Illy, for an agriculture that becomes regenerative

His passion for sustainability was born 40 years ago when he was a student in Lausanne. And he took the big step in 2018, when he took a sabbatical year to understand how to decarbonise his company, also focusing on what Andrea Illy, owner of the group of the same name that produces coffee, calls “regenerative” agriculture. A challenge to which a Foundation has dedicated, the Regenerative Society Foundation (RSF), founded in 2020 with, among others, the entrepreneurs Maria Paola Chiesi and Davide Bollati of Davines, and chaired by him together with the economist Jeffrey Sachs.

What does “regenerative” mean?
“The development model born with the industrial revolution is extractive, that is, it takes from both the biosphere and the geosphere. And it is a linear model that leaves waste at the end of its life. The regenerative model is the opposite, it is spontaneous, it is circular because the resources are reused and it eradicates pollution because it either prevents or neutralizes it.The age-old mistake has been the dualism between nature and culture (understood as science, technology and economy) forgetting that we are the fruit of the biosphere and that our life depends exclusively from it. The interactions and interdependencies between all the factors of a regenerative system create an extraordinary level of complexity which, contrary to the generally applied reductionist approach, requires a systemic vision”.

And how does the regenerative process take place in agriculture?
“In conventional agriculture, the soil is like polystyrene, a support where the roots are grafted, but without a chemical role. For that there are fertilizers, which over time, however, mineralize the soil causing it to lose fertility. Instead, the soils must maintain their organic carbon content”.

What should be done then?
“You can use green manure, a practice which consists in burying some plants, such as legumes, which release nitrogen into the soil by feeding it. Or by spreading compost, which has an extraordinary ability to capture carbon. A ton of compost can cancel over 100 kg of C02”.

And to combat plant diseases?
“Unlike conventional agriculture, which suppresses pathogens through a wide range of chemical defensives, in regenerative agriculture the plant coexists with the disease, contrasting it with its natural defenses, managing to resist it, and often maintaining the same productivity. To this end In the end, nature reserves next to fields are very important, because they can provide microorganisms, fungi and insects to enhance natural defences”.

Are you betting on biodiversity in this way?
“We have to defend it by moving from agrochemicals to microbiology. The biodiversity of the soil and air must be preserved, with all the microorganisms, insects and birds. Even that of plants. If, for example, in Puglia the olive trees had been different from one another , perhaps they would not have died. The agricultural biodiversity, pluriculture and the ecosystem to which I referred”.

But our agriculture is mainly based on monoculture.
“It’s a gigantic problem. Biodiversity is important because it provides ecosystem services, mostly produced by tropical forests. If I deforest them for agriculture and if I do monoculture, I also have a loss of biodiversity. 50% of habitable land today is dedicated to agriculture, 200 years ago it was only 12.5%. It is a number that doubles every 100 years. And wheat, corn and rice take up half of the calories consumed. We need to rebalance the ratio between cultivated hectares and non-cultivated hectares. In addition to biodiversity , a forest on the edge of a plantation makes it possible to retain water, lower the temperature and sequester carbon”.

How did the name “regenerative” come about?
“I discovered it before the boom, when I was looking for a name for my model of virtuous agriculture, as I later called it. A fascinating story: a New York publisher, Jerome Irving Rodale, allergic to smog, had decided to leave the city and move to his farm in Pennsylvania, but after a short time the allergies return and he discovers that they are due to agrochemical agents.He decides to eliminate pesticides from the fields by introducing regenerative practices that the institute he founded perfects over 40 years of activity, based on the intention of enriching the soil with organic carbon, capable of nourishing the microbiota which in turn fixes minerals such as nitrogen and phosphorus. In this way the need for fertilizers decreases and the plants produce phytochemicals which defend the plants themselves from elements pathogens. They are natural processes that occur in ecosystems: hence the name regenerative”.

And do you also have more natural products?
“The pesticide-free plant trains itself to defend itself with phytochemicals it produces. When ingested, these natural substances, also called ‘xenobionts’, can be antioxidants and sometimes anti-inflammatory. Logic says that if these substances are beneficial we must demonstrate that by cultivating in this way we give benefits to health, in addition to the environment. Those who buy organic foods think they do less harm to health and the environment. And they are willing to pay a premium price. However, organic products cannot reach 100% of agriculture , but the regenerative I hope so”.