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Regenerative agriculture focuses on regenerating and revitalizing the health of soils and ecosystems.  The goal is to continually improve and restore the resources upon which cultivation depends, rather than depleting or degrading them. By building soil health, regenerative agriculture aims to improve water retention, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and overall resilience of the farming system.  

We had to develop our own regenerative agriculture plan for our farm, since there are no cut and paste models available as every farm is different.  It has taken a lot of trial and error to work out a system that is effective in Belize’s increasing dry seasons.  Here’s some of the things we do:  

We don’t disturb the soil– we are busy developing a complex soil network, promoting the growth of living material such as fungal hyphae, as well as creating air pockets and aggregating soil particles. We do this by composting a variety of locally sourced materials such as coconut husk,woodchip and grass clippings that would otherwise have been burned or thrown away.

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The ground is covered– we keep our cocoa and vanilla plants surrounded by a variety of cover crops, compost and mulch.  This keeps the soil cool and retains moisture during the dry season, as well as reducing erosion.

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We promote diversity– we have more than 20 species in our planting system from high canopy hardwoods like mahogany and rosewood to grass species such as arachis and crops like papaya, pineapple and plantain. We have also counted more than 60 species of birds on the farm with the Hopkins and Sittee River birding group.

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Developing soil micro-herds – We use several composting systems including vermiculture to boost the growth of microbes such as bacteria, fungi and nematodes, which help plants metabolize soil nutrients in exchange for sugars created by plant photosynthesis.

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Syntropy – we use strategic pruning to keep our canopy young and constantly growing  

Measurement – regenerative agriculture standards are developing rapidly and no clear system has emerged.  This is mostly because every farm system is different, and are at different stages of the regenerative process.  In the absence of clear standards, we track the following:  

Inputs – use of water, fuel, electricity, fertilizer and insecticides/fungicides  

Outputs – amount of compost generated, amount of trash generated, crop production  

Soil and plant improvement – tree and species count per acre, soil organic matter, leaf brix, ratio of bacteria to fungi in the soil  

All of these indicators help us improve soil health and reduce the use of inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

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