First there was the debate about the pros and cons (and profitability) of organic versus intensive farming (organic won by a landslide), and now the focus has moved on to regenerative versus intensive farming.
What is regenerative farming? In short, it's a system of farming principles and practices that seeks to rehabilitate and enhance the entire ecosystem of the farm by placing a heavy premium on soil health with attention also paid to water management, biodiversity, fertilizer use, and more. It is a method of farming that “improves the resources it uses, rather than destroying or depleting them,” according to the Rodale Institute, a US non-profit.
The really good news is that by embracing regenerative agriculture we could keep global warming to within 1.5C. That’s according to new research, which touts soil as an overlooked super ally in the race to slash emissions.
Like forests, soil locks carbon away. But intensive agriculture can turn this carbon sink into a source. Plowing and tillage dramatically erode soil and release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They also can result in the kind of bare or compacted soil that creates a hostile environment for important soil microbes, says The Climate Reality Project.
But how much CO2? And what's the true carbon value of regenerative farming? Downforce Technologies, a UK-based soil data firm, has calculated the climate benefits of deploying alternative farming methods on half the world’s soil.
“We calculated that implementing better farming techniques [for example, crop rotation, planting cover crops] could result in a staggering storage of 31 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide annually, bringing us closer to bridging the 32 gigatonnes gap required to meet the crucial 1.5C target,” the firm said.
Downforce Technologies are not alone in their assessment of the extraordinary power of healthy soil to help save the world. The Rodale Institute estimates that embracing regenerative agriculture could draw 150 percent of global emissions into the ground every year. 150 percent!