Feedstock and transformation processes drive the valorization of agro-livestock waste for a circular agriculture.

The world faces increasing food, environmental, and human security issues, primarily attributed to an overburdened agricultural sector struggling to keep pace with rising population and demand for food, energy, and fiber. Advances in food production and agriculture, especially with monoculture farming, have continued to meet these demands but at a high price regarding resource depletion and environmental devastation. This is especially severe in developing world areas with rural populations with thin resource margins. Regenerative agriculture has emerged as a solution to provide shielding for food production, ensure environmental protection, and promote social equity while addressing many of these issues. Regenerative agriculture food production aims to restore soils, forests, waterways, and the atmosphere and operate with lower offsite negative environmental and social impacts. This review discusses the fundamental principles and practices of sustainable plant protection for regenerative farming. It focuses on the role of biological and ecological processes, reduces non-renewable inputs, and aims to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into pest control practices. It offers essential transition strategies, including critical changes from conventional integrated pest management (IPM) to agro-ecological crop protection, focusing on systemic approaches to design agroecosystems. It also reaffirms the importance of a vast diversity of pest control methods that are culturally, mechanistically, physically, and biologically appropriate for regenerative farming practices. Ultimately, the aim is to encourage ecological, economic, and social sustainability for the future of more resilient and controlled agricultural practices.

In agriculture, climate change is the most critical global issue. It is widely acknowledged that addressing this issue poses a considerable challenge, primarily due to its multifaceted impact on regional economies and land management practices. The concept of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) provides a prosperous approach offering both adaptation and mitigation models. However, NbS implementation is often compromised by various natural and societal challenges. Vojvodina Province, the northern province of the Republic of Serbia, features a typical rural landscape where centuries of agricultural practice have led to significant environmental changes, with 70% of the territory converted to arable land. However, climate change has been demonstrated to induce increasingly extreme weather conditions, which in turn exacerbate the situation with regard to food production. This paper aims to examine the most prosperous ways for NbS implementation in Vojvodina Province. The preset study mapped areas suitable for the implementation of selected NbS on the territory of Vojvodina Province. Maps were created in QGIS, while data were extracted from various sources (CORINE Land Cover, OpenStreetMap, the Institute for Nature Conservation of Vojvodina Province, and EUNIS platform). The area suitable for NbS in Vojvodina amounts to 1,183,228 ha or 55.74%. An increase in the area dedicated to organic and regenerative agriculture is projected, with a predicted range of up to 5%. Finally, we have identified grazing as a desirable management option for grassland management, which we have mapped, and it could potentially be practiced on almost 10% of the territory. Moreover, the engagement of various stakeholders is crucial in the implementation of NbS over the territory of the rural landscape. Considering that neighboring countries are facing the same climate circumstances and a similar social context, the findings we have presented in the paper may be applied to the region of the southern part of the Pannonian Plain.

Evaluation of regenerative agriculture approaches integrating compost, biochar, and ash with reduced chemical fertilizers to enhance rice production and soil fertility

Ukraine is an important agricultural producer. However, the context for Ukraine is changing. Knowledge, innovation, and information are extremely important for Ukrainian agriculture. However, there are challenges in access to information and advisory services, as Ukraine does not have a national extension service. This makes information provision particularly challenging for small and medium-scale farms, who do not have the capacity to generate knowledge themselves. This is hugely important when we consider that these farms make up 98% of the Ukrainian agricultural sector. In light of environmental change and the need for sustainable farming practices, regenerative agriculture has gained prominence in addressing these challenges. But this requires knowledge, information, and innovation support. This paper will reflect on the process of supporting knowledge and information systems in Ukraine in the areas of extension methods and regenerative agriculture. It will be based on an ongoing project delivering training to agricultural advisors in Ukraine, Slovakia, and Poland in regenerative agriculture and extension methods. Coming from an innovation systems perspective, it will outline the process of designing and working on these issues within Ukraine. Data from the baseline analysis and training materials will be used. Lessons will be presented that provide critical reflection on how we support knowledge and innovation system building in regenerative agriculture.

