India’s farms have sustained agricultural growth, but long-term productivity depends on healthy soils and resilient ecosystems. Regenerative agriculture offers a pathway to restore soil vitality, improve biodiversity, and strengthen resilience against climate stresses.

Across the country, farmers are adopting practices such as natural farming, agroforestry, micro-irrigation, integrated farming systems, and scientific soil management. As of March, natural farming clusters covered 8.80 lakh hectares and enrolled 18.19 lakh farmers.

Read in Hindi: सुदृढ़ भारत के लिए किसान अपना रहे हैं पुनर्योजी कृषि

India’s agriculture and allied sectors have demonstrated strong and sustained progress. During FY16-FY25, it recorded decadal growth of 4.45 per cent, the highest in previous decades. This achievement reflects the resilience of the sector and the continued efforts of farmers across the country. Yet, sustaining this momentum requires strengthening the ecological foundations that support long-term agricultural productivity.

Each season, farmers return to the same fields with renewed hope and growing responsibility. Years of intensive cultivation, heavy chemical use, and erratic rainfall leave many soils tired and less responsive. Yields that once came easily now demand higher inputs, while heatwaves, dry spells, or excess rain can undo months of labour. For millions of small and marginal farmers, declining soil health often translates into higher costs and uncertain harvests. As a result, the sustainability of farming has become an increasingly important concern.

This is where Regenerative Agriculture finds its relevance. By rebuilding soil vitality, strengthening ecosystem functions, and improving resilience to climatic variability, it addresses both soil and productivity challenges. More importantly, it offers a pathway to revive India’s agricultural foundations while supporting long-term environmental balance and farm prosperity.

Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farming approach centred on restoring soil health and enhancing biodiversity. At the same time, it seeks to ensure long-term productivity and resilience in farming systems. Healthy soils support higher food and nutritional output, store more carbon, and promote biodiversity. Unlike sustainable farming, which primarily aims to maintain existing conditions, regenerative agriculture seeks to improve them. It goes a step further by actively rebuilding soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and strengthening ecosystem resilience.

Regenerative agriculture offers a practical and forward-looking pathway for the future of farming by restoring the natural foundations of agriculture. It draws upon a diverse set of farming practices adopted in India. While the spectrum of regenerative approaches is much broader.

Micro-irrigation systems such as drippers, sprinklers, and foggers deliver water directly to plant roots. This reduces water wastage and improves water-use efficiency. By optimising farm-level water management, these systems enhance crop productivity and strengthen resilience to droughts and water stress. As a result, farming systems become more climate-resilient and economically viable.

Farm Mechanisation involves the use of agricultural machinery and equipment to streamline and automate various farm operations. It helps optimise the use of key inputs such as water, fuel, and fertilisers, reducing wastage and lowering the carbon footprint. By enabling timely and precise farm operations, mechanisation improves resource management, enhances productivity, and helps reduce the environmental impact of farming.

Nitrogen Fertiliser Management helps reduce nitrous oxide emissions while improving crop productivity. It focuses on selecting the right fertiliser and optimising application timing and dosage. Other practices include deep placement of supergranular urea and the use of leaf colour charts for precise assessment of nitrogen status. The approach also promotes biological inputs such as cyanobacteria and legume intercropping. Overall, these measures improve nitrogen-use efficiency and minimise environmental losses.

Natural farming is a chemical-free agricultural approach rooted in India’s traditional knowledge systems. The system relies on on-farm biological inputs such as Beejamrut, Jeevamrut, GhanJeevamrut, Neemastra, and Dashparni, prepared using inputs from native livestock. It also promotes the use of traditional seed varieties and the integration of trees along farm boundaries. Pest management is undertaken through locally prepared, on-farm botanical formulations. Practitioners are encouraged to adopt continuous cover cropping, multi-cropping, mulching, and minimal soil disturbance to maintain soil fertility and ecological balance. The integration of livestock with diversified cropping systems further helps improve soil health, restores ecosystems, and reduces input costs for farmers.

Soil Health Management Practices such as green manuring, cover cropping, and mulching play a vital role in regenerative agriculture. Green manuring involves growing and incorporating specific crops into the soil to add organic matter and nutrients. It helps in improving soil fertility, structure, and carbon sequestration. Cover cropping refers to growing crops primarily to cover the soil rather than for harvest. It protects against erosion, maintains soil organic carbon, and supports nutrient cycling. Mulching involves covering the soil surface with organic residues such as leaves, straw, etc. It helps conserve moisture and regulate soil temperature. Mulching also suppresses weeds, promotes beneficial microbial activity, and improves crop productivity.

Integrated Farming Systems is a holistic agricultural approach that combines multiple farm enterprises into a single system. It integrates crops, livestock, fisheries, and allied activities such as horticulture, agroforestry, and apiculture. The approach promotes practices such as intercropping, crop rotation, multi-cropping, and mixed farming that maximise resource use. This also reduces the risk of crop failure, diversifies livelihood opportunities, and enhances resilience to climate extremes such as floods and droughts.

Agroforestry integrates perennial tree systems with fruit and plantation crops to create a more sustainable and profitable farming system. It helps farmers earn additional income while improving soil moisture, regulating local temperatures, and storing more carbon.

In rainfed regions, agroforestry plays a crucial role in rejuvenating degraded land. These systems help mitigate the impacts of unpredictable rainfall, enhance agricultural resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time.

Climate-Resilient Agriculture encompasses a plethora of strategies and technologies to fortify agricultural systems against a changing climate. Its key components include balanced use of nutrients and fertilisers, effective pest management, efficient and judicious use of water, conservation of soil moisture at the field level, and appropriate land preparation practices that safeguard soil health and enhance crop performance.

In addition, CRA includes innovations such as water-sharing groups, seed and fodder systems, community nurseries, and collective marketing mechanisms. Together, these practices and innovations strengthen agricultural systems, enabling them to better withstand climate-related stresses and shocks.

Regenerative agriculture offers a wide range of environmental, economic, and social benefits, supporting both healthy ecosystems and resilient farming. Regenerative practices rebuild soil organic matter, improve soil structure, and enhance long-term soil fertility, supporting stable agricultural productivity.

Regenerative approaches create favourable conditions for a wide variety of species, including pollinators, beneficial insects, and soil microorganisms. This helps in strengthening overall ecosystem balance. These systems absorb and store more carbon than they emit, helping reverse agricultural emissions.

Healthier soils improve water retention and reduce runoff. This limits soil erosion and the flow of sediments and pollutants into rivers and lakes, helping protect water bodies.

Healthier soils reduce dependence on synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, and irrigation. This lowers input costs, stabilises yields, and enhances farmers’ net incomes.

Regenerative agriculture creates new livelihood opportunities across farming, advisory services, technology, and ecological management. Farms adopting regenerative practices are better equipped to withstand climate variability and market fluctuations.

Overall, Regenerative agriculture is gradually reshaping the future of Indian farming. It restores soil health while improving resilience and resource efficiency. Practices such as natural farming, agroforestry, micro-irrigation, and integrated farming are contributing to resource-efficient agricultural systems.

As more farmers embrace regenerative practices, agriculture can become both environmentally sustainable and economically rewarding. The journey begins with healthier soils and leads towards more resilient farms and secure livelihoods.