As the world looks for practical solutions to combat the human impact on the planet, academic, farmer and author, Dr Charles Massy believes regenerative agriculture will play a critical role.
Dr Massy is keynote speaker at the Fenner Conference on Environment - Making Australian agriculture sustainable.
"Regenerative agriculture is rapidly growing in all continents," Dr Massy said.
"Its practitioners focus on regenerating the key landscape functions (solar, water, soil health and biodiversity), while linking this to a paradigm change in the human mind.
"The movement also focusses on eliminating harmful industrial inputs and practices in cropping, animal husbandry, agroforestry and other practices connected to food and fibre production.
"It is closely connected to the escalating urban and regional food movements, and thus to gardeners and consumers.
"The new regenerative farming movement produces clean-green natural fibres and nutrient-dense foods, in addition to eliminating known harmful herbicides and other chemicals.
"It thus has huge potential to address the exponential rise of modern human and animal diseases."
Dr Massy said regenerative ag is not about 'sustaining' the status quo, but rather the enabling of landscapes and systems to self-organise to a state of functional, open-ended health and resilience: to 'self-heal.'
The Fenner Conference will be held in person and on-line at the Academy of Science's Shine Dome on the ANU campus in Canberra on March 17 and 18, to look at how Australian agriculture can be more sustainable.
Soil microbiologist and co-founder of Regenerate Earth, Walter Jehne, said we need to define where our agricultural systems and impacts are currently going and where they need to go.
"We must address the problems that confront us, including climate extremes, soil degradation, aridification, and loss of productivity," Mr Jehne said.
"We then need to look at the options available to reverse this ecological and natural capital decline in time."
- Visit: www.sustainableag.org.au
