Regenerative Agriculture and Climate Change Mitigation

 

The Opportunity for Armenia

“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.”

Barack Obama

There is growing scientific consensus that regenerative agriculture can mitigate climate change and global warming. This belief is grounded in recent research demonstrating that regenerative agricultural practices significantly enhance the absorption and sequestration of atmospheric carbon into the soil. However, before delving deeper, let us first understand what climate change (or global warming), regenerative agriculture, and carbon sequestration entail.

What is Climate Change and Its Impacts?

Climate change, or global warming, refers to the recent climatic changes characterized by the steady and rapid warming of the Earth’s atmosphere. This phenomenon has intensified since the 1980s, primarily due to the greenhouse effect caused by carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil).

The greenhouse effect is linked to the increased concentration of harmful gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄).

The major threats of global warming include:

Negative impacts on human health (heatwaves, disease spread),

Economic and environmental challenges (droughts, floods, rising sea levels),

Severe climate disruptions.

Developing and economically vulnerable countries, such as Armenia, are particularly at risk. Alarmingly, the long-term effects of global warming are still not entirely known.

What is Regenerative Agriculture?

Regenerative agriculture is a systemic agro-technological approach that enhances soil health and biodiversity by increasing the active organic matter in the soil.

Its main principles include:

Minimizing or avoiding soil disturbance,

Utilizing diverse crop rotations,

Eliminating monoculture practices,

Implementing managed rotational grazing techniques.

Unlike conventional agriculture—which relies on intensive agrochemical use and depletes soil fertility—regenerative practices focus on restoring the soil’s health by rebuilding its ecosystems.

What is Carbon Sequestration?

Carbon sequestration refers to the process by which atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) are absorbed and stored in the soil through plants.

How it works:

Plants absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis.

This carbon is stored in the soil as organic matter.

The process improves soil fertility while reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

This dual benefit not only supports crop growth but also actively combats global warming by lowering the amount of greenhouse gases in the air.

Armenia’s Opportunity

Armenia has about 1 million hectares of pastures, many of which have been degraded due to unmanaged grazing practices. By adopting regenerative methods, these pastures could become powerful carbon sinks, simultaneously boosting agricultural productivity and protecting biodiversity.

Unmanaged grazing and soil misuse have resulted in environmental and economic degradation over time. However, regenerative practices like rotational grazing can:

Restore pastures,

Significantly increase economic returns from these lands,

Contribute to climate change mitigation efforts.

The “high-intensity rotational grazing” method, widely used in the UK and the USA, serves as a valuable example. This method not only keeps pastures green nearly year-round but also improves forage density and diversity over time. Unlike trees that store part of the carbon in their trunks, grasslands store all the absorbed carbon in the soil. A single hectare of pastureland can sequester approximately 1 ton of carbon annually, storing it for 30–40 years.

The Experience of Mountain High Farms

Mountain High Farms has been employing high-intensity rotational grazing for 4 years. The results include:

Pasture restoration,

Increased yield and biodiversity,

Improved livestock productivity and health.

The improvements are evident even to the naked eye and reflected in better animal welfare metrics. This demonstrates that regenerative agriculture offers both economic and environmental solutions.

For Armenia, regenerative agriculture presents an immense opportunity to:

Restore its degraded lands,

Mitigate the effects of climate change,

Enhance economic productivity.

With proper management, Armenia’s pastures could position the country as a global leader in climate solutions.

The most important takeaway is this: The time to act is now—for the sake of our future.

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