Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe
Regenerative agriculture is advocated as a response to environmental and socio-economic challenges, yet little research systematically examines its key proponents. We analyzed 849 actor websites and interviewed 131 regenerative farmers across five European countries. We mapped actor types, locations...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178644 |
| _version_ | 1855537942690267136 |
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| author | Schreefel, Loekie Steenman, Emile Adler, Fabian Buffara, Ricardo Freundt, Stephan Declerck, Fabrice Duncan, Jessica Giller, Ken E. Koster, Howard van Zanten, Hannah H. E. |
| author_browse | Adler, Fabian Buffara, Ricardo Declerck, Fabrice Duncan, Jessica Freundt, Stephan Giller, Ken E. Koster, Howard Schreefel, Loekie Steenman, Emile van Zanten, Hannah H. E. |
| author_facet | Schreefel, Loekie Steenman, Emile Adler, Fabian Buffara, Ricardo Freundt, Stephan Declerck, Fabrice Duncan, Jessica Giller, Ken E. Koster, Howard van Zanten, Hannah H. E. |
| author_sort | Schreefel, Loekie |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Regenerative agriculture is advocated as a response to environmental and socio-economic challenges, yet little research systematically examines its key proponents. We analyzed 849 actor websites and interviewed 131 regenerative farmers across five European countries. We mapped actor types, locations, sizes, and promoted themes (e.g. biodiversity) and practices (e.g. no-tillage). Our findings suggest regenerative agriculture originated as a grassroots approach to farming that was co-opted by non-farming actors around 2020. Since 2021, the number of new regenerative farmers declined, raising concerns that the focus shifted from farming to marketing driven by multinational companies. Policy engagement was limited, and actors were mainly urban-based (e.g. NGOs). The most promoted themes were soil health and biodiversity. Among nearly 5000 cited practices, cover cropping and crop diversification dominated. We argue that the burden of proof for regenerative agriculture to be sustainable lies in its ability to regenerate the environment—until then, its impact remains uncertain. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace178644 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1786442025-12-10T02:14:04Z Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe Schreefel, Loekie Steenman, Emile Adler, Fabian Buffara, Ricardo Freundt, Stephan Declerck, Fabrice Duncan, Jessica Giller, Ken E. Koster, Howard van Zanten, Hannah H. E. farmers stakeholders regenerative agriculture europe Regenerative agriculture is advocated as a response to environmental and socio-economic challenges, yet little research systematically examines its key proponents. We analyzed 849 actor websites and interviewed 131 regenerative farmers across five European countries. We mapped actor types, locations, sizes, and promoted themes (e.g. biodiversity) and practices (e.g. no-tillage). Our findings suggest regenerative agriculture originated as a grassroots approach to farming that was co-opted by non-farming actors around 2020. Since 2021, the number of new regenerative farmers declined, raising concerns that the focus shifted from farming to marketing driven by multinational companies. Policy engagement was limited, and actors were mainly urban-based (e.g. NGOs). The most promoted themes were soil health and biodiversity. Among nearly 5000 cited practices, cover cropping and crop diversification dominated. We argue that the burden of proof for regenerative agriculture to be sustainable lies in its ability to regenerate the environment—until then, its impact remains uncertain. 2025-11-05 2025-12-09T08:36:04Z 2025-12-09T08:36:04Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178644 en Open Access application/pdf Schreefel, L.; Steenman, E.; Adler, F.; Buffara, R.; Freundt, S.; Declerck, F.; Duncan, J.; Giller, K.E.; Koster, H.; van Zanten, H.H.E. (2025) Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe. npj Sustainable Agriculture 3(1): 59. ISSN: 2731-9202 |
| spellingShingle | farmers stakeholders regenerative agriculture europe Schreefel, Loekie Steenman, Emile Adler, Fabian Buffara, Ricardo Freundt, Stephan Declerck, Fabrice Duncan, Jessica Giller, Ken E. Koster, Howard van Zanten, Hannah H. E. Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe |
| title | Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe |
| title_full | Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe |
| title_fullStr | Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe |
| title_short | Beyond the buzz: analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in Europe |
| title_sort | beyond the buzz analyzing actors promoting regenerative agriculture in europe |
| topic | farmers stakeholders regenerative agriculture europe |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178644 |
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