Understanding soil microbial interactions is essential for developing biofertilizers in regenerative agriculture. Polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) play a pivotal role in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) systems by sequestering phosphorus from wastewater and storing it as intracellular polyphosphate. However, their role in terrestrial phosphorus cycling remains poorly characterized, despite their potential to serve as a reservoir of plant-available phosphorus. This study investigates PAO-enriched microbiomes in the sorghum rhizosphere, focusing on their novel interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). By integrating PAOs derived from EBPR biosolids and compost with AMF, we assessed their synergistic effects on plant growth and nutrient uptake in Sorghum bicolor (sorghum), as well as their broader influence on rhizosphere microbial traits and functional dynamics. We employed plant biometry analysis, nutrient assays, 31P NMR spectroscopy, single-cell Raman microspectroscopy (SCRS), and microbiome profiling to comprehensively evaluate rhizosphere microbial interactions and their effects on plant physiology and nutrient dynamics. 31P NMR confirmed polyphosphate accumulation by PAOs derived from both compost and EBPR biosolids, demonstrating the soil adaptability of EBPR-derived PAOs. AMF showed enhanced synergy with EBPR-derived microbiomes, significantly enhancing sorghum growth, nutrient acquisition, and microbial diversity. Key PAOs, Thauera, Rhodanobacter, and Paracoccus, were successfully incorporated into the rhizosphere and positively correlated with improved phosphorus uptake. PICRUSt2 analysis indicated enrichment of microbial functions linked to motility and xenobiotic metabolism in EBPR-treated rhizospheres. SCRS revealed AMF-induced phenotypic shifts in EBPR-derived microbiomes, while network analysis showed that AMF reorganized community connectivity, fostering novel microbial interactions in EBPR-amended environments. This study explored the interactions between AMF and microbiomes derived from EBPR biosolids, in comparison with those from compost, uncovering novel microbial synergies that enhance phosphorus uptake in Sorghum bicolor and promote plant productivity. The findings underscore the potential of targeted microbial co-inoculation such as integrating EBPR microbiomes with AMF as an innovative strategy for improving soil fertility and advancing biofertilizer development through microbial-driven nutrient recycling. By harnessing wastewater-derived phosphorus via PAOs, this approach offers a sustainable alternative to conventional fertilization, supporting regenerative agriculture, nutrient circularity, and the broader application of microbial biofertilizers in crop production.

Increasing average temperatures caused by climate change endanger a secure food provision in water scarce regions such as in sub-Saharan African countries. Addressing these challenges requires innovative strategies to improve water management and increase agricultural productivity by fostering circular agricultural systems. Bio-based technologies, such as biochar kilns, ethnobotanical intercropping, regenerative farming, solar desalination greenhouses, biogas digesters, multifunctional constructed wetlands, and self-regulating low-energy clay-based irrigation (SLECI) offer promising solutions for small-scale farmers by promoting sustainable water management and diversified income streams. To systematically assess the potential of these bio-based technologies a SWOT analysis was conducted. Semi-structured interviews and a workshop with scientists and experts from Botswana, Ghana, South-Africa, and Namibia were conducted to map relevant strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with these technologies. Based on this assessment, recommendations were developed to support the adoption and implementation of these technologies in their respective contexts.

ABSTRACT The United Kingdom's departure from the European Union has led to a revision of its agricultural and environmental policies. For England, a new system of support payments to farmers is the Environmental Land Management Scheme. Concurrently, regenerative agriculture is gaining traction as a farming system in England to produce food alongside sustained environmental improvements. This paper examines the policy process and development of new English schemes, specifically the Sustainable Farming Incentive and the revised Countryside Stewardship; in turn, followed by a review of regenerative agriculture identifying its core principles. An innovative qualitative scoring system is developed to map the aims and actions of the new schemes, as introduced at the end of 2023, against these core principles for regenerative farming. The scoring system offers a policy tool for aligning regenerative principles with current and future iterations of agri-environmental support schemes. The results of the scoring system find that the new schemes meet the principles of regenerative farming, with the marked exception of the integration of livestock into the production system. The English schemes will need to address the role of livestock in regenerative farming systems as regenerative farming principles gain more popularity, following the more recent example of Scotland.

Background Nature Positive Food Production (NPFP) is an emerging framework for linking agricultural productivity with the regeneration of ecosystems. It works toward the restoration of soil health, improvement in biodiversity, and strengthening climate resilience of global food systems. Yet, evidence regarding how NPFP practices perform under a wide range of ecological and socio-economic contexts remains fragmented. Methodology This review synthesizes the evidence of nature-positive agricultural practices globally through a PRISMA framing. Searches in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar include policy and grey literature relevant to the review published between 2010 and 2025. Eligible studies assessed agricultural approaches that presented quantifiable ecological restoration or sustainability outcomes. Of these, 45 studies were included and assessed for methodological quality using the adapted MMAT. Results Variations in the ecological and economic benefits exist for different types of farming, including regenerative agriculture, agroecology, agroforestry, climate-smart agriculture, and integrated pest management. This ranges from 15 to 30% increases in soil organic carbon, 20–50% improvements in on-farm biodiversity, and 10–25% improved yield stability relative to conventional approaches. Policies that promote coherence, agricultural investments, and inclusive financing channels have been widely recognized to enable scaling up nature-positive changes, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Conclusion Nature-positive food production is the science-based pathway to bring ecosystems back to life in a way that secures safe, healthy, and sustainable food supplies. If this approach is to be scaled up globally, then good governance, fair finance, and knowledge platforms will be required that connect ecological regeneration with productivity and resilience.

