“Do You Really Understand Regenerative Agriculture? Asking For A Friend!”

Do you know what is missing in the fight against Climate Change when it comes to Agriculture, and Agriculture only? This essay could be an eye-opener for many, including IRRI, PhilRice, and UP Los Baños.

Here is the 40-year old World Resources Institute (WRI) talking down Regenerative Agriculture, saying “Regenerative Agriculture: Good For Soil Health, But Limited Potential To Mitigate Climate Change” via Janet Ranganathan, Richard Waite, Tim Searchinger & Jessica Zionts. The WRI is the 12th website I have consulted today, Wednesday, 31 Aug 2022, and I abruptly stopped when I read it because it’s eye-popping – here is an institute telling me that RA has “limited potential” for arresting Climate Change!

Sorry, but the World Resources Institute does not know enough about Regenerative Agriculture. At least, the 3 above-mentioned WRI authors don’t!

The WRI authors say pertinently:

Regenerative agriculture has become the darling of many policymakers, food companies and farmers. Advocates claim a triple win: climate change mitigation, increased profit for farmers and greater resilience to a changing climate. Our view is that the practices grouped as regenerative agriculture can improve soil health and yield some valuable environmental benefits, but are unlikely to achieve large-scale emissions reductions.

The WRI authors do mention as regenerative practices in agriculture the following: (1) no-till agriculture, (2) cover cropping, (3) crop rotation, and (4) rotating crops with livestock grazing. My immediate response is: “Why cannot all those 4 practices be applied on a national scale if the government dictates it?”

The WRI editor does explain that the article “focuses on practices aimed primarily at boosting soil carbon on working agricultural lands.” Yes I know, but “boosting soil carbon” is not all there is to Regenerative Agriculture!

I say the WRI authors did not do enough Google search, and/or did not ask enough questions and seek answers about the whys and wherefores of Climate Change.

Their article has 1,634 words in the text; the title has an ominous “13” as number of words. Now: “Why did the WRI authors fail to discuss about the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that chemical fertilizers produce when they are used?” Asking for a friend!

ANN of Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says, “At its core, regenerative agriculture is farming and ranching in harmony with nature” (Author Not Named, 29 Nov 2021, “Regenerative Agriculture 101,” NRDC, nrdc.org). “In harmony with nature” – and chemical agriculture is not in harmony with nature by any definition!
(Image sources: “Regenerative Agriculture,” UVM Blogs, blog.uvm.edu; “Living Soil,” kobo.com)

Organic farming is regenerative. Now, my kind of Regenerative Agriculture is not mentioned by any of the sources I googled. I call it “Rotavator Organic WEALTh (Weeds-Enriched Automatic Layer of Trash Triggering Terrestrial Health).” I have written 10 times about it, first in 27 April 2022: “Can You Grow Sugarcane Solely By Organic Fertilizer? CaneCo In The Antilles Archipelago Shows The World How!” (towardsaneweden.blogspot.com).

And yes, to celebrate my birth month, my blog Towards A New Eden has a new slogan: “via Regenerative Agriculture.” If they can’t fight you, they’ll have to join you!@517

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