RegenWA Media Release 8th November 2022

On behalf of RegenWA’s 430 farmers members, plus 968 interested stakeholders, we would like to thank Western Australia agriculture minister Hon Alannah McTiernan for her vision and support of regenerative agriculture in WA.

Minister MacTiernan officially launched RegenWA, initiated by Perth NRM as a Regenerative Farmers Network, at the Dowerin Field Days in 2018, and opened the inaugural Regenerative Agriculture Conference in 2019.

The Minister has been a keen advocate for regenerative agriculture, and under her leadership there has been increased focus and funding for research supporting ecosystem restoration, soil health initiatives and establishing measures for success in sustainable farming systems.

RegenWA focuses on supporting innovative farmers to identify and share practices that help restore the natural capital that our food systems depend on. While it is just a label, we collectively call these practices ‘regenerative’.

Regenerative agriculture can be explained as any practice that helps restore natural capital, i.e. improving soil health, increasing the water holding capacity of the landscape, storing carbon and increasing biodiversity. This ecosystem approach aims to renew landscapes while supporting productivity.

Perth NRM is now applying a Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) lens to verify if these practices are helping to restore the inherent productive capacity of the land.

There is growing awareness that building resilience into agricultural systems is essential to manage the increasing impacts of climate change.

Farmers are also increasingly challenged by rising costs, which is why it is so important to support innovative farmers to identify and share practices that help restore the inherent productive capacity of the land and reduce dependence on inputs.

RegenWA and Perth NRM will continue to support farmers by providing a platform for sharing knowledge, projects and events while working collaboratively with local grower groups and organisations.