Hannah Krujia Asangla
CTO – Agronomy KVK Phek
Regenerative agriculture refers to a set of farming practices designed to restore, maintain, and enhance the health and biodiversity of ecosystems, rather than depleting them. It focuses on building soil fertility, increasing carbon sequestration, and promoting resilience to climate change. The ultimate goal is to help in making a positive impact on the global ecosystem.
A farmer can practice regenerative agriculture by integrating all or a few of the following methods:
ORGANIC FARMING - Organic farming is a key component of regenerative agriculture, focusing on improving soil health through practices like crop rotation, composting, and minimizing synthetic chemical use.
CROP ROTATION - Growing a variety of crops in succession or in combination to break pest cycles, reduce disease, and improve soil fertility
COMPOSTING - Using organic matter like compost, manure, and mulch to enrich the soil with nutrients and microbes.
PERMACULTURE - This promote biodiversity by creating multi-layered, diverse ecosystems on farms through mixed cropping systems, agroforestry, or wildlife habitats for fostering ecological balance and providing a sustainable environment for both crops and animals.
BIOCHAR - It has the ability to improve soil health, enhance carbon sequestration and boost plant productivity. It is a form of charcoal produced by heating organic material (such as crop residues, wood, or manure) in a low oxygen environment, a process known as pyrolysis.
MANAGING GRAZING HABITS OF LIVESTOCK - Properly managed grazing can contribute to soil health by adding manure, promoting nutrient cycling, and supporting plant diversity.
NO TILL - Minimizing soil disturbance to preserve soil structure, moisture, and carbon storage.
COVER CROPPING - Planting specific crops, like legumes or grasses, to protect soil from erosion, improve organic matter, and increase microbial diversity.
Adoptions of these methods result in benefits such as healthier and stronger soil that is climate resilient and has the ability to retain captured carbon. By adopting regenerative agriculture technologies, several significant benefits can be achieved.
Although regenerative farming is advantageous in several ways, the transition from conventional farming to regenerative farming is a time taking process that is facing several challenges like:
• Lack of knowledge among farmers and training programs.
• Initial costs as it can require significant investment in new equipment, seeds and soil amendments.
• Reduced yields in initial years that can impact farmer income.
• Government policies and schemes favoring conventional farming methods.
• Prolonged use of fertilizers and pesticides has made the transition to regenerative practices difficult.
Regenerative agriculture improves soil health, mainly through the practices that increase soil organic matter. It does not only help in increasing soil biota diversity and health, but increases biodiversity both above and below the soil surface, while increasing both water holding capacity and sequestering carbon at greater depths, thus minimize the climate damaging levels of atmospheric CO2, and thus enhancing soil structure to counteract the civilization threatening loss of soil caused by human activity.
Source:
https://www.taropumps.com/blog/regenerative-farming-in-india
https://www.indiabusinesstrade.in/blogs/rooting-renewal-indias-sustainable-future-with-regenerative-agriculture
