Regenerative Agriculture: The Future Of Food And Farming?

Among the many problems facing the world is how the projected 9 billion people who will be living on the planet in 2050 can be fed. Currently there are over 2.3 billion people globally who are food insecure while the farming industry struggles to meet the challenges of climate change and disruptions to global supply chains. While the late 20 th century witnessed dramatic increases in the production of food this came at a cost of loss of biodiversity, diffuse pollution and a decline in the nutritive quality of what we eat. This talk will evaluate these issues and assess the movement towards a more regenerative approach to farming and food production. Henry Matthews grew up on a farm in the Rodings in Essex which he went on to manage for 20 years. Alongside this he taught and carried out consultancies in former Soviet States. He has a BSc in Modern History and Economics and an MSc in Agribusiness for Development. When the family farm was sold he became a partner in a Ukrainian farming business which ended in 2012. Consultancy has taken him to over 20 countries across Eastern Europe, Africa, South America and Central Asia where he is now working on an FAO project concerned with organic value chains. Henry has worked at Writtle since 2002 and is the current agriculture course manager. He was part of the team that developed the first UK degree course in Regenerative Agriculture which was launched in 2020. He has recently worked with the Landworkers Alliance on the DEFRA funded Scaling Up program. He is a council member of the Institute of Agricultural Management and belongs to the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers.