How regenerative agriculture can help the sugarcane sector

Climate change is an enormous risk for the sugarcane sector. Sugarcane production is also being seriously affected by water depletion, pollution, degraded soils, and increased air temperature. Extreme weather poses a huge health risk to sugarcane workers who are working under intense heat.

At the same time, sugarcane production contributes to climate change: from growing sugarcane and processing it to manufacturing and transportation. Exploring how we can make agricultural practices more sustainable is crucial in mitigating climate change, protecting water resources and promoting biodiversity. Regenerative agriculture is one of the solutions recognised by UNEP as an effective way to make food systems more sustainable and therefore supports Bonsucro’s vision of sustainability.

Recently, we partnered with SAI Platform to see how the Bonsucro Production Standard aligns with the SAI Platform’s Regenerating Together Framework. We aim to define which indicators from the Production Standard can be used and evaluated as regenerative agriculture practices to potentially enable Bonsucro-certified operators to assess performance against the regenerative agriculture criteria of soil health, water, biodiversity, and climate resilience.

What is regenerative agriculture?

Regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that focuses on creating a positive impact on nature, as opposed to simply avoiding harm. There are many definitions and approaches, but Bonsucro uses the definition developed by SAI Platform: “an outcome-based farming approach that protects and improves soil health, biodiversity, climate and water resources while supporting farming business development.”

Regenerative practices in sugarcane farming

The Bonsucro Production Standard outlines multiple regenerative agriculture practices that aim to rejuvenate natural resources. Adopting these practices can have significant benefits for sugarcane producers by reducing input costs and encouraging higher crop yields as well as preventing challenges like soil erosion, water overuse, and high GHG emissions.  

Soil health

Soil health is crucial for farming productivity and climate resilience. Farming practices such as cover cropping (planting specific crops to cover the soil in between main crop cycles) and crop rotation (alternating different crops in the same area) help with carbon sequestration and ensure the soil’s long-term health, which in turn increases yields.

For example, instead of burning sugarcane residue, which degrades soil health and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, some producers shred the waste in situ on the fields – helping the soil retain its moisture, suppress weeds and promote beneficial microorganisms and nutrients.

Healthy soils retain more water, which further supports the build-up of soil organic matter – improving both soil fertility and sugarcane crop yield.

Water efficiency

Regenerative agriculture emphasises efficient water use through techniques like drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting. These methods reduce water consumption, prevent aquifer depletion, and minimise runoff.

Biodiversity

Maintaining natural habitats and encouraging crop diversity can help to restore local ecosystems. Sugarcane farming often relies on pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, all of which are harmful to biodiversity. Using natural pest control methods helps to reduce chemical use, mitigate risks to wildlife and plant diversity and create a healthier ecosystem.

In addition, creating or restoring habitat corridors and retaining riparian and wetland areas can benefit the local biodiversity around the farm.

Climate resilience

Improving soil health, increasing soil cover and reducing the need for inputs can all help to make farmers more resilient to the impacts of climate change, while also sequestering carbon and reducing emissions. This can move the sugarcane sector from being part of the problem to part of the solution to climate change.  

“Regenerating Together” with SAI Platform’s Framework

At Bonsucro, we aim to be at the cutting edge of working with the sugarcane industry to tackle climate change and reduce sugarcane’s environmental impact.

As noted, we are currently working to check the alignment of the Bonsucro Production Standard with the SAI Platform’s Regenerating Together Framework. The Regenerating Together Framework identifies 14 material criteria that potentially pose risks to soil health, water efficiency, biodiversity, and climate resilience, alongside 10 key outcomes and related metric indicators. The framework is then structured around four steps: risk identification, outcome selection, principles and practices identification, and progress monitoring. Based on their compliance with and performance in these areas, farms are classified as “Engaged Regenerative Farm” or “Regenerative Farm.”

Initial results show that the Bonsucro Production Standard is closely aligned with this framework. Additional work is underway as we aim to support our members in understanding how Bonsucro defines regenerative agriculture practices and see how they perform as per the SAI Platform Regenerating Together Framework.

We have launched a new grant opportunity for projects in regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions through the Bonsucro Impact Fund. We will award one grant of up to £150,000 and two grants of up to £50,000.

See if your project is eligible and apply by 10th January; download the call for proposals in English, Spanish or Portuguese.