Thoughts from the Regenerative Agriculture Summit in Amsterdam

Our Value Chain Lead, Rhyannon Galea, recently attended the Regenerative Agriculture Summit in Amsterdam and shared her reflections on what’s needed for truly transformative collaboration across the food system.

You’ve just returned from Regenerative Agriculture Summit in Amsterdam. What stood out the most?

This year, I was really encouraged by how many cross-commodity collaborations were highlighted. There’s clearly a shift happening - more companies are working across sectors to build stronger, more holistic farmer programs That momentum is exciting, and in my view, long overdue.

What do you think will make or break these programs?

Success will depend on three things:

• Full-rotation thinking

• A focus beyond emission reductions

• Clear objectives, duration, and scale

Let’s start with crop rotation. Why does that matter so much?

Too often, we see a “single-crop tunnel vision” when it comes to sustainability amongst food sector companies. But true regenerative agriculture happens at the rotation level. When more crops in the rotation are captured by intervention & incentive programs, farmers can adopt regenerative practices more flexibly and meaningfully. It’s also better for business. Cost-sharing across the rotation creates a stronger case for food companies’ participation, lowering barriers to development and longer-term implementation.

What about going beyond emission reductions?

A sustainable food system is one that can feed us for generations - not just one that hits today’s emissions and procurement targets. While reducing emissions is incredibly important, we need to consider food production as part of a wider ecosystem—reflecting biodiversity, water, and social outcomes. That’s where resilience really comes from.

Additionally, increasing soil organic matter sequesters CO₂, improving fertility, water storage, and microbial diversity - all of which protect yields against climate shocks like drought. With proper measurement, these “removal” outcomes can also contribute to a company’s Net-Zero journey.

Finally - why do duration and scale matter so much?

Because we’re asking farmers to take real risks. They need a long-term roadmap - not short-term targets. Regen Ag programs can take time (often at least 5 years) to deliver meaningful results and enduring change. Short-term pilots can backfire: they make outcomes look small, costs seem high, and participation feel risky—this can cause wariness within corporate decision makers and farmers alike. Instead, we need long-term, scaled-up efforts that share both vision and value.

eAgronom is proud to be among the ecosystem of experts delivering end-to-end Scope 3 projects with food companies and European farmers, driving farm-level interventions, collecting accurate primary data and credibly reporting the impact.