Defining regenerative agrilculture

Regenerative agriculture is frequently framed as a farmer-led movement that offers a viable alternative to conventional agriculture. In its current forms, it emphasises the need for farmers and land managers to focus on soil restoration. This prioritisation is often accompanied by additional objectives linked to increasing biodiversity, improving water quality, reducing environmental externalities, and alleviating the negative effects of climate change via both emissions reduction and increased agricultural resilience. In contrast to organic agriculture, no codified definition of, or standards for, regenerative agriculture currently exist in the UK. Many overlapping definitions are used concurrently; however, disagreement persists on some important points. The approach adopted here builds strongly on the commonalities of existing definitions and adds nuances where definitions diverge in order to promote a more inclusive definition that both agricultural practitioners and policy makers across the nations of the UK may be able to share. Accordingly, the definition of regenerative agriculture used in this report is articulated around three tiers: objectives, principles and practices. International case studies are included throughout the chapter to provide perspectives from other countries.