Post by Wageningen Social & Economic Research

Regenerative agriculture can deliver both economic and environmental benefits for European farmers, Wageningen University & Research (WUR) concludes in the PPS project #Regenomics. Whether these benefits are realised depends strongly on regional conditions, such as the availability of water and livestock manure. As a result, the transition to regenerative agriculture requires tailored approaches that take individual farms into account.   To better understand the costs and benefits, the Regenomics team studied 40 farms in Germany, France, Hungary and Poland. For eight of these farms, the researchers carried out an in-depth analysis based on two scenarios: one involving short-term steps towards regenerative practices, and a second involving more substantial changes over the longer term.   “Regenerative agriculture can deliver substantial benefits, particularly for the Polish and Hungarian farms in our study,” says lead researcher Mark Manshanden. “With relatively small steps, they can achieve a much lower environmental footprint while also increasing their turnover. These farms often still use pesticides with a high environmental impact. Stopping their use, or switching to alternatives, can make a major difference.”   In Germany and France, by contrast, the same regenerative measures have a smaller effect. “In our scenarios, revenues fall significantly in those countries, mainly because crop yields are lower, while the environmental benefits are more limited.” Still, this conclusion is not black and white: in almost all cases analysed, regenerative agriculture also leads to lower costs. #regenerativeagriculture #farms #pps #costs #benefits