What is regenerative agriculture, and can it be a model to scale sustainable palm oil farming among independent smallholder farmers? We explore how it works in a study visit to a site of 13 villages in Indonesia implementing regenerative agriculture and more
- What is Regenerative Agriculture?
- How Does Regenerative Agriculture Work?
- Why Is Regenerative Agriculture Important?
- Three Years Into the Project, How Do We Support Smallholders in Implementing Regenerative Agriculture?
- The Road Ahead
Agriculture makes up nearly 40 percent of the land we use worldwide.* By some estimates, about half of the lands used to feed the world are degraded, and continued degradation will further decrease food productivity.^ This will make feeding a growing world population even more challenging, and poorer countries will likely be disproportionately affected. To make matters worse, climate change is likely to further affect agricultural productivity.
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming approach that focuses on restoring soil health, increasing biodiversity, and improving ecosystem function through sustainable practices like crop rotation, cover cropping, and reduced tillage. It proposes that if soil health can be improved and maintained, agricultural productivity will increase, and other benefits could potentially arise from it, for example, improved biodiversity and reduced carbon emissions. For independent smallholder farmers, those with plots of less than 20 hectares, regenerative agriculture can improve their livelihoods by enabling them to reduce costs associated with chemical inputs, sustain the health of their plots, and develop alternative sources of income.
What is Regenerative Agriculture?
The principles of regenerative agriculture aren’t new. The principles and practices have been applied worldwide for thousands of years—an example is putting fallen leaves and other organic matter back into the soil.
Regenerative agriculture goes beyond sustainable farming by actively improving the environment. It is a philosophy that farming should work like a cycle that, as its name suggests, regenerates itself. Regenerative practices can transform degraded lands into productive, resilient ecosystems by restoring soil health, increasing biodiversity, and enhancing water retention. Adopting these practices can lead to more stable yields, improved income, greater food security, and adaptation to climate change impacts for smallholder farmers, who are often on the frontline of agricultural expansion. There is no strict method as to what goes into regenerative agriculture—it all depends on the region and the conditions present. It also varies based on the crop type, with a critical difference between perennial crops and annual ones that only produce one harvest.
In the palm oil sector, we have long applied some of these principles, using techniques such as cover cropping and integrated pest management. We have then introduced our approach to smallholder farmers.
What Are We Doing for Regenerative Agriculture
Against this backdrop, Musim Mas launched the Livelihoods Project three years ago in partnership with the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming (L3F), SNV, World Agroforestry (ICRAF), and a consortium of consumer goods companies. This long-term initiative is called the Biodiverse and Inclusive Palm Oil Supply Chain (BIPOSC) program. This project is a transformative approach to agriculture that aims to promote regenerative practices, rehabilitate degraded farmlands, and improve the sustainability and resilience of independent smallholder farmers in North Sumatra/Indonesia.
Over the next decade, the project aims to regenerate at least 4,000 hectares of land through sustainable practices, focusing on independent smallholder farmers in North Sumatra’s Labuhanbatu District. Independent smallholders are the focus of this project as they tend to lack the know-how to produce sustainably and implement practices that can improve soil health and reduce their farming-associated costs. They also lack the means to access affordable fertilizers and other resources.
Independent smallholders play a vital role in Indonesia’s palm oil supply chain, yet they often face barriers to sustainability, including limited access to training, finance, and markets. Musim Mas has been leading Indonesia’s largest independent smallholder program. The BIPOSC project with our partners is one of Musim Mas’ many efforts to expand its support for smallholders. The Livelihoods Project has already made significant progress three years into the project.
At the time of writing, over 1,097 independent smallholders representing planted areas of approximately 1,955 hectares are implementing sustainable practices.
How Does Regenerative Agriculture Work?
The basis of regenerative agriculture is that increasing organic matter in soil is necessary to improve soil health. There are a few ways this can be done. In the content context of the palm oil industry, the BIPOSC project considers five main principles in its approach to regenerative agriculture for palm oil smallholders:
- Mulching: Fallen palm fronds are arranged in U-shape around the palms. This simple practice helps preserve sustainable nitrogen levels in the soil and control soil moisture.
