Regenerative Agriculture: beyond sustainability, toward regeneration
“In short, regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that seeks to rehabilitate and enhance the entire ecosystem of the farm.”
The Climate Reality Project
What is Regenerative Agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture goes well beyond organic and sustainable practices. Its goal isn’t just to maintain, but reverse the decline of agro-ecosystems and kickstart a new ecology that is continually restoring itself. It is a holistic management system that values the microbes in the soil as much as it does food security and the whole engine of food production. As a result, the farmer, the soil and the biodiversity all become richer.
Regenerative Agriculture for smallholder farmers
The smallholder farmers we work with typically manage diverse, low-input systems, cultivating cash crops alongside staples, and at times small livestock, for personal consumption. No or very little agro-chemicals are used. These systems are much closer to regenerative systems than industrial farms in wealthier countries, making the transition to regenerative agriculture very different. When we start improving soil health, for example through high-quality compost, these farmers can experience immediate yield increases and reduced disease pressure in their crops.
Our Regen Ag Facility
Although regenerative agriculture minimises external inputs, it is knowledge intensive and context specific. Grounded supports our network of tens of thousands of African smallholder farmers transition towards regenerative agriculture through practical training and adaptive implementation. Our approach focuses on key short- and long-term benefits at both ends of the agronomic spectrum:
- Product quality and yield, leading to higher farmer incomes through price premiums.
- Soil and system interventions that drive long-term resilience.
The Regen Ag Facility consists of grants that subsidise these efforts across the group.
Success stories
Increase in soil health
On the Simalaha IFC in Zambia, soil preparations with green & animal manure, crop rotations, and biochar application increased soil organic matter by 250% in 2 years.
Increased crop quality
In Tanzania, the application of disease-suppressing compost on black pepper has radically reduced the prevalence of fungal disease, leading to higher quality pepper, for which higher prices can be paid to farmers.
Lower input costs
By learning how to produce high quality compost and fertilisers, regenerative farmers across our portfolio no longer rely on synthetic inputs which are expensive – thereby reducing upfront costs, the need for (expensive) financing and improving cash flow.
Regenerative Incubator Farm
Simalaha Incubator Farm Company (IFC)
Situated in Zambia, Simalaha Incubator Farm Company (IFC) is a cornerstone research and development facility for Grounded. This innovative incubator farm serves a dual purpose. It is pioneering an approach to transition farmers from a subsistence existence to the middle class, while also repairing degraded land. It functions as a platform for experimentation and knowledge acquisition in regenerative agriculture for the Grounded group.
Achieving sustainable income growth through depth over scale
Smallholder empowerment schemes in Zambia often prioritise scale over depth of impact, resulting in income changes that are small, cyclical, and/or fleeting.
In contrast, Simalaha IFC farmers typically experience a minimum 2.5X increase in income in their first year, growing to an estimated 4X increase by year five.
