What is regenerative agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture is all about healthy soils and intact ecosystems. Regeneratively cultivated land is more climate-resilient and less susceptible to pests and diseases. It stores more CO₂, retains water in the soil and remains fertile in the long term. PRONATEC offers numerous products from regenerative organic agriculture. Our cocoa products and cane sugar have been Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC).
What are the benefits of regenerative agriculture?
You hear the word “regenerative” all the time now, and that’s a good thing, because the advantages of regenerative organic farming are obvious:
- long-term soil fertility thanks to crop rotation, composting, mulching, minimal working of the soil (no deep ploughing)
- climate resilience because soils are protected from erosion and have better water holding capacity
- reduced greenhouse gas emissions because carbon is stored in the soil
- natural protection from pests and diseases
- greater biodiversity in and on the soil
Regenerative organic farming also means not using synthetic fertilisers or pesticides. This protects natural ecosystems from toxic residues in soil and water.
“Regenerative and organic” – perfect partners
Nowadays, the term “regenerative” is also used in industrial, conventional agriculture. However, regenerative farming without the “organic” element is missing the holistic approach that also takes account of soil health and biodiversity. A farm can count as “regenerative” yet still use pesticides and chemicals. So it’s always worth looking more closely.
Regenerative methods – the order of the day for many organic labels
Many of the strict organic and biodynamic labels such as Bio Suisse, Demeter and Naturland have always insisted on regenerative organic farming methods. These include keeping the soil permanently covered – by growing cover crops or mulching – rotating crops, using compost and avoiding synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, as well as leaving some areas uncultivated.
What does Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC) mean?
The Regenerative Organic Certified® or ROC label is a relatively new certification for food, textile fibres and cosmetic products. ROC takes internationally recognised organic standards as its starting point and supplements them with important additional elements such as soil health, animal welfare and fair terms for farmers and farm workers. The Regenerative Organic Certified® certification formalises regenerative organic farming, protects the term from greenwashing and tells consumers that strict sustainability criteria are being complied with.
What are the three pillars of ROC?
Soil health plays a key role in Regenerative Organic Certified® (1st pillar). Together with animal welfare (2nd pillar) and social fairness towards farmers (3rd pillar), the requirements go far beyond those for regenerative conventional farming. ROC certification is becoming more and more significant in the food, drinks, textiles and cosmetics industries around the world. Click here to read the Regenerative Organic Alliance’s official Impact Report 2023.
Which elements of fair trade does ROC include?
The Regenerative Organic Certified® label includes important aspects of fair trade, in that it requires fair working conditions, proper pay and the protection of human rights. Any existing fair trade certifications are taken into account in the ROC certification process and count towards it. However, ROC is different in that it offers no specific rewards for community projects. That is the case with labels such as Fairtrade, Naturland Fair and Fair for Life, which apply to many of the foodstuffs and semifinished products available from PRONATEC.
ROC certified cocoa and cane sugar
PRONATEC is the first company to offer Regenerative Organic Certified® cocoa from Latin America. As of 2024, cocoa products such as cocoa beans, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa nibs from regenerative organic agriculture are available from us.
Our product range also includes ROC-certified cane sugar. Click here to see our range of high-quality sugars with various different certifications.
