Agriculture is entering a period of transition. Although the green revolution was successful in feeding the world’s rapidly growing population, it also depleted the Earth’s soil and biodiversity and contributed to climate change. These extractive practices are not long-term. We must act quickly to transform agriculture through the use of a set of practices known as regenerative agriculture with the help of a farm management system.
What Exactly Is Regenerative Agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture, in general, takes a more systems-based, holistic approach to the land being stewarded and employs several principles with the objective of making the land more productive and biodiverse with time. Improving soil health is usually the key to increasing productivity and biodiversity. Organic matter, which is anything that is alive or was once alive, such as a plant root, an earthworm, or a microbe, is an important component of healthy soil.
Many of our agricultural lands now have significantly lower soil organic matter levels than they did previously due to degenerative land management practices
Improving soil organic matter content can reduce or eliminate soil erosion while also improving aggregate stability, water infiltration, water retention, nutrient cycling, plant health, crop yields, crop resilience, biodiversity, and other factors. More organic matter in the soil also indicates that we are removing carbon from the atmosphere and depositing it in the soil, where it can be a net positive for the planet rather than a net negative as a greenhouse gas.
Many key regenerative agriculture practices, such as intercropping, where multiple crops are planted together, agroforestry, and livestock integration, have their roots in indigenous farmers who work with the land rather than against it.
What Are The Advantages Of Regenerative Agriculture?
The advantages of regenerative agriculture are virtually limitless, as it reduces waste, reduces CO2 emissions, and, as previously stated, increases soil fertility organically. No-till or medium tillage is a particularly effective regenerative agriculture practice, according to Regenerational International. Leaving the soil alone, rather than ploughing or using heavy machinery, allows it to produce more organic matter and sequester more CO2 than it would with human disturbance.
Increasing soil fertility naturally by using cover crops, crop rotation, compost, and animal manures also organically revitalises and nourishes the soil without the use of harmful or synthetic fertilisers. Furthermore, if the farm has any livestock, managing their grazing practices, ensuring they have a nutritious feed, and using their manure for soil fertility naturally increases carbon deposits and reduces waste exponentially.
Regenerative Agriculture & Climate Change
Climate change is significantly worsened by agriculture. The effects of rising temperatures and an increase in extreme weather events like droughts and floods are also having a significant negative impact on our food systems.
Regenerative farming techniques enable farmers and local communities to become more resilient while also addressing the climate catastrophe by securing more carbon in the soil. In reality, farming and ranching can contribute significantly in-
- To lessen the effects of climate change by improving soil health
- Enhance climate resilience
- Extract fossil fuels out of agriculture
- Decrease greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture
- Raise food production
- Preserve agricultural land
- Safeguard and rehabilitate natural ecosystems
What Are The Top Regenerative Agriculture Techniques?
- Cover-Cropping: Using crops to maintain soil health, reduce erosion, retain water, and increase biodiversity by planting them in between cash crop harvest or permanent crops.
- Rotational Grazing: Mimics animal herd’s movement to improve soil fertility and regrow pasture grass by regularly moving livestock between pastures.
- No-Till Farming: When planting, this method leaves the soil intact rather than disturbing it with ploughing.
- Composting- The process of turning organic waste into nutrient-rich soil amendment to improve soil health and fertility naturally and sustainably.
- No/Reduced Fossil Fuel-Based Inputs- Building soil health and leveraging other natural systems to help manage pests and reduce reliance on pesticides or other chemicals, whether or not a farmer pursues organic certification.
- Agroforestry- An Indigenous technique whereby gardeners incorporate trees and shrubs into crop and animal systems to replicate forest systems.
- Conservation Buffers- Hedgerows and riparian buffers are areas of land planted with various vegetation to manage environmental issues such as windbreaks, habitats for beneficial organisms, water quality, and flooding.
Why Kheti Buddy For Regenerative Agriculture?
Charles Einstein once said, “Regenerative agriculture represents more than a shift of practices. It is also a shift in paradigm and in our basic relationship to nature.”
So what is a better way than regenerative agriculture software to improve your relationship with nature and build a better environment for your agribusiness?
Kheti Buddy enables you to track and improve your soil health, along with analysing the impact on farms and soil. Thereby, you can fulfil all your agricultural objectives with top-notch agronomy expertise and solutions.
Do not wait anymore! Make Kheti Buddy your farming companion now to achieve your dream outputs!
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