Based on an extensive qualitative study, this paper explores sustainability in two Danish ecovillages and discusses the findings (meta)theoretically. Linked to the degrowth literature, it takes its point of departure in critical realism by identifying mechanisms related to (un)sustainability in these ecovillages. The most important mechanism generating their sustainable practices is identified as a subsistence political economy, a mechanism rooted in infrastructures such as regenerative farming and direct democracy. However, there is another important mechanism affecting the sustainability of the ecovillages, namely middle-class ideals. This mechanism generates unsustainable, growth-oriented lifestyles, which are also rooted in infrastructures such as large family houses and divisions between the private and the communal. Generally, it is concluded that in these two ecovillages the subsistence political economy mechanism ensures a move towards more sustainable lifestyles for all villagers, while infrastructure sustaining middle-class ideals pulls in the opposite direction.

From soil to shelf: Regenerative agriculture, scope 3, and emerging opportunities for food science

Underutilised legumes in regenerative agriculture: Implications for food and nutritional security – A review

Biorefinery approach to olive pomace management: Digestate application as an organic fertiliser to improve soil health.

Modelling SOC dynamics on cropland under different regenerative agriculture practices and climate change scenario using RothC model in the Abbay basin of Ethiopia

Regenerative agriculture aims to restore soil health, enhance biodiversity, and ensure long-term sustainability of farming systems. Organic and natural farming practices play a pivotal role in achieving these goals by reducing dependency on chemical inputs, improving soil fertility, and promoting ecological balance. Natural farming, a regenerative agriculture is advocated and promoted worldwide to produce safe and quality produce and to live in harmony with nature. It is “Chemical free farming” or “do-nothing farming” is a sustainable farming approach that aims to work with nature instead of trying to change it. Natural farming, exemplified by Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), goes even further by minimizing external inputs altogether. It relies on indigenous methods like Jeevamrith and Beejamruth to nurture soil health and control pests naturally. The challenges in modern agriculture, including persistent hunger and malnutrition despite significant increases in production due to the Green Revolution. There are several negative impacts of chemical-based agriculture on soil health, environmental health and human health, particularly in countries like India with a large agricultural population. To address these issues, many are turning to alternative farming methods, such as organic and natural farming. Organic farming, rooted in traditional practices, aims to preserve soil health and produce food sustainably.This paper discusses the interconnection between organic and natural farming with regenerative agriculture, focusing on their impact on soil health, biodiversity, and sustainability. The research explores the benefits, challenges, and future prospects of integrating these systems to enhance agricultural resilience and productivity in a sustainable manner.

Developing management practices that enhance crop yield while maintaining soil health is the foremost objective of the regenerative agriculture movement. One avenue to achieving this goal is using biofertilizers and alternative soil amendments to supplement or replace agrochemicals. Here we report the results of a pairwise field trial of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) wherein we investigated individual and combined impacts of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and a spent mushroom compost amendment (herein mushroom compost). The symbiotic relationship between AMF and plants has been demonstrated to benefit the yield and nutritional quality of many crops by enhancing access to mineral nutrients and water. Mushroom compost, consisting of the devitalized residual substrate following harvest of edible mushrooms, is a byproduct of the mushroom industry and is comprised of a variety of nutrient-rich organic material inputs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to (1) determine the effect to which AMF and mushroom compost individually impact wheat yield and nutritional quality, and (2) examine if these effects are synergistic or antagonistic when both amendments are applied together. We found that mushroom compost addition, regardless of AMF inoculation, enhanced grain yield by ~ 40%, but reduced AMF root colonization level by ~ 25-40%. Additionally, despite yield increases, mushroom compost addition reduced grain phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg) concentrations by ~ 10% and boron concentration by ~ 45%. In fact, grain P, K, and Mg concentrations were all correlated with mycorrhizal colonization level. These results suggest that while spent mushroom compost additions enhanced grain yield, this may have led to a mineral nutrient 'dilution effect' exacerbated by negative impacts on AMF colonization and community composition.

