Regenerative agriculture in Brazil: 80,000 ha certified under the new Rainforest Alliance scheme, yielding a harvest of 1.6 million bags
MILAN – The global boom in regenerative agriculture is not driven solely by environmental and sustainability considerations: this set of agricultural practices and management principles – aimed not only at reducing environmental impact, but also at actively restoring and improving the health of agricultural ecosystems – is, in fact, establishing itself as a practical, structured and replicable app
This explains the growing interest shown by numerous agricultural supply chains, including the coffee sector. And the success of the first certifications, starting with the one launched last year by the Rainforest Alliance.
The US-based NGO will present its initial findings at the International Coffee Week (SIC) in Belo Horizonte, the traditional industry gathering scheduled this year from 11 to 13 November.
Yet it is already clear that the ambitious target set for 2026 in Brazil – 50,000 hectares of regenerative crops for one million bags of certified coffee under the new standard – has already been comfortably met.
According to Yuri Feres – Rainforest Alliance’s national director for Brazil – the target of 80,000 hectares is now realistic: over 3 per cent of Brazil’s coffee-growing area, equivalent to around 2.3 million hectares. This would correspond to an expected output of 1.6 million bags.
“We did not expect such a high level of participation from Brazilian producers,” Feres stated in an interview with Forbes. It is important to emphasise that the Rainforest Alliance standard introduces more specific criteria than those broadly associated with regenerative agriculture within the food industry.
“The term ‘regenerative agriculture’ refers to soil health and quality,” Feres emphasises, “the definition is very clear.” It is a model in which the soil serves as the starting point for a range of practices concerning vegetation cover, nutrients, biology, water availability, biodiversity and crop productivity.
It is a standard that goes far beyond that of sustainable agriculture, with which it should not be confused.
The market has embraced this new certification with great enthusiasm
The coffee from this first harvest was barely enough to meet demand, said Feres, adding that more and more companies are ready to launch products and ranges featuring coffee certified under regenerative agriculture. And this is not a passing hype.
The certification is, in fact, also a tool that producers can use in their agronomic management, with routine monitoring and requirements verified through audits.
Meanwhile, Rainforest Alliance is continuing a pilot initiative in Cerrado Mineiro in partnership with Ikea. Launched before the certification itself, it supports 11 producers in implementing regenerative practices in the field, measuring their effects and assessing the cost–benefit ratio of each intervention over a three‑year period.
The project covers an area of 2,500 hectares of coffee plantations and has a budget of half a million euros
It aims to provide comprehensive monitoring of parameters such as water, temperature, quality, biological components and carbon.
It also extends to seed selection, equipment and agricultural management practices, the production of organic inputs and the selection of natural antagonists. The aim is to measure the impact and consequences of these practices, including in economic terms.
When we launched the project, one of the underlying assumptions was to demonstrate that regenerative agriculture could offset higher costs and lower productivity with greater crop resilience, explains Feres.
Surprisingly, the initial findings from the data collected so far tell a different story. “We are clearly seeing a reduction in production costs,” notes Feres, linked to the reduced use of pesticides and agrochemicals. But there is also a significant increase in productivity.
Some figures? Yields range from 30 to 60 bags per hectare amongst the most advanced farmers taking part in the project – remarkable results, even in an area that ranks amongst those with the highest levels of productivity per hectare nationwide in Brazil.
However, before arriving at a consolidated agricultural model, much more in-depth monitoring will be required, taking into account a significantly greater number of variables and their interactions.
One example of this is the selection of the most suitable shade vegetation, with regard to soil, pollination and the attraction of natural enemies, rather than merely considering the physical protection provided by trees.
The project’s objective is now to develop, over the course of three years, a set of practices, assessing the costs and benefits of each one. This represents a crucial step towards an increasingly calibrated and scalable model.