- Organic fertilizer: As part of the project, smallholders are taught home-based composting, enabling them to produce organic fertilizer sustainably and tailored to their plot’s needs. Fertilizer application is recommended three times a year.
- Cover cropping: Planting legumes is part of the BIPOSC project. Legumes are ideal for planting between oil palm trees, as they thrive in shady areas, compete with other plants, reduce weeds and preserve soil moisture. Legumes that are not shade-tolerant are planted in open areas.
- Integrated Pest and Disease Management (IPDM): Installing owl nests (Tyto alba) in the middle of palm plantations offers a biological and sustainable method for controlling rat populations. We also plant Turnera subulata, a flowering plant that is a food source for pests that would otherwise attack palms. Such methods reduce the need for chemical pesticides.
- Bio-input: Trichoderma, a bio-fungicide, is applied to combat and prevent root diseases caused by Ganoderma fungus, a common disease in palms that leads to the plant’s death and has no cure presently.
- Agroforestry: a further extension of these five principles. It involves planting crops or trees or raising livestock to improve the benefits of regenerative agriculture. In addition to promoting soil biodiversity, agroforestry can potentially provide alternative livelihoods to smallholder farmers if diseases like Ganoderma attack their plants. In some agroforestry plots, livestock is introduced, providing an integrated approach to sustainable land use.
Why Is Regenerative Agriculture Important?
Improves Soil Texture, Humidity, and Fertility
Regenerative agriculture practices, such as treating soil with compost, foster more soil organisms, such as earthworms. These organisms enhance soil health and contribute to a thriving ecosystem.
In the image below, the sample on the left shows soil treated with compost. Its darker color indicates richer organic matter, supporting a more diverse range of organisms than the sample on the right. The latter shows soil that isn’t treated with compost. It is lighter and less fertile.
The loose, well-aerated texture of treated soil promotes better root growth and water retention, further supporting biodiversity in contrast to untreated soil’s compact and dense structure. This is crucial for dry spells, and healthier soil supports above-ground biodiversity and plant growth.
Improved soil health: The sample on the left represents soil from a plot in the project treated with compost. It is healthier presence of a worm suggests it is richer in organic matter. The soil on the right is degraded and has a clay-like texture.
Improves Biodiversity
Regenerative practices encourage diverse plant species, supporting a healthier ecosystem. Techniques like agroforestry and intercropping create habitats for insects, birds, and other wildlife, leading to a more balanced ecosystem. This biodiversity helps control pests naturally and promotes pollination, improving crop yields and ecosystem resilience.
A range of beneficial crops and trees grown in a nursery at the BIPOSC project site
Reduces Soil Erosion
Maintaining continuous soil cover through cover crops and reducing tillage prevents soil from being washed or blown away during heavy rains and strong winds. By protecting the soil surface, regenerative agriculture significantly reduces erosion, helping to maintain the topsoil layer that is rich in nutrients and essential for crop growth.
Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Cover cropping also sequesters carbon emissions from the soil. Additionally, the reduced use of chemical fertilizers lowers carbon emissions, contributing to climate change mitigation.
Improves Resilience for Smallholders
Smallholder farmers often face high costs for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Regenerative agriculture reduces this dependency by emphasizing natural fertilizers, composting, and biological pest control methods. This helps smallholders save money and increases their resilience by making their farms less reliant on costly external inputs.
Home Composting in a smallholder plot
Reduces Nitrogen Leakage
Regenerative agriculture minimizes the risk of excess nitrogen leaching into waterways by using organic fertilizers and composts. Practices like integrating legumes (which naturally fix nitrogen in the soil) help balance nutrient levels. This reduces the risk of water pollution in nearby water bodies, which can cause harmful algal blooms and damage aquatic ecosystems.
Enhances Long-Term Productivity and Farm Resilience:
The focus on building healthier soils and ecosystems makes regenerative farms more resilient to climate shocks like droughts and heavy rainfall. Over time, the cumulative benefits of improved soil health, biodiversity, and water retention translate into more consistent yields and a more sustainable farming system, ensuring food security for future generations.
Three Years Into the Project, How Do We Support Smallholders in Implementing Regenerative Agriculture?
