Introduction

Unlocking the Potential of Regenerative Agriculture

Agriculture underpins global economic security, supporting jobs, livelihoods and food and nutrition security for billions of people around the world. Yet, current production systems are nearing a breaking point as they are vulnerable to climate volatility, biodiversity loss and resource depletion, which present compounding systemic and financial risks.

The sector contributes around one third of greenhouse gas emissions globally; a third of soil is degraded and 90% may be at risk by 2050. By 2050, climate change and land degradation could reduce crop yields worldwide by 10% on average – and by up to 50% in certain regions – with an estimated 120kcal per person per day lost for each degree of global warming.1 These risks threaten business sustainability and disproportionately impact the most vulnerable in food systems: smallholder farmers, Indigenous Peoples and low-income consumers.

The sector contributes around

of greenhouse gas emissions

a third of soil is degraded and

may be at risk by 2050

However, a transition is underway to a new, productive agriculture and land-use system that regenerates natural resources instead of depleting them. Regenerative agriculture presents a holistic solution to transform the production of food, feed and fiber, benefiting climate, nature and people. Rooted in agroecological evidence and principles, regenerative agriculture is an outcome-based farming approach. It can increase the productivity levels of agricultural goods while generating net-positive impacts on soil health, biodiversity, climate, water resources and farming livelihoods at both the farm and landscape levels.

The private sector is increasingly embracing regenerative agriculture. In 2023, the FAIRR Initiative found that 36% of 79 major food and retail companies had set quantified, company- wide regenerative agriculture targets. Today, over 155 leading agrifood businesses are investing in regenerative practices.2 Several factors are driving this shift.

First, the resilience of value chains depends on it. The agrifood industry is highly dependent on nature for ecosystem services, making it particularly vulnerable to climate change, biodiversity loss and water scarcity. Second, the returns of regenerative agriculture are becoming increasingly clear.

0%

of 79 major food and retail companies had set quantified, company- wide regenerative agriculture targets

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Analysis by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) indicates that regenerative agriculture brings a positive return on investment in Europe and North America after a 3–5 year transition. An analysis of wheat farmers in the US state of Kansas shows that, over time, regenerative agriculture can increase their profitability by up to 120%.3

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A recent study by the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA) reports that, between 2020 and 2023, European farmers adopting regenerative practices achieved, on average, just 2% lower yields in terms of kilocalories and proteins, while using 62% less synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and 76% less pesticides per hectare. With this study, EARA estimates that, through regenerative agriculture, farmers in Europe could mitigate 84% of the net greenhouse gas emissions from the EU agricultural sector. 4

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A study by TechnoServe on regenerative agriculture in 10 countries in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia reports that, through a 7-year transition period, regenerative practices adopted at scale in the coffee sector could lead to a 62% increase in farmer income for 3.2 million farms and a 38% decrease in coffee emissions across 2.7 million hectares annually.5

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Analysis by Boston Consulting Group outlines that Brazil has the potential to lead a tropical agriculture transformation and increase food security for the world by raising productivity while cutting emissions through regenerative practices. Transitioning the Cerrado represents a USD $55 billion investment opportunity through 2040, with an average 19% internal rate of return.6

Third – although only an estimated 3% of global climate finance flows to the agriculture, food and land-use sectors7 – a new favorable financial environment is emerging. Investments in land restoration and regenerative agriculture are on the rise, with innovative financial mechanisms supporting and de-risking farmers’ transition to regenerative production models, for example:

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The Tropical Forests Forever Fund – a mechanism spearheaded by the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) Presidency in Brazil – aims to mobilize around USD $4 billion annually, providing tropical forest countries with large-scale, predictable, performance-based payments.

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Mirova’s Sustainable Land Fund 2 seeks to facilitate the transition and decarbonization of agricultural and forestry value chains, with the goal of generating financial returns and positive impact in terms of climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity conservation and social inclusion, particularly for women in emerging economies. This fund builds on the successes of the Land Degradation Neutrality fund and has a target size of EUR € 350 million.

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Rabobank’s Agri3 Fund is a blended finance mechanism providing partial risk guarantees and credit enhancement instruments to partner banks, mobilizing USD $1 billion. The fund catalyzes finance to support transactions that prevent deforestation, stimulate reforestation, contribute to efficient sustainable agricultural production and value chains with reduced carbon emissions, and support rural livelihoods with improved income and employment opportunities.8

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The Landscape Resilience Fund – co-developed by South Pole and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) – is an impact-driven fund mobilizing public, philanthropic and corporate climate capital to enable smallholder farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adapt to climate change. The fund aims to mobilize USD $25 million to improve the livelihoods of 125,000 beneficiaries.

