Industry experts call for regenerative agriculture to “address soil health” in herb production

31 Mar 2023 --- The Sustainable Herbs Program (SHP) and botanical producers are calling for more regenerative medicinal plant farming to build soil health and resilient farming communities. The organization’s recently released video highlights the need to support human and ecological communities to ensure the plants’ quality and long-term supply.

“We hope it will raise awareness on the problems of current farming practices and their impact on the soil and the urgent need to address soil health,” Ann Armbrecht, SHP director, tells NutritionInsight.

She warns that although there are maximum pesticide residue levels for herbal products, these do not address the impacts of conventional agricultural practices on the whole system, including the health of farmers and workers that handle fertilizers and pesticides, pollinators, water and air. 

“To me, it makes no sense to use chemical inputs that have been shown to cause negative health effects, which many people may be seeking to avoid, by using products made with those plants.” 

Improving soil health  
In the video, producers in Costa Rica explain how regenerative farming practices like mulching, low and no-till procedures and intercropping help balance soil microbiology. This results in higher soil fertility, nutrient-dense crops, carbon sequestration, increased biodiversity, decreased erosion and support plants to ward off diseases. 

Regenerative farming practices help balance soil microbiology to improve soil fertility and create nutrient-dense crops.“We produced this video to highlight the voices and initiatives of those investing in farming in Costa Rica in ways that not only produce high-quality raw botanical material but also support the soil’s health and the farming communities growing and processing those herbs,” adds Armbrecht.

Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC), a critical certification scheme in regenerative agriculture, focuses on three pillars: improving soil health, social fairness and animal welfare. 

Practices include covering the land with living vegetative cover, crop rotation, minimal soil disturbance, rotational grazing, adding compost to fields and prohibiting the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. 

Businesses also recognize the impact of regenerative agriculture. For ADM’s plant-based product line, Knwble Grwn, the company contracts small or underrepresented farmers and offers them financial incentives for being early adopters of regenerative agriculture practices. 

Supporting farmers and their communities 
The video highlights how the herb industry can better support farming communities and convince younger people to continue farming. 

“Migration from farms is a huge problem for the future of the herb industry,” stresses Armbrecht. “How can companies better support farmers by paying more but also by providing long-term contracts, year-round employment and better quality work conditions that aren’t using pesticides?” 

She adds that ROC outlines requirements for farmer conditions to help make farming more appealing and offer a better quality of life for younger generations.

Practices include vegetative cover, crop rotation, minimal soil disturbance and prohibiting the use of synthetic fertilizers. Alison Czeczuga, director of social impact and sustainability at Gaia Herbs, adds: “For this industry to survive, we have to look at the start of the supply – treating those farmers right and buying herbs that really will positively impact people’s health.”

“We are seeing more and more farmers stop growing because they’re not making money and then they’re going into cities and we’re losing farmers,” notes Czeczuga. 

SHP recently updated its sustainability toolkit to help herb farmers in the botanical industry meet overwhelming challenges. 

The need for regenerative farming 
In the SHP video, industry experts note that more than organic certification is required to address the scale of current human and ecological challenges, as only a small share of farmland has been certified. Organic certification does not adequately address farmers and their communities’ economic difficulties. 

Armbrecht explains that the video aims to bring attention to the specifics of regenerative farming practices beyond just the word. She hopes it will raise awareness “on the specifics of regenerative farming practices beyond just the word, that it involves a paradigm shift from just focusing on crops and yields to caring for the whole ecosystem, from the balance of microorganisms in the soil to crop diversity and farmer equity.” 

“Regenerative farming is increasingly a buzzword, and we must have the tools to know when these claims are real,” cautions Armbrecht. 

“Over the last five or seven years, we’ve seen a transition to understanding that agriculture plays a significant role in emitting greenhouse gasses,” says Ryan Zinn, regenerative projects manager at Dr. Bronner’s. 

US-based natural foods broker Presence reported in 2022 that business interest in regenerative agriculture spiked 138% from 2019. Tracy Miedema, the company’s vice president of business development, predicted that the practice “will play a critical role in shaping the future of agriculture.”

By Jolanda van Hal