Regenerative Agriculture

There is a growing body of anecdotal evidence for the benefits of regenerative agriculture, but scientific studies are scarce and focused on other countries.

We don’t yet have enough New Zealand data to compare the multiple suggested benefits of regenerative farming (environmental, economic, social, psychological and cultural) to other current ways of farming in New Zealand.

This think piece project will develop a framework for future regenerative agriculture research in New Zealand. It will identify what’s needed to build a scientific evidence base, so that future research can quickly fill the evidence gaps specific to regenerative agriculture in New Zealand.

Regenerative agriculture practices are adaptive and seek to optimise farm performance for multiple benefits simultaneously. This isn't easy to measure using conventional academic approaches, so this project will look at how to combine academic knowledge with the ways farmers and land managers know and appraise their whole system.

The project will identify what farmers, investors and agribusinesses need to measure, so they can communicate how their farming approach benefits their customers, communities and regulators.