Regenerative Agriculture: Beforest Collectives and Climate Resilience
Why in the news
As rains turn erratic and temperatures climb, farm thinking is shifting towards methods that rebuild soil and water. The Beforest initiative is cited as a working example.
Key facts
- Beforest began in 2018, working across agriculture, ecology and climate resilience.
- Six collectives in Kodagu, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bhopal; about 1,300 acres, 196 members.
- Founder and CEO Sunith Reddy describes a collective as a group that co-owns and co-manages one landscape, needing around 100 acres.
The cycle at scale
If every district followed the model, a reinforcing loop would emerge:
- Water security comes first as the base.
- Succession advances: bare soil vanishes, green cover thickens, biodiversity rises.
- More diversity means more seed dispersal, speeding green cover and drawing even more diversity.
About regenerative agriculture
It aims to rebuild soil health, water cycles and biodiversity, not just hold yields steady. Core practices:
minimal tillage, permanent soil cover, crop and species diversity, trees and livestock integration, and no synthetic inputs.
| Concept | Defining feature |
|---|---|
| Organic farming | No synthetic inputs; certification-based |
| Natural farming (ZBNF / Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati) | Low-cost, input-free, on-farm preparations such as jeevamrit |
| Agroforestry | Trees combined with crops or livestock |
| Regenerative agriculture | Outcome-defined: are soil organic carbon, water retention and biodiversity improving? |
Exam angle
- Strong fit for NABARD Grade A Phase II Paper II: watershed development, agroforestry, climate-resilient farming, green-agriculture finance gaps.
- Institutional funding is almost absent for this long-gestation, ecology-first work, which is where a development bank fits.
- Tie in the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, NAFCC and FPO aggregation for smallholders.