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Ten Principles

Core concepts that help explain the benefits of regenerative agriculture.

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  • 1 | Minimize Soil Disturbance
  • 2 | Keep the Ground Covered
  • 3 | Enhance Biodiversity
  • 4 | Integrate Livestock
  • 5 | Be Adaptive
  • 6 | Manage Water Use
  • 7 | Support Human and Social Capital
  • 8 | Increase Nutrient Density
  • 9 | Reduce or Eliminate Synthetic Inputs
  • 10 | Provide Synergies

Ten Principles

Core concepts that help explain the benefits of regenerative agriculture.

Regenerative agriculture is a farming system that improves soil health, increases biodiversity, and enhances ecological benefits, while producing healthy and nutritious food.

While the principles of regenerative agriculture are universal, their application through practices is place based; its application can literally vary from farm to farm, fence post to fence post.

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1_Minimize_Soil_Disturbance
No-Till
The-Field-Trial
Minimal-Disturbance

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

Minimize Soil Disturbance.

Healthy, living soil is the foundation of a healthy farming system. When regenerative farmers minimize soil disturbance, they help preserve and promote soil health, increase water retention, sequester more carbon, and promote greater biodiversity, creating more sustainable and resilient farming systems that benefit both people and the planet.

Keep the Ground Covered.

Regenerative farmers use practices that armor the soil, keeping it covered through the use of cover crops, compost, and other practices that keep roots in the ground and add carbon to the soil. This can increase soil organic matter, which promotes healthy soil, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, conserves water, enhances fertility, and supports biodiversity. It also plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy soil structure by providing nutrients to plants and promoting soil microbial activity.

2_Keep_the_Ground_Covered
Crop-Residue
Biodynamic-Compost
PLASTIC2_RECOLOGY_COMPOST
PLASTIC13_ASP
Soil-Amendments
Korean-Natural-Farming
Green-Manure
Building-Soil-Fertility
The-Soil-Food-Web
Crop-Rotation
Cover-Crop

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

3_Enhance_Biodiversity
Biodiversity
Shortgrass-Prairie
Biodiversity-VS-Monoculture
Riparian-Buffer
Diversidad-De-Cultivos

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

Enhance Biodiversity.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of plant, animal, and microbial species that coexist in an ecosystem. A diverse ecosystem is more resilient to environmental changes, such as drought, pests, and disease, and is better able to provide important ecosystem services such as pollination, pest control, and nutrient cycling.

4_Integrate_Livestock
Farmlife+Wildlife
Conservation-Corridor
The-Soil-Builder
Silvopasture
Regenerative-Grass-Fed-Beef
Holistic-Planned-Grazing

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

Integrate Livestock.

Regenerative farmers can create more resilient and sustainable farming practices that benefit both the environment and their communities by integrating crops with livestock. This integrated system can improve soil health, support nutrient cycling, provide greater farm diversification, and help mitigate climate change.

Be Adaptive.

Regenerative agriculture recognizes the importance of adapting farming practices to local environmental and cultural contexts. It supports farming systems that are not just sustainable and productive but also grounded in the unique characteristics of the local landscape, climate, and culture. It supports small-scale producers and local food systems, emphasizing community-based food production and consumption.

5_Be_Adaptive
Land-Steward
Seed-Swap
Food-Miles
Community-Scale-Milling
Seed-Regeneration
Local-Ecotypes
Seed-Processing
Food-Hub
Community-Supported-Agriculture
The-Bio-Regionalists

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

6_Manage_Water_Use
Conservacion-de-Riego
Fertigation
Drip-Irrigation
Pressurized-Water-Delivery
Automated-Water-Delivery
Water-Steward

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

Manage Water Use.

Water is a precious resource, and in many regions, it has become increasingly scarce due to climate change and other factors. By conserving water, regenerative farmers can make their operations more resilient to drought and other water shortages. When soil is healthy, it can absorb and retain more water, which reduces runoff and increases groundwater recharge.

Conserving water is a key aspect of regenerative agriculture because it supports the long-term health of the soil, ecosystems, and communities that depend on it.

7_Support_Human_and_Social_Capital
Supervisor-de-Cuadrilla
Price-Premiums
Farm-Succession-Plan
Assesoramiento-de-negocio
Educacion
Farm-Loans

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

Support Human and Social Capital.

More than simply improving soil health and biodiversity, regenerative agriculture is also about creating thriving communities and supporting the people who work on the land. It also provides equity through the proper valuation of both human and social capital, which includes supporting community involvement, education, and fair labor practices, including worker health and safety, fair wages, and workers' rights.

Increase Nutrient Density.

Regenerative agriculture practices can improve the nutrient density of food by increasing the availability of minerals, vitamins, and other essential nutrients in the soil. This can lead to food with higher levels of nutrients and better overall nutritional quality.

