Growing Our Future – How Regenerative Agriculture Can Achieve Economies of Scale

I was forwarded this Strategic Analysis Paper by Christopher Johns, Research Analyst, Northern and Rural Australia Research Programme

And it’s brilliant! Thank you Radicle Ag!

Based on a report titled: Growing Our Future: Scaling Regenerative Agriculture in the United States of America

Its Key Points:

• Agriculture sits at the nexus of some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today: climate change, food security and nutrition, water quality, biodiversity and livelihoods.
• We are currently experiencing a public health crisis that has revealed the fragility of our agriculture system.
To secure the future of a resilient agriculture industry, the goals of the economic system need to shift towards long-term resilience for farmers.
Agricultural policy heavily influences farming systems, covering aspects such as crop insurance, land conversion, trade, nutrition and the research agenda.
• Across the industry, stakeholders need proof that regenerative agriculture can improve business resilience and financial performance.
Purchasing habits influence brands, merchandising and marketing strategies.
• We need to bridge the divide between healthy, nutritious diets and conventional agriculture and recognise the socio-economic benefits of focusing on a ‘sustainable nutrition’ approach which addresses both regenerative farming and sustainable healthy consumption for all.

It identifies that

Today’s agricultural system is not broken. In fact, it works extremely well to deliver the outcomes it has been
designed to achieve.

But goes onto explain that new outcomes need to be the context that we operate within, changing to a focus that includes economic, environmental and social outcomes alongside productivity.

To achieve the potential that Regenerative Agriculture can deliver, we need to:

  • Create financial mechanisms and market structures that support regenerative outcomes.
  • Empower farmers to enable grassroots coalition building.
  • Shape policy to build a resilient agricultural economy.
  • Build and demonstrate the business case.
  • Engage with consumers to increase demand for regenerative products
  • Prioritise nutritional benefits to enable healthy diets.
  • Mobilise landowners to enable regenerative practices to mainstream.

Find the full report here.  Growing-Our-Future-Scaling-Regenerative-Agriculture