Farmers have a climate action superpower
There is a clear case for climate action in agriculture. Rising temperatures, changing weather patterns and extreme weather events are hitting farmers hard across Europe, while agriculture in the EU+UK is responsible for 13% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mainly stemming from livestock farming, inefficient nutrient management, and unsustainable soil management. “Business as usual” is no longer an option.
Agricultural emissions cannot be completely eliminated, as they are linked to biological processes inherent to food production, but there is considerable potential to reduce emissions through efficiency gains and improved land management practices. What’s more, the agriculture sector also has the (almost) unique potential to help remove carbon from the atmosphere and turn it from a dangerous warming gas to a beneficial ally.
Yes, farmers have a climate action superpower – that of turning farms into carbon sinks. By locking carbon back in soils through “regenerative” farming practices, they can not only slow down climate change, but also boost soil health, and reap the benefits.
Regenerative agriculture is at the same time wonderfully basic and incredibly complex. Although based on centuries-old practices, it seeks to apply new insights from soil biology, agronomy and ecology to boost the natural processes that underpin productive agriculture.
Regenerative agriculture aims not just to protect, but to revitalise and regenerate the soil and wider ecosystems, through the application of 5 core principles:
- Keeping the soil surface covered as much as possible;
- Limiting physical and chemical disturbance of the soil as much as possible;
- Growing the widest possible diversity of plants to increase soil biodiversity;
- Keeping living roots in the soil for as much of the year as possible;
- Integrating grazing livestock into the system.
A wide range of definitions, combining practices and outcomes have been identified by both researchers and practitioners, but in AgriCaptureCO2 we believe regenerative agriculture is not just about the outcomes or the practices and tools used. In the words of Rebecca Davis of LEAF, “it is a mindset that takes you on a journey and involves generation as well as regeneration: generation of knowledge, collaboration, relationships, regeneration of soils, land and ecosystems. All this in turn generates resilient farming systems, healthy food, and value for farmers. That’s very similar to what we call “Integrated Farm Management”, which LEAF has been promoting for 30 years.”
Many farmers have already started on this journey, and we are working with some pioneers in AgriCaptureCO2. Duncan Farrington farms around 290ha of combinable crops in Northamptonshire, England and has been practising regenerative farming methods following LEAF principles for over twenty years, including reduced soil cultivations, use of cover and companion cropping and a broader crop rotation. He also produces cold pressed rapeseed oil on the farm through Farrington Oils Ltd, which became certified as carbon neutral by the United Nations in 2020.
Duncan initially became interested in regenerative agricultural from a financial perspective to grow crops more profitably with lower fuel and machinery costs. This evolved into a mindset of it also being the right thing to do from an environmetal perspective, by sequestering carbon in the soils. What started as a simple change in farming practice became a whole farm approach, looking at the areas around fields as well as the crops grown in them. Duncan saw firsthand how the increased soil carbon improved his overall soil health and allowed him to cut his fertiliser and pesticide use. For him, there is no going back: “With the potential of soils to sequester carbon, farmers will become an instrumental part of the solution to reducing global warming, as well as being financially rewarded to do the right thing.”
Regenerative farming practices are also a weapon against climate change in areas where soils don’t have as much capacity to absorb carbon, for example in hot and dry areas such as Greece. AgriCaptureCO2 partner ELGO is working with olive farmers in Crete to support them in adopting regenerative practices which can help them adapt to an increasingly hot and dry climate.
In Crete, using water efficiently is a paramount priority. With an ever-drier climate, farmers on the island are compelled to find solutions to continue producing high quality products while cutting their water consumption. The main avenues to face this challenge are on one hand to modernise irrigation systems and maintain the current irrigation network – which requires heavy investments; and on the other hand, to apply regenerative soil and crop management practices – cheap, though knowledge-intensive solutions.
Soil management is a crucial component ensuring water saving at farm scale. This includes increasing soil organic matter which in turn can improve the soil’s water retention capacity, especially in areas prone to drought in the summer period. In addition, proper soil management includes the reduction of soil tillage, especially on sloped areas. Regarding tree management at farm scale, reducing evapotranspiration during the summer period is crucial and can be achieved through suitable pruning and applying mowed weed and shredded pruning residues on the soil surface. This may not seem like much to technophiles, but ELGO’s early results from trials on Cretan olive farms show that farms applying these simple practices can improve their water use efficiency by an average of 15%, compared to conventional systems!
Embarking on big changes to farming practices can be difficult in may ways, not least in finding out about what works and what doesn’t. Regenerative farming is knowledge-intensive, as solutions need to be adapted to local climatic and soil conditions. That’s why knowledge transfer is a crucial part of AgriCaptureCO2, led in part by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Allerton Project, who have for many years demonstrated practical ‘on farm’ methods of producing food and enhancing the rural environment.
Phil Jarvis, Head of Farming and Training at the Allerton Project, commented “As we move to address the challenges surrounding our climate, our training for farmers is now including woodland, hedges, agroforestry, energy utilisation and soil organic carbon. How we build sustainable and regenerative agriculture systems across Europe will need to look at holistic management, because of the multifunctional interactions within our landscapes. The AgriCaptureCO2 project will help farmers realise the benefits, the pitfalls and the potential to lead to a profitable outcome for their businesses.”
Farmers have the opportunity to take the front seat in the global collective action for sustainability. Through regenerative agriculture, farmers can make a substantial positive contribution to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss, while boosting their resilience and profitability. Our goal within AgriCaptureCO2 is to help them on that journey.
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