Soil4Good

Economic and Social Context:

Corn monoculture is profitable, making other crops and regenerative agriculture practices less attractive to farmers. There aren’t enough people to consult with and train farmers on regenerative agriculture, and younger generations are less interested in agriculture as a profession. Small to medium-sized family farms dominate, with many farmers working externally, leading to a lack of involvement and motivation to drive change.

Environmental Context:

Water pollution caused by pesticides and nitrates affects 50 priority catchment areas. Corn monoculture and lack of biodiversity contribute to soil erosion and fertility problems, with 55 cm of soil surface lost in the past 50 years in France.

Designed in partnership between the public and private sectors (technical institute, water agency, Biospheres, Ingredion), Soil4Good aims to train local stakeholders (technicians and field forces) to increase the resilience of their farms by implementing regenerative farming practices.

The project’s goal is to reach 200 farmers—ideally farmers who are self-motivated to transition at the farm level (as opposed to the plot level), while testing a “train the trainer” approach to optimize the total cost of scaling up.

The holistic approach of regenerative agriculture (RegAg) goes beyond carbon emissions, acting concretely on soil health, water, biodiversity, and social and economic aspects.

The program will span over 4 years to enable hands-on learning of regenerative agriculture, community and collective building, and achieving proven impact.

The project involves collective action through technician and farmer training, with pioneers attending workshops, implementing trials, and participating in field trips. Both members and non-members can visit pioneer farms. Individual support includes technician visits to farms to collect data, follow the implementation of action plans, and provide assistance on specific issues such as soil health and chemical reduction.

Based on a default farm transition model for full rotation, the program will monitor the cost of transition and includes annual evaluations. To verify the regenerative impact, farms are baselined and monitored in alignment with the SAI framework and Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTn).

The project coordinates goal setting and supports farmers in their evolution. Dissemination efforts include creating fact sheets for each trial farm, technical guides, consolidated results, and national dissemination through tech days and farm days.