood of implementation, and the problems it wonderfully solves (most notably in carbon sequestration and carbon credits).
Regenerative Agriculture: Transforming Fields in Europe and USA
Cover cropping involves deliberately planting non-cash crops such as legumes, grasses, or brassicas in between cash crop cycles. By covering the soil, this method decreases erosion, enhances soil health, and boosts biodiversity. Cover crops are now employed on around 32.8 million hectares (11.2%) of agricultural land in Europe and the United States, with adoption rates expected to reach 80% by 2035.
Reduced tillage and no-till farming, which reduce soil disturbance while preserving soil structure, are gaining favour. In the United States, no-till farming covers 42.2 million hectares (11.6% of agricultural land), and reduced tillage covers 35.7 million hectares (9.7%). Europe is fast catching up, with 12.18 million hectares (7%) of agricultural land using these sustainable approaches.
Crop rotation, the ancient technique of growing various crops on the same land in succession, is an important piece in regenerative agriculture. This method is used over 440 million hectares (83%) of agricultural land in Europe and the United States, indicating its long-term significance in sustainable farming systems.
Agroforestry, as a Regenerative Farming technique, is gaining support for improving biodiversity and soil health, while being less frequent in Europe and the United States. Agroforestry now covers around 11.72 million hectares (2.2% of agricultural land in Europe and the United States), with a 25% adoption rate projected by 2035.
Regenerative farming uses various nitrogen sources, such as legume cultivation, manures, composts, and non-chemical fertilisers, to meet crop demands while reducing the requirement for synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. Precision farming tools improve nitrogen utilisation efficiency. Precision nitrogen application techniques are now being used on about 94 million hectares (17.7%) of agricultural land in Europe and the United State.
Animal reintegration into regenerative agriculture systems is gaining traction, with about 121.5 million hectares (22.8%) of agricultural land in Europe and the United States having reintroduced cattle into farming operations. Rotational grazing and holistic management simulate natural herd movements, increasing soil fertility and giving pasture grasses time to regenerate.
Soil Carbon Sequestration Using Regenerative Agriculture Practices
Based on a comprehensive assessment of scientific articles and credible sources, below is a summary of the known carbon sequestration rates of several regenerative agriculture strategies for field crops in the United States and Europe:
Regenerative Farming Practices Carbon Sequestration (t C/ha/yr)
| Regenerative Agriculture Practices | Carbon Sequestration(t C/ha/yr) |
|---|---|
| Cover Cropping | 0.32 ± 0.08 |
| Reduced Tillage/No-Till | 0.47 ± 0.14 |
| Crop Rotation | 0.65 ± 0.25 |
| Agroforestry | 3.9 ± 0.24 |
| Nitrogen Management | 0.54 ± 0.27 |
| Animal Integration | 0.47 ± 0.24 |
Agricultural Carbon Credit – A €500 Billion Opportunity
Regenerative farming is becoming recognized as an important technique for combating climate change. Such insight prompted important research and innovation to assess how much CO2 may be sequestered by various regenerative farming approaches. The goal is to increase the pool of carbon credits that may be sold at attractive rates, encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable methods.
Researchers found that combining tactics like cover cropping and no-tillage resulted in higher average soil carbon sequestration rates than implementing these practices separately. However, other studies suggest that the effects may not be exactly additive due to saturation effects. To put it simply, the total potential carbon sequestration can be calculated by summing the various rates and taking the average value of these acts. The overall sequestration rate is 2.45t C/ha/yr, which equals 8.99t CO₂/ha/year. With the European Union's Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) carbon price reaching €100 per metric tone of CO2 by February 2023 and about 550 million hectares of agricultural land in Europe and the United States, the potential market size is €494.45 billion.
Regenerative Agriculture: Paving the Way to a Better Future
Regenerative farming provides a €500 billion potential in the carbon credit market, incentivizing farmers to embrace regenerative practices by rewarding them for the carbon they store in their soil. However, the possibility for regenerative agriculture is considerably larger and critical to our existence. It can secure food security and agricultural profitability, which are far more real dangers than the intangible one posed by climate change. The road to food security is via regenerative agriculture. The use of regenerative farming principles will eventually result in a more resilient and successful agricultural future.
Stay tuned as we intent to produce a series of articles to offer you with additional information about regenerative farming. Our next post will discuss the impact of regenerative farming.