Giller Ken E, Hijbeek Renske, Andersson Jens A, Sumberg James
Plant Production Systems, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Outlook Agric. 2021 Mar;50(1):13-25. doi: 10.1177/0030727021998063. Epub 2021 Mar 2.
Agriculture is in crisis. Soil health is collapsing. Biodiversity faces the sixth mass extinction. Crop yields are plateauing. Against this crisis narrative swells a clarion call for Regenerative Agriculture. But what is Regenerative Agriculture, and why is it gaining such prominence? Which problems does it solve, and how? Here we address these questions from an agronomic perspective. The term Regenerative Agriculture has actually been in use for some time, but there has been a resurgence of interest over the past 5 years. It is supported from what are often considered opposite poles of the debate on agriculture and food. Regenerative Agriculture has been promoted strongly by civil society and NGOs as well as by many of the major multi-national food companies. Many practices promoted as regenerative, including crop residue retention, cover cropping and reduced tillage are central to the canon of 'good agricultural practices', while others are contested and at best niche (e.g. permaculture, holistic grazing). Worryingly, these practices are generally promoted with little regard to context. Practices most often encouraged (such as no tillage, no pesticides or no external nutrient inputs) are unlikely to lead to the benefits claimed in all places. We argue that the resurgence of interest in Regenerative Agriculture represents a re-framing of what have been considered to be two contrasting approaches to agricultural futures, namely agroecology and sustainable intensification, under the same banner. This is more likely to confuse than to clarify the public debate. More importantly, it draws attention away from more fundamental challenges. We conclude by providing guidance for research agronomists who want to engage with Regenerative Agriculture.
农业正处于危机之中。土壤健康正在崩溃。生物多样性面临第六次大规模灭绝。作物产量趋于平稳。在这场危机的背景下，对再生农业的呼声日益高涨。但什么是再生农业，为什么它如此备受瞩目？它解决了哪些问题，又是如何解决的？在此，我们从农艺学的角度来探讨这些问题。“再生农业”这个术语实际上已经使用了一段时间，但在过去五年里人们对它的兴趣再度兴起。它得到了农业与食品辩论中通常被认为是对立两极的支持。再生农业得到了民间社会、非政府组织以及许多大型跨国食品公司的大力推广。许多被推崇为具有再生性的做法，包括保留作物残茬、覆盖作物种植和减少耕作，都是“良好农业实践”准则的核心内容，而其他一些做法则存在争议，充其量只是小众做法（如永续农业、整体放牧）。令人担忧的是，这些做法在推广时通常很少考虑实际情况。最常被鼓励的做法（如免耕、不使用农药或不投入外部养分）在所有地方都不太可能带来所宣称的益处。我们认为，对再生农业兴趣的再度兴起代表了在同一旗帜下对农业未来两种截然不同的方法，即农业生态学和可持续集约化，进行了重新界定。这更有可能使公众辩论变得混乱而非清晰。更重要的是，它将注意力从更根本的挑战上转移开了。最后，我们为想要参与再生农业研究的农学家提供了指导。
