🌱 Regenerative Agriculture:
A Simple Guide for Every Farmer - By @EAFARMS (A Sustainable Organic Natural Agriculture Farm with regenerative, permaculture, indigenous and ZBNF Farm) experience
Healthy Soil • Healthy Food • Healthy Future
Today’s world needs farming that protects soil, water, food quality, human health and the planet. Regenerative agriculture is not a new concept, it’s a return to natural, smart, and sustainable farming practices that our ancestors followed.
Today’s world needs farming that protects soil, water, food quality, human health and the planet. Regenerative agriculture is not a new concept, it’s a return to natural, smart, and sustainable farming practices that our ancestors followed.
The goal is simple:
Give back more to the soil than we take from it.
Regenerative farming in simple terms so any farmer can understand and start practicing today.
🌾 What Is Regenerative Agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture means farming in a way that improves soil health,
Instead of only focusing on crop output, it focuses on the long-term health of soil and future generations.
🌟 Key Principles of Regenerative Agriculture
1️⃣ Minimize Soil Disturbance (Low or No Tillage)
• Avoid deep ploughing.
• Use tools that loosen only the top soil.
• Reduces soil erosion, maintains microbes, and increases water retention.
Why it matters: Soil organisms like earthworms and microbes are nature’s factory for healthy crops.
2️⃣ Keep the Soil Covered at All Times
• Use cover crops like cowpea, horse gram, green gram, and mustard.
• Apply mulch using crop residues, leaves, straw or coconut husk.
Why it matters: Soil stays cool, moisture stays longer, weeds reduce, and microbes thrive.
3️⃣ Mix Different Crops (Biodiversity)
• Practice intercropping and crop rotation.
• Example combos:
• Groundnut + Red gram
• Sugarcane + Vegetables
• Coconut grove + Turmeric + Banana + Fodder grass
• Millets + Pulses
Why it matters: Diversity reduces pest attacks and improves soil nutrients naturally.
4️⃣ Integrate Livestock Into Farming
• Cattle manure, poultry droppings enrich soil.
• Controlled grazing improves grasslands and nutrient cycling.
• Prepare natural fertilizers like jeevamrutham, panchagavya, compost - ZBNF - Preparation Details.
Why it matters: Animals complete the nutrient cycle and reduce external input cost.
5️⃣ Continuous Living Roots in the Soil
• Grow short-duration crops between main crops.
• Keep something always growing (green cover + living roots).
Why it matters: Living roots feed soil microbes throughout the year.
6️⃣ Reduce Chemical Dependency
• Reduce chemical fertilizers and pesticides step-by-step.
• Increase compost, green manure, and biological pest control.
7️⃣ Improve Water Management
• Use drip irrigation and mulching to save 40–60% water.
• Create farm ponds for rainwater harvesting.
Why it matters: Prevents drought stress and increases yield even during low rainfall.
🌍 Benefits for Farmers, Families and the Planet
✔ Better Soil Fertility
Organic matter increases, leading to stronger and healthier plants.
✔ Higher Yield in the Long Term
Regenerative farming builds soil that gives consistent and stable output year after year.
✔ Lower Input Costs
Less chemical usage = more savings.
✔ Improved Water Holding Capacity
Soil stays moist longer, reducing irrigation needs.
✔ Healthier Food for Families & Future Generations
Chemical-free food reduces lifestyle diseases and supports community health.
✔ Carbon Sequestration
Healthy soil absorbs carbon and reduces climate change impact.
📘 A Simple Regenerative Farming Model for a Small Farm:
🌱 Step-by-Step Yearly Plan
Season 1:
• Prepare compost + apply mulch
• Plant diverse crops (millet + pulses)
Season 2:
• Introduce cover crops (cowpea)
• Reduce chemical fertilizer by 30%
Season 3:
• Add livestock manure
• Introduce crop rotation
• Set up drip irrigation
Season 4:
• 100% soil cover with mulch
• Use only bio-pesticides
• Grow long-term perennials (banana, moringa, fruit trees)
💡 Very Important Message for Farmers:
“Regenerative farming is not only a technique, but also it is a promise. A promise to the soil, to our children, and to our future.”
