Investing in a Food System that restores Nature
Last week, during the “4 PER 1000” Initiative, I discussed how our global food system is ripe for change, presented encouraging results from TNC’s work in Latin America and what’s needed to shift from incremental results to exponential delivery.
The convert-and-deplete approach to food production has taken a heavy toll on Latin America, which is the world’s most biodiverse region and also its agricultural powerhouse. Agriculture and ranching account for 70% of the region’s habitat conversion, making the agriculture sector the leading contributor to Latin America’s greenhouse gas emissions. The resulting biodiversity loss and soil degradation have had a severe impact on the very assets upon which this agricultural productivity depends.
But this doesn’t have to be the case — our science shows that it is possible to feed a growing population without destroying the planet. We must think beyond just producing more and reducing harm — we must invest now to shift to a food system that restores nature and instead of depleting it.
This is the premise of our Regenerative Food System strategy, a powerful solution that creates a positive triple impact on climate, biodiversity and sustainable development by supporting the relationship between natural ecosystem services (water provision, soil health, biodiversity) and agricultural yields.
We have success cases in Mexico, Central America, Argentina, Colombia and Brazil, where thousands of producers are working with TNC to adopt regenerative agricultural practices and are demonstrating that agriculture actually prospers, when managed hand in hand with preserving the delicate ecological balance essential to our planet’s future.
In Colombia, the world’s second most biodiverse country in the planet. TNC and partners just concluded a 10-year project that helped more than 4,000 family farms adopt regenerative practices that combine trees with pasture, in a beneficial combination for farmers and the environment. They obtained an annual increased income by up to $150 dollars per hectare and boosted milk production by an average of 36%. Monitoring studies confirmed biodiversity increases and reduced pollution of water sources. The climate impact of this approach is equally impressive. These practices helped sequester 1.6 million tons of carbon.
But how do we move from incremental improvement towards exponential delivery? What do we need to do differently? I believe there are five critical steps:
1. Governments need to include regenerative agriculture in national budgets and support the transition through policies;
2. This will require aligning subsidies and incentives to accelerate market shifts towards restoration and regeneration of soils;
3. Industry leaders need to become advocates of this policy change and transform market dynamics along their value chains for zero deforestation and regenerative practices.
4. Cross-sector collaboration to share science, innovation, best practices, knowledge management and capacity building to accelerate implementation is also imperative. We need to avoid the siloed and competitive dynamics of the sustainability sector, and collaborate to genuinely shift entire systems at national and landscape levels.
5. Finally, closing the finance gap for a green post COVID recovery will require finance innovation and channeling resources towards scaling successful local examples of regenerative agriculture building off local knowledge and culture -particularly from indigenous wisdom across the region
This shift is crucial — not only for the long-term security of our food production but also to address the twin planetary crises currently plaguing our society: climate change and biodiversity loss. Orchestrating our efforts through efficient collaboration and channeling resources to accelerate local execution will be key.
By Santiago Gowland, EVP Latin America and Global Innovation, The Nature Conservancy
