Spotlight on Regenerative Agriculture and Food Systems in Latin America
By Diana Pedroza
July 16th, 2024
In June 2024, the CarbonSpace team attended the Regenerative Agriculture and Food System Summit LATAM. Our takeaways highlight the enormous opportunities and salient challenges represented by Latin America today:
Read on to learn more about these takeaways. In this blog post, we’ll:
- Although Latin America is in the early stages of sustainable transition, both momentum and urgency are already present.
- The region must navigate its own challenges while aligning with international (US, EU, UK, APAC, etc.) export regulations and global food companies' climate commitments.
- Conversations here more heavily emphasize human rights and livable income, as these issues are more pressing compared to more developed areas like the US and Europe.
Read on to learn more about these takeaways. In this blog post, we’ll:
- Provide a brief overview of the regenerative agriculture and food systems landscape in Latin America
- Discuss value chain issues and remuneration
- Highlight the opportunities available through synergy and collaboration
- Cover how technology and digitalization can facilitate needed change
Overview
It has become increasingly clear that regenerative agriculture is no longer an optional medium- or long-term luxury, especially in Latin America. Climate changes, ecosystem alterations, droughts, biodiversity loss, and many other natural disbalances demand the immediate implementation of new methods and practices.
On the other hand, there are several challenges specific to the region. Latin America is diverse in its landscapes, crops, and farming approaches. Regenerative agriculture will look different in each area, so a one-size-fits-all method approach is not possible.
Besides, Latin America also faces another challenge: remuneration. Productive land is usually not structured in large fields owned by a few actors. Profitability and remuneration for smallholders is challenging as they are usually achieved at scale. Additionally, young people find farming less attractive as a career due to this low remuneration, leading them to seek other opportunities or immigrate to other countries. This shift creates a generational gap and leads to another significant issue: a dwindling workforce for agricultural land. It is crucial to restructure systems to offer fair schemes and make this sector attractive again for new generations.
Navigating the complex regulatory landscape is another challenge for companies involved in export activities. As we transition to more consolidated global regulatory frameworks, national regulations are also beginning to emerge. In this complex environment, it is suggested that companies use recognized frameworks like the GHG Protocol, SBTi, or FLAG as guidance. These frameworks provide essential guidelines, bases, and definitions, facilitating subsequent adherence to specific regulations or certifications. Governments should harmonize national regulations and legal frameworks with the international landscape to ease adoption by producers and intermediaries.
It has become increasingly clear that regenerative agriculture is no longer an optional medium- or long-term luxury, especially in Latin America. Climate changes, ecosystem alterations, droughts, biodiversity loss, and many other natural disbalances demand the immediate implementation of new methods and practices.
On the other hand, there are several challenges specific to the region. Latin America is diverse in its landscapes, crops, and farming approaches. Regenerative agriculture will look different in each area, so a one-size-fits-all method approach is not possible.
Besides, Latin America also faces another challenge: remuneration. Productive land is usually not structured in large fields owned by a few actors. Profitability and remuneration for smallholders is challenging as they are usually achieved at scale. Additionally, young people find farming less attractive as a career due to this low remuneration, leading them to seek other opportunities or immigrate to other countries. This shift creates a generational gap and leads to another significant issue: a dwindling workforce for agricultural land. It is crucial to restructure systems to offer fair schemes and make this sector attractive again for new generations.
Navigating the complex regulatory landscape is another challenge for companies involved in export activities. As we transition to more consolidated global regulatory frameworks, national regulations are also beginning to emerge. In this complex environment, it is suggested that companies use recognized frameworks like the GHG Protocol, SBTi, or FLAG as guidance. These frameworks provide essential guidelines, bases, and definitions, facilitating subsequent adherence to specific regulations or certifications. Governments should harmonize national regulations and legal frameworks with the international landscape to ease adoption by producers and intermediaries.
Humanity, Equity, and the Value Chain
Regenerative agriculture must be viewed from a human perspective, transforming the "supply chain" into a "value chain." This means that every link in the chain, from the farmer to the consumer, must operate under fair and equitable schemes. It is crucial to prioritize farmers in Latin America. Historically, they have not been well-incentivized and yet are asked to take on significant risks in this transformation.
Commodity buyers should not only demand change from farmers but also stand by them, offering education, financing, and comprehensive plans that guide and support this transition. Transformation is smoother when farmers are equipped with the right tools and knowledge.
Education and empathy must be central to this change, including continuous learning and listening. As author and regenerative agriculture expert Ethan Roland Soloviev said, "If regenerative agriculture is not regenerating the community, it's just gardening." This statement underscores the need for regeneration efforts to positively address and impact social and economic aspects, not just comply with environmental regulations.
Regenerative agriculture must be viewed from a human perspective, transforming the "supply chain" into a "value chain." This means that every link in the chain, from the farmer to the consumer, must operate under fair and equitable schemes. It is crucial to prioritize farmers in Latin America. Historically, they have not been well-incentivized and yet are asked to take on significant risks in this transformation.
Commodity buyers should not only demand change from farmers but also stand by them, offering education, financing, and comprehensive plans that guide and support this transition. Transformation is smoother when farmers are equipped with the right tools and knowledge.
Education and empathy must be central to this change, including continuous learning and listening. As author and regenerative agriculture expert Ethan Roland Soloviev said, "If regenerative agriculture is not regenerating the community, it's just gardening." This statement underscores the need for regeneration efforts to positively address and impact social and economic aspects, not just comply with environmental regulations.