One do not need to change everything in one day.
Start small. Implement one principle each season.
Within 2–3 years, your soil will become your greatest strength.
Healthy soil → Healthy crops → Healthy foods → Healthy families → Healthy income → Healthy planet
Dear Farmers, wherever you are, there are many ways to grow produce, but the best way is to work with nature to produce your agriculture produce. Please make it regenerative to enhance soil health for the benefit of current and future generations. Thank you.
Makesh Karuppiah, PhD
🌾 What Is Regenerative Agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture means farming in a way that improves soil health,
increases crop yield naturally,
protects biodiversity and reduces chemical usage.
Instead of only focusing on crop output, it focuses on the long-term health of soil and future generations.
🌟 Key Principles of Regenerative Agriculture
1️⃣ Minimize Soil Disturbance (Low or No Tillage)
• Use tools that loosen only the top soil.
• Reduces soil erosion, maintains microbes, and increases water retention.
2️⃣ Keep the Soil Covered at All Times
• Use cover crops like cowpea, horse gram, green gram, and mustard.
• Apply mulch using crop residues, leaves, straw or coconut husk.
3️⃣ Mix Different Crops (Biodiversity)
• Practice intercropping and crop rotation.
• Example combos:
• Groundnut + Red gram
• Sugarcane + Vegetables
• Coconut grove + Turmeric + Banana + Fodder grass
• Millets + Pulses
Why it matters: Diversity reduces pest attacks and improves soil nutrients naturally.
4️⃣ Integrate Livestock Into Farming
• Cattle manure, poultry droppings enrich soil.
• Controlled grazing improves grasslands and nutrient cycling.
Why it matters: Animals complete the nutrient cycle and reduce external input cost.
5️⃣ Continuous Living Roots in the Soil
• Grow short-duration crops between main crops.
• Keep something always growing (green cover + living roots).
Why it matters: Living roots feed soil microbes throughout the year.
6️⃣ Reduce Chemical Dependency
• Reduce chemical fertilizers and pesticides step-by-step.
• Increase compost, green manure, and biological pest control.
• Use pheromone traps, neem oil spray, and bio-pesticides.
Why it matters: Healthier soil, healthier food, lower cost, and safer environment.
7️⃣ Improve Water Management
• Use drip irrigation and mulching to save 40–60% water.
• Use contour bunding and check dams.
Why it matters: Prevents drought stress and increases yield even during low rainfall.
🌍 Benefits for Farmers, Families and the Planet
✔ Better Soil Fertility
Organic matter increases, leading to stronger and healthier plants.
✔ Higher Yield in the Long Term
Regenerative farming builds soil that gives consistent and stable output year after year.
✔ Lower Input Costs
Less chemical usage = more savings.
✔ Improved Water Holding Capacity
Soil stays moist longer, reducing irrigation needs.
✔ Healthier Food for Families & Future Generations
Chemical-free food reduces lifestyle diseases and supports community health.
✔ Carbon Sequestration
Healthy soil absorbs carbon and reduces climate change impact.
📘 A Simple Regenerative Farming Model for a Small Farm:
🌱 Step-by-Step Yearly Plan
Season 1:
• Prepare compost + apply mulch
• Plant diverse crops (millet + pulses)
Season 2:
• Introduce cover crops (cowpea)
• Reduce chemical fertilizer by 30%
Season 3:
• Add livestock manure
• Introduce crop rotation
• Set up drip irrigation
Season 4:
• 100% soil cover with mulch
• Use only bio-pesticides
• Grow long-term perennials (banana, moringa, fruit trees)
💡 Very Important Message for Farmers:
“Regenerative farming is not only a technique, but also it is a promise. A promise to the soil, to our children, and to our future.”
One do not need to change everything in one day.
Start small. Implement one principle each season.
Within 2–3 years, your soil will become your greatest strength.
Healthy soil → Healthy crops → Healthy foods → Healthy families → Healthy income → Healthy planet
Dear Farmers, wherever you are, there are many ways to grow produce, but the best way is to work with nature to produce your agriculture produce. Please make it regenerative to enhance soil health for the benefit of current and future generations. Thank you.
Makesh Karuppiah, PhD