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Brazil’s Caminho Verde Brasil is a federal government program through which Brazil has announced USD $6 billion in subsidized credit lines to support the recovery of 1.4 to 2 million hectares of degraded pastureland, transitioning it into integrated crop-livestock- forestry systems.

companies implementing more than

landscape initiatives

Businesses committed to the transition to regenerative agriculture at scale are shifting toward landscape-level land management. Landscape initiatives – place-based management approaches that involve the collaboration of stakeholders in a landscape to advance shared sustainability goals and build resilience – can reconcile and optimize multiple social, economic and environmental objectives across several economic sectors and land uses. In complex supply chains, landscape approaches can be especially helpful in tackling systemic issues such as deforestation, ecosystem conversion, watershed risk or human rights violations. Businesses will continue to struggle to tackle climate, nature and equity issues in their supply chains if they act alone. Through landscape initiatives, they can collaborate strategically with local governments, civil society organizations and rural communities to foster sustainable and inclusive landscape management and governance. In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reported that 192 companies were implementing more than 200 landscape initiatives through investments, decision-making processes and the convening of stakeholders9

Many of the companies referenced in this Guidebook are part of the COP Action Agenda on Regenerative Landscapes, launched at COP28 and supporting the United Nations Framework Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP16 Riyadh Action Agenda. Through this initiative, as of 2024, collective investments in regenerative landscapes were gathered amounting to over USD $6 billion and covering over 300 projects spanning over 280 million hectares.

in Investments

projects

million hectares

The momentum behind the regenerative transition is clear. But the extent of the challenge requires accelerated efforts: capital deployed remains far below what is needed. The Rockefeller Foundation estimates the funding gap to shift conventional global food systems to regenerative to be USD $250 to USD $430 billion annually over 10 years. Closing the gap would unlock USD $4.5 trillion in new investment opportunities each year and USD $5.7 trillion in costs saved each year in damages to people and the planet.10 Increased collaboration between farmers, businesses, investors, civil society and policymakers is needed to accelerate the regeneration of landscapes and achieve impact at scale.

Endnotes

1 Hultgren, A. et al. (2025). Impacts of climate change on global agriculture accounting for adaptation. Nature 642, 644–652 (2025). https://doi. org/10.1038/s41586-025-09085-w.

2 Boucher, M. et al. (2023). The Four Labours of Regenerative Agriculture: Paving the way towards meaningful commitments. FAIRR. Retrieved from: https://www.fairr.org/resources/ reports/regenerative-agriculture- four-labours.

3 WBCSD (2023). Cultivating farmer prosperity. Retrieved from: https:// www.wbcsd.org/resources/ cultivating-farmer-prosperity/.

4 EARA (2025). Farmer-led Research on Europe’s Full Productivity. Retrieved from: https://eara.farm/ wp-content/uploads/EARA_Farmer- led-Research-on-Europes-Full- Productivity_2025_06_03.pdf

5 TechnoServe (2025). The Investment Case for Regenerative Coffee Production. Retrieved from: https:// www.technoserve.org/regenerative- coffee-investment-case/.

6 WBCSD (2025). Resilience for the Future: A Viable Pathway to Regenerative Landscapes in the Cerrado. Retrieved from: https:// www.wbcsd.org/resources/ resilience-for-the-future-a-viable- pathway-to-regenerative-landscapes- in-the-cerrado/.

7 WBCSD (n.d.). Good Food Finance Network (GFFN) Value Chain Catalyst Group. 02. The challenge. Retrieved from: https://www.wbcsd. org/actions/good-food-finance- network-gffn-value-chain-catalyst- group/#:~:text=Yet%2C%20only%20 about%203%25%20of,forestry%2C%20 and%20land%20use%20sector.

8 Agri3 Fund (2025). About us. Website. Retrieved from: https://agri3.com/.

9 CDP (2023). From Calls to Action to Action on Nature: A Landscape Approach. Article. Retrieved from: https://www.cdp.net/en/insights/ from-calls-to-action-to-action-on- nature-a-landscape-approach.

10 The Rockefeller Foundation (2024). Financing for Regenerative Agriculture. Retrieved from: https:// www.rockefellerfoundation.org/ reports/financing-for-regenerative- agriculture/.

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