- Regenerative agriculture is booming and has become the coffee industry’s new favourite trend
- 63% of 79 agri-food giants call it a climate fix, but only 4 back farmers financially
- Ironically, the smallholder farmers who pioneered this indigenous practice risk being sidelined by trends and certifications
REGENERATIVE agriculture has quickly become the darling of the coffee industry.
From trade show stages to corporate branding, the buzzword dominates discussions, promising to be the “next big thing” in sustainable production.
Labels boasting regenerative practices have proliferated, and big players like Nespresso, Starbucks, Illy, and Lavazza are starting to actively support regenerative agriculture initiatives. Multinationals like Nestlé, Walmart, and Target also appear to be investing, recognising the potential for market growth and enhanced brand reputation.
Yet, beneath the fanfare lies a fundamental question: is this movement delivering meaningful change, or is it simply repackaging age-old practices in a new trend-driven guise – generating yet more biased certifications and auditing measures?
“B-Corp, Fairtrade, ‘certified regenerative’ – all these become highly discussed but eventually fade off as the real problems remain unsolved,” says Martin Mayorga, Founder & CEO of Mayorga Coffee. “The industry loves to talk about everything except the actual systemic issues and how to address them once and for all.”
In recent years, regenerative agriculture has captured the attention of industry giants and small players alike. Its appeal lies in its holistic approach, which aims not just to minimise harm but to restore ecosystems. Practices like cover cropping, agroforestry, and composting are touted as solutions to combat soil degradation, improve biodiversity, and sequester carbon.
Trade shows have been a key battleground for this movement. At events like Producer & Roaster Forum, for instance, regenerative agriculture is a prominent topic of conversation at speeches and booths; it also featured heavily at the inaugural Farm Summit in 2024. Furthermore, certification schemes have also mushroomed, with labels claiming to verify everything from carbon-neutral practices to soil health improvement.
Corporate investment underscores the seriousness of this trend. Nestlé, for example, has committed to sourcing 50% of their key ingredients, including coffee, from farmers adopting regenerative agricultural practices by 2030.
But while multinational corporations champion regenerative agriculture, small-scale producers often look on with skepticism. For many of them, the methods hailed as revolutionary are simply a continuation of traditional farming practices passed down through generations.
“I’m not interested in ‘trends’ as such, because we’ve been practicing it forever,” says Martin.
“And who defines regenerative agriculture? Words like ‘specialty,’ ‘sustainability,’ and ‘regenerative’ are tossed around, but they’re often just buzzwords masking deep systemic issues. The small, remote producers who have practiced these methods for generations aren’t even included in the conversation.”
A practice rooted in tradition
For countless coffee producers, regenerative agriculture is nothing new. Across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, indigenous communities have practiced sustainable farming methods long before they were branded as “regenerative.”
These farmers understand the interdependence of soil, water, and biodiversity because their livelihoods depend on it.
“Real regenerative practices are straightforward: Managing natural inputs, nurturing native plants, creating wind barriers, integrating animals for extra income, or planting diversified crops like beans, turmeric, or ginger,” says Martin.
“These ancestral practices were dismissed for centuries, but now they’re whitewashed, greenwashed, and monetised with stickers and press. All the smallholder farmers Mayorga Coffee works with in Latin America have been cultivating coffee using regenerative techniques for decades.”
By interplanting coffee with native tree species, they maintain soil fertility, promote water retention, and create habitats for wildlife. Their approach aligns perfectly with regenerative principles, yet it’s not a response to market trends – it’s simply how they’ve always farmed.
These practices are rooted in indigenous knowledge systems that view farming as part of a broader ecological and social fabric. For instance, shade-grown coffee – practiced across much of Latin America – enhances biodiversity, regulates temperature, and reduces soil erosion.
These are regenerative outcomes, achieved not through certification schemes but through cultural heritage.
Mayorga Coffee focuses on indigenous farming methods to prioritise environmental stewardship over short-term profits. They started their chia programme in Nicaragua in 2012, and have worked with up to 850 producers today growing chia – all through regenerative practices.
“Do I care if it fits a certifier’s definition? No. What matters is that these farmers know we’ll buy from them every year and that they produce in a manner that protect their soil and overall interests. That’s the right way to do business,” says Martin.
Yet, the commodification of regenerative agriculture risks sidelining these traditional approaches.
As labels and certifications proliferate, the focus shifts to compliance rather than commitment, rewarding those who can afford to adapt to the latest requirements while leaving behind the smallholders who have been practicing sustainability all along.
Moving from talk to action
The industry’s pivot to regenerative agriculture raises uncomfortable questions. By turning a practice into a certification, are we incentivising real change, or merely creating a marketing tool?
The danger is clear: the more regenerative agriculture becomes about labels and less about action, the more it risks excluding the very producers who exemplify its principles.
A FAIRR review of 79 global agri-food companies found that 63% reference regenerative agriculture as a solution to climate and biodiversity crises. However, only four – Nestlé, PepsiCo, JBS S.A., and Sodexo – have financial commitments to support farmers in adopting these practices. Of those with pledges, 64% lack measurable, company-wide targets, making it challenging to evaluate progress or determine if farms meet regenerative agriculture goals.
“As a long-time leader in this space, I’m shocked by how many certifiers lack structure – relying on third-party verifiers,” says Martin. “When I’ve challenged their costs, they casually suggest passing them onto consumers. So now both farmers and consumers get penalised with no real upside to them?”
“Certifiers just create standards that they invent. People look at them like official experts, but we have to look at the reality of who’s who and what’s what. We have to be careful how much credit we give to these third parties who are just pursuing revenue and we have to focus on what each producer or region specifically needs.”
To avoid this pitfall, the coffee sector must prioritise outcomes over optics. This means focusing on the tangible impact of farming practices rather than their marketability.
Mayorga Coffee, for example, has been working with farmers to implement regenerative methods that improve soil health and crop resilience, not to chase certifications but to ensure long-term sustainability. By collaborating directly with cooperatives, the company ensures that investments go toward practices that benefit both the environment and the farmers themselves.
Looking at implementing organic practices before even considering regenerative agriculture is also essential.
“What bothers me most is that organic isn’t even a priority,” says Martin. “Without organic as the foundation, how can you regenerate anything? It will collapse, and the industry will just chase the next trend. I see investments in stickers and marketing, but not in real action. If organic isn’t your baseline, it’s all nonsense.”
While multinationals have the resources to drive large-scale adoption of regenerative agriculture, their initiatives often centre on meeting corporate sustainability goals and investors’ bottom lines rather than addressing the needs of producers.
A shift in perspective is needed – one that sees smallholder farmers not as beneficiaries of regenerative agriculture but as its leaders. Too often, discussions at trade shows and in corporate boardrooms are dominated by buyers and marketers, leaving farmers on the sidelines.
“The only people who truly know what is regenerative, sustainable, and long-term are the producers themselves,” says Martin. “Talk to them.”
“You can’t fix a systemic, deep-rooted problem tied to colonialism that’s spread across entire regions with a one-size-fits-all certification. How is a certifier in New Jersey supposed to solve issues in Nicaragua? Listen to what producers advise and what they need – or be prepared to be called out for ignoring them.”
Regenerative agriculture holds immense promise for the coffee industry. By restoring ecosystems, improving resilience, and reducing carbon footprints, it offers a pathway to sustainability that aligns with the needs of both producers and consumers.
But to realise this potential, the industry must move beyond talk and into action.
Coffee Intelligence
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