European agriculture is in decline. Yields are falling, input costs are rising, and the EU has become a net importer of both calories and proteins, relying on foreign producers for 11% of the calories and 26% of the proteins consumed. Already in 2025, the European Commission estimates agricultural revenue losses of €60 billion, rising to over €90 billion by 2050. The myth that only conventional, synthetic input-heavy agriculture can feed Europe is not only false, it is dangerous.

EARA’s landmark study, undertaken by 11 researchers supported by leading institutions worldwide and led by pioneering farmers, provides the evidence. Between 2020 and 2023, regenerating farmers achieved just 1% lower yields in kilocalories and proteins, while using 62% less synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and 76% less pesticides per hectare. From 2018 to 2024, they achieved over 15% higher photosynthesis, soil cover and plant diversity compared to neighbouring fields, and recorded average surface temperatures over 0.3°C cooler during summer months.

In total, pioneering regenerating farmers delivered over 27% higher Regenerating Full Productivity (RFP) than the average European farmer, with gains ranging from 24% to 38% across the 14 countries studied.

The study introduces the Regenerating Full Productivity Index (RFP), a new multidimensional, easily measurable index developed by pioneering farmers, researchers and agronomists to describe all decisive productivity factors for regenerating forms of agriculture. It is operable from international governance to field level, and provides the data urgently needed to inform both a results-based Common Agricultural Policy and crucial financial instruments, including transition insurance for farmers.

“The EARA study shows that Regenerative Agriculture, correctly implemented, is more than a buzzword and fashion. Instead it is a pathway towards an agriculture which can feed the world and be at the same time sustainable in all three dimensions – social, environmental and economic. And this can also be verified in a transparent way, as the study further shows.”
Dr. Theodor Friedrich, retired Ambassador of the FAO and independent reviewer of the study

The findings are not only valid for Europe. If European farmers across the board followed the lead of the pioneers, the study estimates they could mitigate 141.3 million metric tonnes of CO₂e per year in the first years of transition alone, approximately 84% of the EU agricultural sector’s net greenhouse gas emissions. After 3–7 years of transition, Europe’s agricultural sector could become nature and climate positive, while securing food and fibre production and critical climate adaptation for the whole of European society.

The Green Revolution can be put to the dustbin of history. The data is in. The pioneers have already shown the way. EARA calls on policymakers, financial institutions, and the broader agri-food sector to urgently support the transition to regenerating forms of agriculture, not as an ecological aspiration, but as a proven, investable, and strategically essential pathway for Europe’s security, sovereignty and resilience.