Synergy and Collaboration
The transformation towards regenerative agriculture requires holistic and integrative action plans involving various stakeholders. We are not dealing with isolated systems but biodiverse ecosystems and biological interrelationships. Implementing actions in isolated plots will not achieve the desired impact if neighboring producers' actions interfere with regenerative spaces.
In this context, buyers and intermediaries should agree to standardize requirements as much as possible to encompass a larger number of producers. This will enable farmers in the same region to comply with a uniform scheme, preventing actions by some from interfering with others. Additionally, we must create spaces for sharing and collaboration. Farmers, buyers, intermediaries, and consumers need opportunities to learn, whether through digital forums or in-person events like the recent Regenerative Agriculture and Food Systems Summit. Here, we must move beyond mere demands and practice active listening. We should support restructuring our systems, reconsidering our ideas, and being ready to change our habits at both industrial and personal levels.
While our objectives and challenges are clear, the frameworks, regulations, methodologies, and tools to achieve them are still being defined. Often, our attachment to solutions prevents us from hearing the root causes. It is crucial to shift from mere reaction to active listening to understand these issues and find real solutions, fostering synergy and collaboration with other stakeholders, including competitors, to develop efficient frameworks and achieve our goals.
The transformation towards regenerative agriculture requires holistic and integrative action plans involving various stakeholders. We are not dealing with isolated systems but biodiverse ecosystems and biological interrelationships. Implementing actions in isolated plots will not achieve the desired impact if neighboring producers' actions interfere with regenerative spaces.
In this context, buyers and intermediaries should agree to standardize requirements as much as possible to encompass a larger number of producers. This will enable farmers in the same region to comply with a uniform scheme, preventing actions by some from interfering with others. Additionally, we must create spaces for sharing and collaboration. Farmers, buyers, intermediaries, and consumers need opportunities to learn, whether through digital forums or in-person events like the recent Regenerative Agriculture and Food Systems Summit. Here, we must move beyond mere demands and practice active listening. We should support restructuring our systems, reconsidering our ideas, and being ready to change our habits at both industrial and personal levels.
While our objectives and challenges are clear, the frameworks, regulations, methodologies, and tools to achieve them are still being defined. Often, our attachment to solutions prevents us from hearing the root causes. It is crucial to shift from mere reaction to active listening to understand these issues and find real solutions, fostering synergy and collaboration with other stakeholders, including competitors, to develop efficient frameworks and achieve our goals.
Technology, Digitalization, and Databases
One of the most severe challenges to achieving objectives is the scalability of regenerative agriculture. Digitalization and the adoption of technological solutions are essential to accelerating scalability; here we are confronted by another challenge: agriculture and food systems face a technological gap. And with the required digital shift today, this sector experiences a "gap within the gap."
If we speak specifically about Latin America, the problem is intensified by the lack of updated and reliable databases. As a solution to this, technology service providers must create high-quality, traceable, integrable, and profitable data ecosystems.
CarbonSpace offers an effective solution by providing high-quality, verified, and direct carbon flux data. We are taking a step forward by moving away from assumptions or average values in data modeling and helping companies accurately quantify their major efforts to transition to regenerative agriculture. Bad data leads to bad accounting, which undermines sustainable efforts and can lead to miscommunication or inadvertent greenwashing.
Read more: What Makes CarbonSpace Data Different?
Food supply chains benefit from CarbonSpace’s MRV tool by accessing primary carbon data, reducing uncertainties, including carbon stock changes in natural carbon pools, and assessing the impact of sustainable land management, among other use cases. Companies not only benefit from measuring their economic and operational efforts on regenerative investment but also facilitate corporate narrative claims, setting baseline targets, and carbon accounting reporting toward major standards like ISO-14000 and the GHG Protocol, while also supporting life cycle assessments (LCAs) and carbon insetting and offsetting projects.
Companies like CarbonSpace can facilitate data transformation in Latin America, paving the way for greater visibility and support for regenerative practices and nature-based solutions. These regions are diverse and varied, and only with deep stores of data can personalized interventions be developed, measured, maintained, validated, and reported on.
One of the most severe challenges to achieving objectives is the scalability of regenerative agriculture. Digitalization and the adoption of technological solutions are essential to accelerating scalability; here we are confronted by another challenge: agriculture and food systems face a technological gap. And with the required digital shift today, this sector experiences a "gap within the gap."
If we speak specifically about Latin America, the problem is intensified by the lack of updated and reliable databases. As a solution to this, technology service providers must create high-quality, traceable, integrable, and profitable data ecosystems.
CarbonSpace offers an effective solution by providing high-quality, verified, and direct carbon flux data. We are taking a step forward by moving away from assumptions or average values in data modeling and helping companies accurately quantify their major efforts to transition to regenerative agriculture. Bad data leads to bad accounting, which undermines sustainable efforts and can lead to miscommunication or inadvertent greenwashing.
Read more: What Makes CarbonSpace Data Different?
Food supply chains benefit from CarbonSpace’s MRV tool by accessing primary carbon data, reducing uncertainties, including carbon stock changes in natural carbon pools, and assessing the impact of sustainable land management, among other use cases. Companies not only benefit from measuring their economic and operational efforts on regenerative investment but also facilitate corporate narrative claims, setting baseline targets, and carbon accounting reporting toward major standards like ISO-14000 and the GHG Protocol, while also supporting life cycle assessments (LCAs) and carbon insetting and offsetting projects.
Companies like CarbonSpace can facilitate data transformation in Latin America, paving the way for greater visibility and support for regenerative practices and nature-based solutions. These regions are diverse and varied, and only with deep stores of data can personalized interventions be developed, measured, maintained, validated, and reported on.