Regenerative agriculture : a contested open moment

Sammanfattning: Agriculture is both heavily impacted by climate change and responsible for greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. Transitioning towards more sustainable agricultural practices is therefore imperative and requires new ways of thinking about agricultural knowledge and technologies. One rapidly emerging contender for how to transition to more sustainable agriculture is regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture is far from a new idea. It involves ancient and diverse practices such as minimizing tilling soil in favor of cover crops and mimicking how wild animals graze. Over the past five years, it has seen a renaissance with a growing number of different actors showing interest in its potential for sequestering carbon and maintaining soil health. Despite this surge of interest, few studies have examined the underlying motives and ideals of farmers engaging in regenerative agriculture. This study aims to fill this gap and explore how Swedish regenerative farmers view the involvement of external actors, such as corporations, in regenerative agriculture. As attention to regenerative agriculture has grown, so have its political dimensions. Diverse ways of framing regenerative agriculture currently compete. Some view it as a farmer-led movement that can correct the weaknesses of industrial agriculture. Others see it as a chance for corporations and institutions to gain further control over rural environments. In other words, regenerative agriculture has become a contested concept. At stake is its claimed potential to support not only environmental sustainability but also equitable rural development. This study takes a political ecology perspective to consider how knowledge about regenerative agriculture is disseminated and legitimated, asking how this is reflective of power relations. Specifically, it asks who has the power to determine the future of regenerative agriculture. Empirical findings from interviews with farmers and analysis of discussions in internet forums show that too many farmers who adopted regenerative agriculture it is not only a farming system but entwined with ideological and social aspects. Farmer's enthusiasm for regenerative agriculture is matched by suspicious and cautious views on state and corporate intervention. The findings highlight the rather understudied farmer's point of view of regenerative agriculture. Farmer perceptions are important for external actors to understand when implementing frameworks and certifications. More generally, this thesis provides an understanding of how sustainability initiatives emerge through a combination of land managers, grassroots movements, and corporate actors.