The Regenerative Farming mega project at Pahle India Foundation (PIF) is dedicated to re-imagining India’s food and land-use systems through rigorous research, on-ground experimentation, and policy translation. We recognise that agriculture must nourish people, restore ecosystems, and sustain livelihoods simultaneously; regenerative farming provides the pathway to achieve this balance.
What Regenerative Farming Means to Us
Regenerative farming is a conservation-centred, livelihood-oriented approach that rebuilds soil organic carbon, enriches biodiversity, and integrates crops, livestock, and landscapes in harmony with local ecologies. Unlike input-intensive models that prioritise short-term yields, regenerative farming focuses on long-term resilience: healthier soils that capture carbon, water-smart field practices that buffer climate shocks, and nutrient-dense produce free from harmful residues—all while lowering production costs for farmers.
Why This Work Is Urgent
Depleted soils, rising greenhouse-gas emissions, erratic weather patterns, and plateauing farm incomes signal the limits of conventional agriculture. Small and marginal farmers—who account for the majority of India’s producers—are especially vulnerable. Regenerative farming offers practical, scalable solutions: it reduces dependence on synthetic inputs, enhances on-farm biodiversity, and opens premium domestic and export market opportunities for traceable, climate-positive produce.
Our Aims
- Generate Robust Evidence
- Undertake the country’s most comprehensive comparative assessment of regenerative farming versus conventional practices across all 15 agro-climatic zones.
- Measure impacts on soil microbiology, nutrient cycles, water quality, carbon sequestration, greenhouse-gas emissions, crop productivity, and farm profitability.
- Build Farmer-Centred Knowledge Systems
- Establish living labs and demonstration plots that serve as hubs for peer-to-peer learning and adaptive experimentation.
- Document indigenous practices and integrate them with contemporary agroecological science.
- Strengthen Market & Policy Linkages
- Develop data-driven frameworks for true-cost accounting to inform incentives, certification-light assurance models, and climate-finance instruments.
- Provide decision-support dashboards for policymakers, enabling evidence-based interventions that accelerate regenerative farming adoption.
- Invest in Human Capital
- Design and deliver capacity-building programmes for farmers, extension agents, and agri-entrepreneurs covering regenerative techniques, value-addition, and digital traceability.
- Promote gender-balanced participation and youth engagement to secure the next generation of regenerative farming champions.
Our Vision
By positioning regenerative farming at the heart of India’s agricultural transition, PIF envisions a future in which regenerative farming underpins a resilient and sovereign food system that:
- Restores ecological balance and sequesters atmospheric carbon;
- Safeguards food and nutritional security while upholding food sovereignty, empowering communities to control their seeds, soils, and markets;
- Enhances incomes, dignity, and decision-making power for women, men, and diverse gender groups, embedding equity across the value chain; and
- Contributes meaningfully to India’s climate commitments and sustainable development goals.
Through continuous synthesis of field insights into actionable policy recommendations, scalable business models, and open-access knowledge resources, the Regenerative Farming mega project will help move regenerative farming from niche practice to mainstream paradigm across India.
