Regenerative Agriculture: Restoring Ecosystems While Increasing Productivity

Food systems are being asked to produce more while facing climate volatility, water uncertainty, soil degradation, biodiversity pressure, and tighter limits on arable land. In this People and Planet United session, Monica McBride of Bayer joins host Tom Jones of FINN Partners for a focused conversation on regenerative agriculture as a practical path to restore ecosystems while increasing productivity.

McBride frames regenerative agriculture around outcomes that matter on the ground: higher productivity, stronger farmer and community wellbeing, healthier soils, climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity restoration, and water conservation. The session is grounded in the realities growers face every season, including adverse weather, degraded soil, pressure on arable land, and the need to produce more with greater resilience.

The conversation also shows how regenerative agriculture moves from principle to practice. Cover cropping, reduced tillage, natural fertilization, better planting methods, crop rotations, seeds and traits, crop protection, and digital tools all become part of a wider operating system. McBride highlights short-stature corn, winter oilseeds, and direct-seeded rice as examples of innovation designed to support productivity, soil health, water savings, climate benefits, and new value for growers.

Adoption is treated as a practical transition, not a simple change in language. Farmers often need financial support and peer-to-peer support during the first years of implementation, while smallholder communities need accessible tools, technical guidance, financing, and local partnership models that can bring better inputs and support closer to the field.