From Tending the Crops to Tending the Land
Highlights from our second Restore Fund
From laying the foundations for a table-to-farm food system in Hong Kong and GBA, to kicking off two new regional projects, and now embarking on our third year of Restore projects, the regenerative movement in Asia is undeniably growing.
Sustainable business models are crucial for successful implementation of regenerative practices, and our funding remains critical to help mitigate the transition risk. Let’s check out how the six farms we supported last year leveraged the grant.
Farmer Pat Fan from Cham Shan Farm built a large compost tea and fermenting station, inspiring Kelvis from Organic Farmula to develop her farm’s station, which Pat Fan helped her to do. We love it when the community shares best practices and works together towards a common goal.
“I had plans for this set up for years, but I cannot bear the cost and risk alone without funding.”
Our farmers are the lynchpin for project success, and we have closely followed their journeys across the year.
Context is key for regenerative methods, so limited on-site infrastructure at some of our farms meant turning to alternative practices like mulching and applying bio-active plant nutrients. Both Sangwoodgoon and AuLaw Organic Farm successfully applied these approaches, with farmer Sze Chung of Sangwoodgoon taking a particular interest in experimenting with different nutrient recipes.
Creating resilience
In September 2023, Hong Kong faced some of the strongest rainstorms and typhoons in decades, with many farms suffering severe losses. Eva’s Farm was among those affected, but thanks to the adaptations from the cover crops and plentiful fruit trees, the living roots prevented her precious soil from being washed away.
(provided by Eva in Sept 2023)
Farmer Sze Chung from Sangwoodgoon shared that since implementing regenerative practices, the significant reduction in pest and weed infestation has allowed for a swift crop rotation process, freeing up more time and manpower for other farm tasks. He told us since the transition, his mindset has changed from tending the crops to tending the land - how beautifully put!
“I’ve seen significant changes, including the soil’s texture. It is softer and less compacted, the number of weeds has reduced which allowed for easier crop rotation.”
Despite climate change giving us longer summers and shorter winters, all our farms have reported extended harvest periods of up to two months and fewer pests, weeds, and diseases in crops.
Robust data collection
Reliable, comprehensive data is key to furthering our mission and communicating our impact to stakeholders. With more Technical Assistance Providers (TAPs) on board this time, we were able to collect more data to track soil and plant health. Our appointed local soil expert trained the TAPs and farmers to use different tools (including penetrometers, brix meters, and microbiometers) and interpret the numbers to give insights into what is working and what changes need to be made.
Soil samples were collected* at all farms across the year and tested at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Lab, with encouraging results. Lab tests showed a consistent increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) and aggregate stability across all farms, with farms that have adopted regenerative farming for more than 3 years reaching >11% in SOC.
*in accordance with the Soil Health Institute’s soil testing protocols.
What’s Next?
We’re pleased to welcome new faces to our network of dedicated farmers, while continuing to support the ongoing progress of our returning grantees. We can’t wait for the first update from our 2024-25 farms!
