Regenerative agriculture needs ‘empirical evidence’ for farmers to accept financial, environmental risk

Farmers could find favour in adopting regenerative agriculture practices — including minimising soil disturbance and integrating livestock into their program — but results are likely to vary depending on climate and soil types, a new report has revealed. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development senior research scientist Ravjit Khangura has been delving into soil biology in long-term farming systems to gain insights into the relationships between farming practices and soil health. His literature review findings were recently published in the scientific journal Sustainability, and are available at mdpi.com. Dr Khangura said one of the main takeaways of his recent research was the need for site-specific studies demonstrating regenerative agricultural practices’ economic viability, with the lack of this data stopping farmers from considering it further. She growers would be more likely to adopt regenerative agriculture if there were “none, or acceptable” financial or environmental risks. “Soil biodiversity in different agro-ecological zones is poorly understood, including WA,” Dr Khangura said. “Long-term multi-disciplinary research is needed to understand whether regenerative agriculture methods improve soil biological traits and fertiliser efficiency, and therefore reduce reliance on synthetic inputs.” The term regenerative agriculture has exploded onto the agricultural and food industry scene in recent years, but Dr Khangura said a “empirical evidence” on the benefits had farmers hesitant to delve into or adopt its practices. Dr Khangura said interest regenerative agriculture was gaining traction in response to the challenges posed by climate change and rising input costs, with fertiliser prices in particular sparking concern amongst farmers in recent years. “The general principles of regenerative agriculture are to keep the soil covered, minimise soil disturbance, preserve living roots in the soil year-round or as long as possible,” Dr Khangura said. “(It also includes) increasing species diversity, integrate livestock and limit or eliminate the use of synthetic compounds such as herbicides and fertilisers.” “This research will aid in identifying and formulating sustainable agriculture strategies that maintain or improve biological diversity and functional efficiency of soil.” Dr Khangura’s investigation examined the reported benefits and mechanisms associated with regenerative agriculture against available scientific data, discovering some methods would indeed improve soil health. “Despite the purported benefits of regenerative agriculture in rejuvenating the soil and land, the vast majority of growers are reluctant to adopt these practices due to a lack of empirical evidence on the claimed benefits and profitability,” she said. “The literature suggests that agricultural practices such as minimum tillage, residue retention, and cover cropping can improve soil carbon, crop yield and soil health in certain climatic zones and soil types. “Combining livestock with cropping in the same landscape can also provide several co-benefits. “However, the benefits of regenerative agriculture practices can vary among different agroecosystems and may not necessarily be applicable across multiple regions.” Dr Khangura said management practices had a profound effect on shaping microbial communities, influencing ecosystem services. “Agricultural soils in WA are naturally low in soil organic carbon and the potential threat to soil biodiversity is currently very high due to intensive agriculture, decline in organic matter and climate change,” she said. “Despite significant challenges in developing soil organic carbon in WA — particularly in agricultural regions with limited growing season rainfall, the literature suggests that by adjusting agronomic practices — there is potential for carbon sequestration and enrichment of below-ground biodiversity.” The State Government in February tipped in $719,000 into a Perth-based project focused on helping farmers implement sustainable and regenerative farming practices. Perth NRM received the cash boost through a Lotterywest grant, to support Perth NRM in expanding its RegenWA community program from 1200 to 4000 farmers, including Aboriginal farmers and agricultural organisations. The grant will help cover team salaries, project activities and evaluation for two years. At the time, Environment Minister Reece Whitby said RegenWA was a “great example” of how farmers would improve land. “It’s fantastic to see this program will include Aboriginal farmers bringing their cultural expertise into managing land across the Perth metropolitan region,” he said.