8_Increase_Nutrient_Density
Nutrient-Density

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

9_Reduce_or_Eliminate_Synthetic_Inputs
Insectary
Integrated-Pest-Management
Companion-Planting
Reducing-Chemical-Inputs
Herbicide-Free
Straw-Mulching

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

Reduce or Eliminate Synthetic Inputs.

Regenerative agriculture seeks to reduce the use of synthetic inputs, such as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, through practices that include crop rotation, cover cropping, intercropping, agroforestry, composting, and natural pest management. Creating more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems can reduce costs, promote greater self-sufficiency, and minimize negative environmental impacts.

10_Provide_Synergies
Circular-Economy
Prescriptive-Cover-Crop
Crop-Diversity-Rotational-Grazing

[Swipe to view the lexicon.]

Provide Synergies.

Providing synergies is an important aspect of regenerative agriculture because it helps create a more holistic and integrated approach to farming that benefits both the environment and the farmer. These synergies occur when multiple elements of a farming system work together to create a positive outcome that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Explore more PRINCIPLES

Key principles and practices that link to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals,
defined by The Lexicon's community of food system experts.

About

Regenerative Agriculture is produced by The Lexicon with support from Food at Google. The Lexicon brings together food companies, NGOs, scientists, entrepreneurs, and food producers from across the globe to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing our food systems.

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Team

Regenerative Agriculture features an unprecedented collaboration of leading food service companies, environmental NGOs and technical experts.

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Water Quality

Providing best water quality conditions to ensure optimal living condition for growth, breeding and other physiological needs

Water quality is sourced from natural seawater with dependency on the tidal system. Water is treated to adjust pH and alkalinity before stocking.

Learn how to improve

Smallholder Farmer

Producers that own and manages the farm operating under small-scale farming model with limited input, investment which leads to low to medium production yield

All 1,149 of our farmers in both regencies are smallholder farmers who operate with low stocking density, traditional ponds, and no use of any other intensification technology.

Learn how to improve

Worker Safety

Safe working conditions — cleanliness, lighting, equipment, paid overtime, hazard safety, etc. — happen when businesses conduct workplace safety audits and invest in the wellbeing of their employees

Company ensure implementation of safe working conditions by applying representative of workers to health and safety and conduct regular health and safety training. The practices are proven by ASIC standards’ implementation

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Community Livelihood

Implementation of farming operations, management and trading that impact positively to community wellbeing and sustainable better way of living

The company works with local stakeholders and local governments to create support for farmers and the farming community in increasing resilience. Our farming community is empowered by local stakeholders continuously to maintain a long generation of farmers.

Learn how to improve

Frozen at Peak Freshness

Freezing seafood rapidly when it is at peak freshness to ensure a higher quality and longer lasting product

Our harvests are immediately frozen with ice flakes in layers in cool boxes. Boxes are equipped with paper records and coding for traceability. We ensure that our harvests are processed with the utmost care at <-18 degrees Celsius.

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Deforestation Free

Sourcing plant based ingredients, like soy, from producers that do not destroy forests to increase their growing area and produce fish feed ingredients

With adjacent locations to mangroves and coastal areas, our farmers and company are committed to no deforestation at any scale. Mangrove rehabilitation and replantation are conducted every year in collaboration with local authorities. Our farms are not established in protected habitats and have not resulted from deforestation activity since the beginning of our establishment.

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Natural Feed

Implement only natural feeds grown in water for aquatic animal’s feed without use of commercial feed

Our black tiger shrimps are not fed using commercial feed. The system is zero input and depends fully on natural feed grown in the pond. Our farmers use organic fertilizer and probiotics to enhance the water quality.

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Increased Biodiversity

Enhance biodiversity through integration of nature conservation and food production without negative impact to surrounding ecosysytem

As our practices are natural, organic, and zero input, farms coexist with surrounding biodiversity which increases the volume of polyculture and mangrove coverage area. Farmers’ groups, along with the company, conduct regular benthic assessments, river cleaning, and mangrove planting.

Learn how to improve

THE TERM “MOONSHOT” IS OFTEN USED TO DESCRIBE an initiative that goes beyond the confines of the present by transforming our greatest aspirations into reality, but the story of a moonshot isn’t that of a single rocket. In fact, the Apollo program that put Neil Armstrong on the moon was actually preceded by the Gemini program, which in a two-year span rapidly put ten rockets into space. This “accelerated” process — with a new mission nearly every 2-3 months — allowed NASA to rapidly iterate, validate their findings and learn from their mistakes. Telemetry. Propulsion. Re-entry. Each mission helped NASA build and test a new piece of the puzzle.