Plant biomass can serve as a domestic fuel source that creates revenue for farmers and forest landowners. Though a number of different bioenergy systems can make hydrocarbon fuels, many are neither carbon efficient nor capable of significant fossil fuel displacement. Systems capable of large-scale fossil fuel displacement while also net sequestering carbon are desperately needed to slow climate change and support regenerative agriculture. One system with these desirable outcomes consists of decentralized biomass fast pyrolysis and electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) followed by centralized hydroprocessing to make electrobiofuels. This approach requires that ECH be able to saturate the liquid mixtures, known as bio-oil, made from fast pyrolysis. However, bio-oils are notoriously difficult to upgrade, owing in part to the number of different organic constituents in the mixture, spanning alcohols, aldehydes, furans, ketones, organic acids, phenols, and oligomeric cell wall components that are not completely deconstructed. Model mixtures are particularly useful for gaining insights into how organic constituents interact and compete on catalytic cathode surfaces. When 2-furfural and 4-propylphenol were subjected to ECH, inhibition of 4-propylphenol hydrogenation is observed. Towards elucidating mechanism, quantum chemical simulations for each individual component were performed to understand adsorption and reaction pathways. Lessons learned are important for designing decentralized systems that are effectively stabilize pyrolysis bio-oil. Early results from using catalytic pyrolysis bio-oil, which is relatively low in aldehydes, show that ECH converts alkylated monoaromatics into alkylated cyclohexanes.

ABSTRACT This study aims to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of research on regenerative agriculture and sustainable consumption behavior. By investigating the existing literature on the subject, we seek to determine the key predictors of intention to buy regenerative agri‐food and identify the mediator in the relationship between drivers and intention to buy regenerative agri‐food. The study employs a bibliometric approach to analyze a large dataset of scholarly publications to identify research trends, most productive countries, and relevant sources. The keywords were extracted, citation networks were developed, and bibliographic coupling and keyword occurrence analysis were performed using the VOS viewer. Drawing on prominent theories such as value‐belief‐norm (VBN) theory, theory of planned behavior (TPB), trust theory, identity theory, and theory of reasoned action (TRA), a thorough review of literature helped to identify the most prominent predictors of sustainable consumption toward regenerative agri‐food. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the factors driving sustainable consumption and provides valuable insights for policymakers, businesses, and consumers. By identifying key predictors, this study contributes to the development of effective strategies for promoting sustainable food consumption.

This paper presents an in-depth study of AgriBot, an AI-powered autonomous robot designed to enhance soil health and promote regenerative agriculture. With the growing demand for sustainable farming and the need to restore soil fertility, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotics have emerged as transformative technologies. AgriBot integrates smart sensors, computer vision, and data analytics to assess soil parameters, optimize irrigation, and support eco-friendly cultivation practices. The system’s autonomous navigation enables real-time field monitoring, data-driven decision-making, and precise soil management. By combining automation and sustainability, AgriBot aims to revolutionize agricultural productivity while preserving ecological balance. This paper explores the design, operation, applications, challenges, and future scope of AgriBot within the context of modern smart farming systems.

Abstract. Regenerative agriculture is emerging as a strategy for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. However, for sequestration efforts to be successful, long-term stabilisation of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) is needed. This can be achieved either through uplift in recalcitrant carbon stocks, and/or through physical protection and occlusion of carbon within stable soil aggregates. In this research soils from blackcurrant fields under regenerative management (0 to 7 years) were assessed. Soils from under the blackcurrant bush crop (bush (ca. 40 % of the field area)), and the alleyways between the blackcurrant crop rows (alley (ca. 60 % of the field area) were considered. Soil bulk density (SBD), soil aggregate fractions (proportions of water stable aggregates vs. non-water stable aggregates (WSA and NWSA)), soil carbon content, and carbon stability (thermally recalcitrant carbon vs. thermally labile carbon) were assessed. From this, long term carbon sequestration potential was calculated from both recalcitrant and occluded carbon stocks (both defined as stabilised carbon). Results indicated favourable shifts in the percentage of NWSA:WSA with time, increasing from 27.6 %:5.8 % (control arable field soil) to 12.6 %:16.0 % (alley soils), and 16.1 %:14.4 % (bush soils) after 7 years. While no significant (p≥0.05)) changes in whole field (area weighted average of alley and bush soils), recalcitrant carbon stocks were observed after 7 years, labile carbon stocks increased significantly (p≤0.05) from 10.44 to 13.87 t C ha−1. Furthermore, as a result of the occlusion of labile carbon within the WSA fraction, total stabilised carbon increased by 1.7 t C ha−1 over the 7 year period. This research provides valuable insights into the potential for carbon stabilisation and long-term stability prognoses in soils managed under regenerative agriculture practices, highlighting the important role which soil aggregate stability plays in the physical protection of carbon, and potential therein to deliver long-term carbon sequestration.