Bringing regenerative agriculture into the european policy debate

As Europe looks for ways to make farming more resilient while restoring soils and biodiversity, regenerative agriculture has moved rapidly up the EU policy agenda. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) helped give this debate a clearer policy direction: it was the first EU institution to adopt a comprehensive opinion on regenerative agriculture, setting out how farmers could be rewarded for measurable environmental, economic and social outcomes.

Adopted in June 2025, the EESC opinion made a central recommendation: regenerative agriculture should not be defined through a fixed list of farming practices, but through results that can be measured and verified. The Committee proposed outcome- and performance-based indicators and called for EU funding and agricultural policies to better recognise improvements in areas such as soil health, biodiversity and climate resilience.

This approach anticipated an important direction in the debate on the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The European Commission’s post-2027 CAP proposal, presented the following month, places greater emphasis on linking support to environmental actions, farm investment and the uptake of new practices and technologies. The Commission’s subsequent work on agri-environmental and climate action under the future CAP has further reinforced the focus on measurable environmental delivery.

The EESC’s work has also helped give regenerative agriculture greater visibility in discussions with farmers, policymakers and stakeholders, including at European and international level. Its message is that the transition will only succeed if environmental improvements go hand in hand with viable farm businesses and fair rewards for farmers.

The Committee continues to advocate policies that connect healthy soils, resilient food production and farmers’ livelihoods, while ensuring that public and private financing supports farmers through the transition.

We see regenerative agriculture as an opportunity to define a new positive narrative and future for European agriculture, one that is focused on healthy soils, strong rural communities and sustainable food systems, and based on a better share of value in the agri-food chain.
Stoyan Tchoukanov, President of the EESC’s Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment