Regenerative agriculture is not a silver bullet, says Neumann – 03/06/2024 – Café na Prensa

Regenerative agriculture is an important practice in the current climate scenario, but it cannot be considered a “silver bullet”, he told the Coffee in the Press David M. Neumann, CEO of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, world leader in the green coffee market.

Neumann states that, although the term has become the sector’s watchword, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that it demands investment and its possible application must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

“The concept of regenerative agriculture is not new, but it has become a buzzword in recent years,” he says. “We see a lot of potential in certain practices to work as win-wins for farmers’ livelihoods, soil health, biodiversity and climate mitigation, but they also require upfront investments, in-depth understanding of soil and plant conditions, and the combination right set of practices for each farm”.

Neumann remembers that coffee farming is predominantly small producers and that it is necessary to discuss who will pay the bill for the transition from traditional to regenerative practices.

“We need more solid data on farm economics and honest conversations about financing transitions and payments for ecosystem services provided by farmers under regenerative agriculture,” he says.

“In summary, we see regenerative agriculture as part of the puzzle when it comes to NKG’s sustainability strategy and one that can drive mitigation and adaptation in agriculture. However, it is not a silver bullet and needs to be implemented for each farm , which will not be easy or welcome everywhere”, he states.

Regenerative agriculture is one of coffee farming’s biggest bets to deal with climate change. For producers, it is advantageous because it makes the plantation better able to face extreme weather events. And, for the multinationals that buy these grains, it is one of the greatest allies in achieving their goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The term regenerative agriculture has been around for a few decades, but only a few years ago it started to appear more frequently. It has become a kind of mantra for large companies trying to vocalize a sustainable discourse. The expression has become ubiquitous in ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) reports, labels and executive speeches.

In general, regenerative agriculture is based on practices of conservation and regeneration of soil, water and biodiversity, in order to, among other things, emit less carbon dioxide than techniques considered traditional.

The term, however, still lacks a precise definition, and this abstraction is criticized by some experts. As there is no regulation, they say, it is impossible to monitor whether a given company is actually purchasing coffee from regenerative agriculture.

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