Integrating Circular Economy and Regenerative Agricultural Practices on Farms in a Developing Country Context

Abstract

The current state of agricultural production is characterised by a linear model of production and consumption, which has led to negative environmental consequences. In Argentina, the agricultural sector plays a crucial role in the economy, particularly in the Pampas region. To address sustainability challenges, there is growing interest in adopting a circular economy approach within the agricultural sector. In pursuit of this, circular agriculture (CA) and regenerative agriculture (RA) have to be applied. However, practical implementation remains limited due to the lack of clear, widely adopted guidelines. This study aimed to define criteria for evaluating the circular and regenerative agriculture approach (CA/RA) in the context of the primary production stage of the Monje Cooperative's grain supply basin (GSBMC). Following a literature review to define evaluation criteria, this study conducts an empirical analysis to identify circular and regenerative agriculture (CA/RA) principles, both general and those applied in GSBMC. Field research was conducted using semi-structured surveys of farms associated with Monje's Cooperative. The findings showed an exhaustive description of a complementary approach of CA/RA based on improving four main principles, such as soil health, biodiversity, crop-livestock integration, and waste management and its possible implementation in the case study. Besides, derived from the principles, seven main practices and six general criteria were identified to guide the adoption of the CA/RA approach, which were compared with the current production on the farms from GSBMC. The farms showed a low crop rotation and livestock-crop integration, with the largest area used by soybean and chemical fallow (more than 50% of the total area). However, a smaller number of farms are improving it with practices such as cover crops and grazing mixed systems (4 of 52). Therefore, this study argues for a focus on the opportunities to enhance these practices for the implementation of the integrative CA/RA approach. The contextualisation and identification of the implementation of CA/RA practices are crucial for advancing the transition toward more sustainable farming and have implications for policy, research, and companies.