NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Transitioning to sustainable food systems will require a considerable shift in how food is produced. Doing this within increasing constraints due to climate change and other societal challenges requires careful and considered planning. Regenerative agriculture (RA) is increasingly seen as a key part of the solution and has support from a growing number of actors in the agriculture sector.

While support is steadily growing, limited clarity exists with regards to the connection between water, soil and RA. This is an important gap that needs addressing or there will be considerable risks to contextualising RA to real world situations in a changing climate and where water is increasingly scarce.

This session seeks to better understand the linkages between water, soil health and RA. It will do this by outlining the potential pitfalls linked to the missed connection to water both as an input and in terms of its contribution to achieving RA goals. Examples from productive landscapes where work is underway to measure these connections will be presented and the needs and opportunities for replication associated to these real-world cases examined. A discussion will then take place focused around policy priorities and