Editor’s View: Control of regen ag must stay in farming hands
© Tim Scrivener What is the moment at which it is possible to say a farmer-led grassroots movement has gone mainstream?
No, I’m not referring to Wop-Wops shorts (other brands are available – if you haven’t heard about this multicoloured trend, ask someone who looks younger than you), but rather regenerative agriculture.
As you probably already know, this is a set of ideas built around minimising the movement of soil and use of inputs, which is, therefore, mildly hostile to manufacturers of wearing metal, sprays and other inputs in the agricultural supply chain.
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Next week there is an international conference in Amsterdam on regen ag which is primarily aimed at businesses beyond the farm gate – both the supply chain and some of farming’s biggest international customers.
Sponsors include Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, global fertiliser manufacturer Yara, and Accenture, one of the world’s top consultancy firms.
On the basis of that sort of interest, it can no longer be said with a straight face that the practices detailed above are merely the preserve of a few farmers operating on the fringe of the mainstream.
What is less clear is whether this is an opportunity or a threat to farmers themselves.
The optimistic case is that these companies have seized upon these environmentally friendly methods as a good news story for their customers and want to accelerate the pace of positive change in the industry by pumping up consumer demand.
This will then drive more farmers into adopting these principles, which will in turn benefit them and the environment.
Indeed, they may note, if more companies follow the lead of the UK agronomy sector – show me a large arable advice firm now that doesn’t have a regen expert – then we will drive down the use of pesticides and diesel-burning tillage in no time.
Substantial challenges in this sector also remain, such as how to apply these principles to root crops and other tricky customers, with no-till potatoes referred to as a “pipe dream” in last week’s Farmers Weekly.
Some of these dreams will remain out of reach, but other problems that are seemingly insurmountable at the moment could be overcome with a large dollop of inward investment, which some of these big players can provide.
Yet, as always when multinational companies muscle in on farming, it is right to be suspicious.
The next few years are shaping up to be a battleground… and, to my mind, it will be beneficial to all sides if farmers are left in the driving seat.
My colleagues and I have enjoyed covering this topic over the past few years, as it has helped some businesses improve their profitability (and zest for farming), while reducing their reliance on a supply chain that is really only out to extract money from them.
As we watch fertiliser firms here and across the EU switch off production, it feels like a particularly good time to be pouring effort into making food production as resilient and self-reliant as possible.
And it would be a concern if these multinational firms are allowed to exert control over what regenerative agriculture’s mission should be – such as through a certification scheme – as that will inevitably end up profiting them more than producers.
Farming won’t ever not need a supply industry and customers that both try to pull and push it in certain directions.
The next few years are shaping up to be a battleground for control of this school of thought and, to my mind, it will be beneficial to all sides if farmers are left in the driving seat.
I shall be attending the conference myself – do let me know at the address above if there is anything you think I should be asking.