The program also had its fair share of creative challenges, especially at the outset, as the urgency of the task at hand required that the roadmap for getting to the moon be written in parallel with the rapid pace of Gemini missions. Through it all, the NASA teams never lost sight of their ultimate goal, and the teams finally aligned on their shared responsibilities. Within three years of Gemini’s conclusion, a man did walk on the moon.

FACT is a food systems solutions activator that assesses the current food landscape, engages with key influencers, identifies trends, surveys innovative work and creates greater visibility for ideas and practices with the potential to shift key food and agricultural paradigms.

Each activator focuses on a single moonshot; instead of producing white papers, policy briefs or peer-reviewed articles, these teams design and implement blueprints for action. At the end of each activator, their work is released to the public and open-sourced.

As with any rapid iteration process, many of our activators re-assess their initial plans and pivot to address new challenges along the way. Still, one thing has remained constant: their conviction that by working together and pooling their knowledge and resources, they can create a multiplier effect to more rapidly activate change.

Douglas Gayeton

Douglas Gayeton

Co-Founder
THE LEXICON

Michiel Bakker

Michiel Bakker

Vice President
Global Workplace Programs
GOOGLE

Eligibility, Submission Terms and Conditions

Sponsor

A Greener Blue Global Storytelling Initiative is sponsored by The Lexicon, a US based 501(c)(3) public charity.

Opportunity

Storytellers will join A Greener Blue Storytelling Collective to create stories for the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture with the FAO and its partner organizations. Members of the Collective will take part in a private online “Total Storytelling Lab” led by The Lexicon’s Douglas Gayeton. Upon completion of this online certificate program, members of the Collective will join seafood experts from around the globe in creating A Greener Blue Storytelling initiative.

Terms

Who can enter and how selections are made.

A Greener Blue is a global call to action that is open to individuals and teams from all over the world. Below is a non-exhaustive list of subjects the initiative targets.

  • Creatives and storytellers with a passion for food and the willingness to support small-scale fisherpeople and experts worldwide. This category includes, but is not exhausted in photographers, videomakers, illustrators, podcasters, and writers.
  • Food Activists working to change open sea fishing and aquaculture; 
  • Members of fishing and indigenous communities that support their communities, share their stories and protect their way of life;
  • Local and International NGOs work every day with actors across the whole value chain to create more sustainable seafood models.

To apply, prospective participants will need to fill out the form on the website, by filling out each part of it. Applications left incomplete or containing information that is not complete enough will receive a low score and have less chance of being admitted to the storytelling lab.

Nonprofit organizations, communities of fishers and fish farmers and companies that are seeking a closer partnership or special support can also apply by contacting hello@thelexicon.org and interacting with the members of our team.

Special attention will be given to the section of the form regarding the stories that the applicants want to tell and the reasons for participating. All proposals for stories regarding small-scale or artisanal fishers or aquaculturists, communities of artisanal fishers or aquaculturists, and workers in different steps of the seafood value chain will be considered.

Stories should show the important role that these figures play in building a more sustainable seafood system. To help with this narrative, the initiative has identified 10 principles that define a more sustainable seafood system. These can be viewed on the initiative’s website and they state:
Seafood is sustainable when:

  • it helps address climate change
  • it supports global ecosystems
  • it optimizes impact on resources and nutrient cycles.
  • it promotes a safe growing environment for safe food sources.
  • it advances animal welfare.
  • it enhances flavor and nutrition.
  • it builds resilience and self-sufficiency in local communities.
  • it prioritizes inclusion, equality, and fair treatment of workers.
  • it preserves legality and the quality and the story of the product throughout the value chain.
  • it creates opportunities along the whole value chain.

Proposed stories should show one or more of these principles in practice.

Applications are open from the 28th of June to the 15th of August 2022. There will be 50 selected applicants who will be granted access to The Lexicon’s Total Storytelling Lab. These 50 applicants will be asked to accept and sign a learning agreement and acceptance of participation document with which they agree to respect The Lexicon’s code of conduct.

The first part of the lab will take place online between August the 22nd and August the 26th and focus on training participants on the foundation of storytelling, supporting them to create a production plan, and aligning all of them around a shared vision.

Based on their motivation, quality of the story, geography, and participation in the online Lab, a selected group of participants will be gifted a GoPro camera offered to the program by GoPro For A Change. Participants who are selected to receive the GoPro camera will need to sign an acceptance and usage agreement.

The second part of the Storytelling Lab will consist of a production period in which each participant will be supported in the production of their own story. This period goes from August 26th to October 13th. Each participant will have the opportunity to access special mentorship from an international network of storytellers and seafood experts who will help them build their story. The Lexicon also provides editors, animators, and graphic designers to support participants with more technical skills.

