Food security, i.e., access to sufficient healthy food at all times, has for decades been one of the pressing issues worldwide. With governments concerned about securing access to enough food for their people, the emphasis has been placed on higher yields. However, this farming system has proven to be detrimental to the health of hundreds of millions of people and arouses serious concerns as to its sustainability given its negative impact on the environment. This article aims to clarify this issue in the context of farming systems while giving an overview of two approaches that address productivity differently, thereby helping to identify production systems which can de facto ensure eco-friendly and healthy food for all.
Productivity and high yields
There are different ways to increase crop productivity and one of these is with the help of mineral fertilizers. This, together with the use of pesticides and more effective irrigation, became part of the so-called Green Revolution in agriculture that allowed the production of some high-yielding crop varieties to double or triple – a jackpot for the issue of food security.
Thus, the conventional farming system did meet its goal, ensuring a genuine boom in agricultural production as average cereal yields had soared by 193% from the 1960s to 2013, significantly exceeding the rise in the world population which reached 142% practically in the same period.
Degenerative vs Regenerative
Nevertheless, after decades of use, this approach to agriculture has turned out to be of a degenerative nature, threatening soil fertility and biodiversity, the loss of indigenous seeds, and having a devastating impact on health.
According to experts, over the past 150 years, half of the topsoil on Earth has been lost and within the next 50 years, humankind runs the risk of facing serious health problems. This is due to qualitatively degraded food, as well as of having insufficient topsoil to grow crops on, should the same approach to agriculture be applied. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it takes up to 1,000 years to produce some 2-3 centimeters of topsoil, hence urgent action is needed to reverse this trend.
Against this background, more attention has been given to regenerative methods which help to recover the soil biology essential for soil fertility and hence for food production. Research into and the practice of regenerative agricultural approaches have evolved and so, therefore, has the definition of regenerative agriculture (RA). For the sake of consistency and to add more clarity, this is how a report by California State University defines regenerative agriculture: “farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity”. The key mechanism of RA relies on the minimal disturbance of soil and of soil microorganisms which through their activity make soil fertile and thus ensure crop health.
RA practices
RA practices lead to healthy soil, capable of producing high quality, nutrient-dense food while simultaneously improving, rather than degrading land, and ultimately leading to productive farms and healthy communities and economies, notes Regeneration International, an international movement aiming at reversing global warming and ending world hunger. Among RA practices are no-till farming, agroecology, composting, agroforestry, etc.
According to soil ecologist, Dr. Christine Jones, farmers practicing regenerative agriculture “are showing it’s possible to maintain or even improve crop yields while winding back on fertilizer […] They’re building soil, improving the infiltration of water, increasing water holding capacity, and getting fantastic yields. They have fewer insects and less disease.”
Apart from the time needed to shift from degenerative to regenerative agriculture, the world also needs a deeper understanding of the situation we are currently in. Appropriate actions need to follow. These require far-sighted policies strongly backed by the world powers to support regenerative agriculture so as to regenerate life in and above the ground and, in doing so, feed us all in the long-term.