Training on Regenerative Agriculture
The BIPOSC project addresses these challenges by providing smallholders with the knowledge, through group training, individual coaching, and Field Schools, exposure to demonstration plots, tools, and support needed to transition to sustainable practices that improve soil health, increase yields, and enhance the overall sustainability of their farms, as outlined in the section How does Regenerative Agriculture Work?
A BIPOSC regenerative agriculture training session
Promoting Agroforestry
In addition to encouraging regenerative agriculture, we have established 20 hectares of agroforestry demonstration plots, showcasing the benefits of integrating trees, other vegetation, and livestock into palm oil plantations. As of the time of writing, 89 participating smallholders are adopting agroforestry on approximately 134 hectares of land. After training, we support the farmers by giving them on-site advice and assistance through coaching.
Building Local Expertise: Farmer Champions
The project has also trained 27 local facilitators to assist the farmers and promote knowledge exchange in the community about sustainable farming practices. These facilitators were chosen for their interest and skills in these practices. They play a crucial role in ensuring that the knowledge and practices taught during training sessions are effectively implemented on the ground.
Meet Bahrun, a Local Farmer Champion
Bahrun is a passionate and highly skilled farmer champion. In addition to implementing regenerative agriculture in his plot, he produces his own organic fertilizer from cow manure and leaf waste compost. “After learning about composting, I began my home-composting journey. It has helped me save a lot on fertilizer costs, and I find the soil structure on my plot has improved—it’s no longer clay-like. With the money I’ve saved on fertilizers, I’ve also gained more capital to buy seeds and plant other crops, applying an agroforestry approach,” said Bahrun.
Building Institutional Capacity: Farmer Cooperatives and Composting Unit
The BIPOSC project has facilitated the establishment of a farmer cooperative, providing members with technical assistance to build capacity for managing their businesses. It also gives the smallholders collective power to negotiate better prices and secure financing for sustainable farming practices.
The collective has also started a composting unit. Producing compost at scale with inputs from nearby mills and farmer plots, the unit offers compost at half the market prices to member farmers. In its first year of operation, in 2023, the unit produced 588 tons of compost and generated a profit of IDR 421 million, then shared among member farmers.
The Composting Unit
Improving Access to Funding:
Smallholders often need help adopting sustainable practices, such as the cost of replanting with higher-yielding, disease-resistant palm varieties. We help the smallholders access loans, especially for replanting—coupled with financial management training, this enables farmers to invest in their future sustainability.
Empowering Women in Agriculture
The project recognizes women’s vital role in agriculture and has taken steps to ensure their inclusion. We provide training on business models for seed funding, allowing them to start or expand small enterprises. Training in financial literacy has further empowered these women to manage their incomes effectively, contributing to improved livelihoods for themselves and their families.
The Road Ahead
BIPOSC is more than an initiative—it’s a blueprint for the future of smallholder inclusion and sustainability. By promoting regenerative agriculture and agroforestry and empowering smallholders, the project is addressing some of the industry’s most pressing challenges.
As we move forward, the continued success of this project will be instrumental in shaping a more sustainable and equitable palm oil supply chain. For Musim Mas, L3F, SNV, ICRAF, and the thousands of smallholders involved, the Livelihoods Project represents a commitment to improving the sustainability of palm oil production and enhancing the livelihoods of those who depend on it. The project partners are committed to further supporting the smallholders involved and establishing BIPOSC as a model that can be expanded upon or replicated.
In a world where consumers and regulators demand greater transparency and sustainability, the BIPOSC initiative is paving the way for a more responsible and resilient agricultural sector. The continued viability of this project demonstrates that smallholders practicing sustainable farming, including regenerative agriculture, can be viable, ensuring a brighter future for Indonesia’s palm oil industry and the environment it depends on.
References:
- * https://www.earthshare.org/the-global-importance-of-regenerative-agriculture/
- ^ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/09/why-empowering-100-million-farmers-to-transform-our-food-systems-matters/
- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/what-is-regenerative-agriculture/
- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/09/why-empowering-100-million-farmers-to-transform-our-food-systems-matters/
- https://www.ft.com/partnercontent/pepsico/why-regenerative-agriculture-could-be-key-to-our-sustainable-future.html
