Regenerative Business Models
To create regenerative systems at scale, you need to plan ahead. reNature analyzes the context of the project, aligns the objectives, and develops a rough business model based on modeling projections in the first phase of any project. Thus resulting in a regenerative business model, reNature prepares each project for the next phase, the implementation of the model farm.
Understanding the Context
There is no one size fits all regenerative solution. Every system depends strongly on corp, farm, and region situation. During the Context Analysis phase, our local team, consisting of a regenerative agroforestry expert and a project manager, starts with a detailed analysis of the local reality. They look at the ecosystem, soil type, weather, market access, cost of production, and farming practices. Through this research, reNature will collect the local environmental, social, and economic challenges and is able to develop a regenerative transition strategy.
There is an important role for indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage in (regenerative) agriculture; many farming communities have histories of producing food & fiber in harmony with nature. Tapping into these cultural roots not only improves engagement and willingness to change but also ensures the protection of indigenous and historical knowledge and practices at risk of disappearing forever.
Designing a Regenerative System based on Key Performance Indicators
To successfully design a regenerative system you have to agree on the desired outcome. Together with farmer and client, reNature aligns the objectives and key performance indicators of the model farm in the making. The KPIs cover socio-economic as well as environmental components. These include but are not limited to:
Some Socio-economic KPIs
- ROI (return on investment) on a yearly basis
- NPV (net present value)
- Revenue of each marketed commodity
- Production costs ($/year)
- Human Workload
- Diversity of farmer income
- Youth empowerment
- Women empowerment
- Community benefits
Some Environmental KPIs
- Tree diversity
- Plant diversity
- Phytosanitary status
- Animal diversity
- Land use cover and change (LUCC)
- Carbon sequestered
- Aboveground carbon
- Belowground carbon
- Soil health
- Soil micro biodiversity
- Bird diversity
With these indicators in mind, our reNature experts design a unique regenerative farm design. The design is then used to model the financial projections. For these projections, reNature works together with top-notch modeling tools. The regenerative system becomes investable as a result.
Starting with a Baseline measurement
reNature’s local project manager executes the first baseline measurement on the agreed key performance indicators. This report will be added to the Impact Dashboard that reNature is developing.
Supporting the transition to regenerative farming
Some regions are suffering severely from climate change. Prolonging drought periods, the rise of the average temperature, changing micro-climates, and failing harvests force farmers to take action. Most smallholder farmers in the global south have no access to finance for this transition and are facing a long period of low to no income. The regenerative business model helps these smallholder farmers, SMEs, and small coops to find investors willing to help them with the transition and implementation of a model farm.
