Soil is one of the most critical elements of agriculture as it facilitates the movement of nutrients, water, and air in the crops. Unfortunately, issues such as unsustainable human activities, climate change, deforestation, toxic fertilizers, water scarcity and flooding, and loss of organic matter have led to soil degradation in recent years.
Statistics reveal that 33% of the soils are already degraded, over 90% could degrade by 2050, and soil erosion can lead to up to 50% loss in crop yields. The soil degradation threat to food security is as real and serious as it can get. Hence, we need a sustainable land management approach in agriculture. Regenerative agriculture is such a holistic approach.
The World Economic Forum defines regenerative agriculture as a way of farming that focuses on soil health. It can enrich biodiversity, enhance water-holding capacity, increase crop yield, prevent deforestation, and reduce greenhouse emissions while improving farm profitability.
Let’s take a look at seven regenerative agriculture practices to revive soil health:
1. No Tillage/Minimum Tillage
Conventional farming requires tilling which disturbs the soil and exposes it to oxygen. No-tillage/minimum tillage, also known as conservation tillage enables farmers to cultivate crops without disturbing the soil.
It preserves soil structure, thereby allowing water and nutrients to infiltrate properly without run-offs. A few no-tillage/minimum tillage techniques are strip-till, zone-till, layering, and direct drilling.
2. Crop Rotation
Crop rotation refers to planting diverse crops from different families every year in the same field instead of growing mono-crops or leaving the land bare.
This practice prevents the depletion of the same minerals from the soil, improves the topsoil, and reduces nitrogen loss from the soil. It also keeps insects and diseases under control which otherwise become familiar with the same crop and continue to feed on it, degrading the soil.
3. Cover Cropping
This is a technique through which non-cash crops are grown either in the non-harvesting season or in combination with primary/commercial crops. A few examples of cover crops are wheat, peas, corn, rye, soybeans, barley, mustard, and clovers.
Cover cropping not only restores soil health and protects it during fallow periods but also controls weeds and pests.
4. Intercropping
This practice refers to growing two or more cash crops in proximity in the same or alternate row on the same land. It is also known as companion cropping. For example, radishes, turnips, lettuce, and beans make perfect companions for intercropping.
Intercropping helps in the ergonomic usage of the land, prevention of soil erosion, and control of pests and weeds. It is one of the best sustainable ways to maximize the utilization of space and resources.
5. Rotational Livestock Grazing
Traditionally, growers leave their cattle to graze in the same pasture as long as they like and eat whatever is available to them. However, it has a major drawback because it causes uneven grazing. It can reduce forage availability and degrade the soil.
On the contrary, rotational grazing lets the growers decide where and how long the livestock should graze across different pastures. This helps in increasing forage biomass production, grass cover, plant diversity, and soil biology through dung, scat, and other waste of animals.
6. Agroforestry
Agroforestry, as the name indicates, is the integration of agriculture and forests. It requires smart landscaping of farms to combine trees, woody perennial plants, annual crops, and livestock to replicate a self-sustaining natural ecosystem.
This regenerative agriculture practice can safeguard the soil against erosion, minimize water loss due to wind, provides natural shade to the farm, and sequester carbon. It can also be an additional source of income for farmers as they can sell fruits, leaves, bark, timber, bark, and sap from the trees.
7. Precision Agriculture
Precision application of seeds, fertilizers, water, and other inputs can increase the quality and quantity of yield without depleting the soil. Data-driven and technology-enabled precision tools such as soil sensors can help manage optimal soil health through the soil and improve yields.
Precision agriculture can also help map the soils in the field which require additional nutrients and care or are more suitable for certain types of crops and climates.
Conclusion
While regenerative agriculture can transform the global food system sustainably, there are a few barriers such as lack of awareness and knowledge among growers and lack of access to technology. Hence, it is imperative to provide end-to-end support to growers to make regenerative agriculture a success in the truest sense.
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