The second online seminar of 2026, organized by the Ethical Trade Forums, took place on April 16 and addressed the challenge of “Regenerative Agriculture” in collaboration with WRAP.
With 69 participants, the seminar featured a great deal of interaction between the attendees and the speakers, which began with a presentation by Ángel de Miguel García (Wageningen University, Netherlands) on “What is Regenerative Agriculture (RA)?”, highlighting regulatory aspects and how it fits into markets, followed by an explanation of the research project they have conducted within the berry sector.
This was followed by a panel discussion aimed at debating the strengths, weaknesses, and customers’ perspectives on RA. The panel featured Yanniek Schoonhoven (Regeneration Academy Spain), Celsa Peiteado Morales (WWF Spain), and Magnus Kulwicke (Hanse Lutra). During the panel, participants discussed what Regenerative Agriculture is, the importance of who assumes the costs, how impacts are measured, and how to establish appropriate indicators to measure those impacts, as well as how this information is communicated to consumers.
Yanniek shared his experience at his farm “La Junquera”, located in Murcia, explaining his vision for RA. Celsa presented WWF Spain’s approach to the issue, concluding that public policies should be the driving force behind RA and define what it means. For his part, Magnus discussed how this is impacting consumers, retailers, and the value chain.
Finally, Antonio Hernández Espallardo (AILIMPO), who represents an organization specializing in lemons and grapefruit, presented a best practice at the national level, highlighting the eight projects they are currently carrying out related to RA.
Maximino Rivas-Rivas and Mariana Aycart (Proforest) shared an international best practice, introducing the organization and its projects in Mexico, and noting that their vision aligns with the approach taken in Spain.
In conclusion, participants understood that every Regenerative Agriculture project has a different approach; therefore, not everything can be ruled by a specific standard, but rather it is more like a tailor-made suit, and this is precisely what makes the challenge so interesting.
It is hoped that, if a way is found for consumers to fully understand it, and if economic and knowledge resources are shared, this will be the agriculture of the future.
We would like to thank the speakers for sharing their knowledge, and the participants, both for following the seminar attentively and for replicating what they learned during it in their companies.