The final deadline to submit the stories is the 14th of October. Participants will be able to both submit complete edited stories, or footage accompanied by a storyboard to be assembled by The Lexicon’s team.

All applicants who will exhibit conduct and behavior that is contrary to The Lexicon’s code of conduct will be automatically disqualified. This includes applicants proposing stories that openly discriminate against a social or ethnic group, advocate for a political group, incite violence against any group, or incite to commit crimes of any kind.

All submissions must be the entrant’s original work. Submissions must not infringe upon the trademark, copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity or person.

Participants will retain the copyrights to their work while also granting access to The Lexicon and the other partners of the initiative to share their contributions as part of A Greener Blue Global Storytelling Initiative.

If a potential selected applicant cannot be reached by the team of the Initiative within three (3) working days, using the contact information provided at the time of entry, or if the communication is returned as undeliverable, that potential participant shall forfeit.

Offering

Selected applicants will be granted access to an advanced Storytelling Lab taught and facilitated by Douglas Gayeton, award-winning storyteller and information architect, co-founder of The Lexicon. In this course, participants will learn new techniques that will improve their storytelling skills and be able to better communicate their work with a global audience. This skill includes (but is not limited to) how to build a production plan for a documentary, how to find and interact with subjects, and how to shoot a short documentary.

Twenty of the participants will receive a GoPro Hero 11 Digital Video and Audio Cameras by September 15, 2022. Additional participants may receive GoPro Digital Video and Audio Cameras to be announced at a later date. The recipients will be selected by advisors to the program and will be based on selection criteria (see below) on proposals by Storytelling Lab participants. The selections will keep in accordance with Lab criteria concerning geography, active participation in the Storytelling Lab and commitment to the creation of a story for the Initiative, a GoPro Camera to use to complete the storytelling lab and document their story. These recipients will be asked to sign an acceptance letter with terms of use and condition to receive the camera. 

The Lexicon provides video editors, graphic designers, and animators to support the participants to complete their stories.

The submitted stories will be showcased during international and local events, starting from the closing event of the International Year of Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 in Rome, in January 2023. The authors of the stories will be credited and may be invited to join.

All selection criteria

Storytelling lab participation:

Applicants that will be granted access to the storytelling Lab will be evaluated based on the entries they provided in the online form, and in particular:

  • The completeness of their form
  • The relevance of their story (coherence with the main goal of the initiative and 10 principles)
  • Written motivation explained
  • Geography (the initiative aims at showcasing stories from all over the world so the mix of locations will be a factor that the selection committee will take into account)
 

Applications will be evaluated by a team of 4 judges from The Lexicon, GSSI and the team of IYAFA (Selection committee).

When selecting applications, the call promoters may request additional documentation or interviews both for the purpose of verifying compliance with eligibility requirements and to facilitate proposal evaluation.

Camera recipients:

Participants to the Storytelling Lab who will be given a GoPro camera will be selected based on:

  • Quality of the story (coherence with the initiative and the 10 principles)
  • Motivation demonstrated during the interaction in the online class
  • Participation in the online class (participants that will attend less than 4 classes will be automatically excluded)
 

The evaluation will be carried out by a team of 4 judges from The Lexicon, GSSI and the team of IYAFA (Selection committee).

Incidental expenses and all other costs and expenses which are not specifically listed in these Official Rules but which may be associated with the acceptance, receipt and use of the Storytelling Lab and the camera are solely the responsibility of the respective participants and are not covered by The Lexicon or any of the A Greener Blue partners.

All participants who receive a Camera are required to sign an agreement allowing GoPro for a Cause, The Lexicon and GSSI to utilize the films for A Greener Blue and their promotional purposes. All participants will be required to an agreement to upload their footage into the shared drive of The Lexicon and make the stories, films and images available for The Lexicon and the promoting partners of A Greener Blue.

Additional Limitations

Selection and distribution of the camera is non-transferable. No substitution or cash equivalent of the cameras is granted. The Lexicon and its respective partners and representatives are not responsible for any typographical or other errors in the offer or administration of the Initiative, including, but not limited to, errors in any printing or posting or the Official Rules, the selection and announcement of any selected participant, or the distribution of any equipment. Any attempt to damage the content or operation of this Initiative is unlawful and subject to possible legal action by The Lexicon. The Lexicon reserves the right to terminate, suspend or amend the Initiative, without notice, and for any reason, including, without limitation, if The Lexicon determines that the Lab cannot be conducted as planned or should a virus, bug, tampering or unauthorized intervention, technical failure or other cause beyond The Lexicon’s control corrupt the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper play of the Contest. In the event any tampering or unauthorized intervention may have occurred, The Lexicon reserves the right to void suspect entries at issue.

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