Two multi-year public private partnerships support Dutch farmers in the transition toward regenerative agriculture

Driven by personal beliefs, environmental changes, decreasing soil fertility and anticipated changes in legislation, many farmers in the Netherlands are motivated to transition to more sustainable farming practices. The concept of Regenerative Agriculture, with fertile soils as the foundation, is increasingly recognized as a promising pathway. It includes measures that seek not only to mitigate the negative impacts of common practices but also make a positive contribution to nature, environment, climate, food security and socioeconomic conditions. Such changes require a large investment of time and knowledge, and they have significant short-term economic risks for farmers. Results from prior research on the implementation of regenerative agriculture practices in the Netherlands indicate that in conjunction with well-defined farm level business models, there is the need for improved mapping of soil biology and structural monitoring based on a modular, farm-specific set of parameters spanning from soil and biodiversity to economics and social aspects. This is the basis for a new public private partnership (PPP) project in which a number of large agricultural cooperatives, advisory organizations and knowledge institutions will work together to identify successful pathways toward a regenerative system on farm and regional level. This project works together with 50 Dutch arable, dairy and mixed systems farmers who are at different stages in their transition towards more regenerative agriculture. Using soil health as starting point, this project will provide means and support for farmers in the Netherlands who want to take major steps toward regenerative agriculture in the future.