Article

What’s It Like to Work on a Regenerative Farm? Coffee Farmers Share Their Stories

Filed Under: In the Field

In early 2025, the Rainforest Alliance piloted the Regenerative Agriculture Standard with a small group of coffee farms in Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Brazil. What connects these early adopters is their commitment to farming in a way that heals the land, along with proactive preparation to be audited against our new standard. Now, we’re proud to announce that these innovative farms are officially Rainforest Alliance Certified Regenerative!

What is the Rainforest Alliance Regenerative Agriculture Standard?

The standard equips farmers with guidance and support to implement specialized practices that further improve soil fertility, boost biodiversity, and increase climate resilience. Our regenerative approach is farmer-focused, grounded in science, and adapted to local contexts. It builds on our longstanding Sustainable Agriculture Standard; together, they make up the Rainforest Alliance Certification Program.

To be the first in any category is a feat—one that always comes with plenty of learnings and discoveries. To go deeper on what it’s like to work on a regenerative farm, we talked to coffee farmers, farm management, and farm workers in Nicaragua and Brazil. Here, they share their firsthand experiences.

Recognizing farmers’ commitment

Our Regenerative Agriculture Certification recognizes farmers who are already implementing regenerative practices—and incentivizes those who are ready to make the transition.

  • “I think it’s important for farmers to be recognized for their hard work in regenerative agriculture […] It takes a long time. It takes innovation. It takes engagement. […] This certification is recognizing all these efforts along the years that farmers have been doing.”

    Emilie Dardaine, executive director of Cafetalera Nicafrance – La Cumplida and coordinator of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture in Coffee, Nicaragua

  • “More than 20 years of being [Rainforest Alliance] Certified […] made it much easier to evolve to the regenerative standard because we had been doing activities such as reforesting the fields, doing fertilization plans based on soil analyses, managing the social aspect with workers and […] reforestation, taking care of wild animals, [and] protecting water sources.”

    Noel Rodríguez Peralta, production manager, Cafatalera Nicafrance – La Cumplida, Nicaragua

Nurturing soil health and fertility 

Our Regenerative Agriculture Standard equips farmers with the guidance and support they need to adopt practices that improve soil fertility and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Informed by annual soil and foliar assessments, farmers use targeted fertilizer application, compost and organic matter, and progressive targets for permanent soil cover, such as mulch or cover crops to boost the soil’s organic matter and nutrient content.

  • “When we conserve the soil, we are learning to understand it and thus treat it as it deserves […] The soil is not a machine; we have to learn to listen to it.”

    Dayanara Soza, responsible for sustainability, Cafetalera Nicafrance – La Cumplida, Nicaragua

  • “You begin to bring life back to the soil. We have better absorption of the fertilizers we apply when we have soil with more organic matter.”

    Mário Garcia, coffee producer, Fazenda Onça, Brazil

  • “We apply biological products, we plant this ground cover, and we also put down coffee straw. […] We then compost this straw. And it is spread again here on the coffee plantation. So, you create a cycle of soil restoration, […] so that it doesn’t dry out, so that it maintains the moisture of the earth, so that there is no erosion either.” 

    Gersoní Munhoz, coffee producer, Fazenda Pratinha, Brazil

  • “A very common practice in regenerative agriculture is the application of organic compost [that is] made here on the farm and monitored. […] We mix everything together, monitor it, and apply it, mainly to new crops.”

    Mário Garcia, coffee producer, Fazenda Onça, Brazil

Boosting biodiversity

Biodiversity flourishes on farms that practice regenerative agriculture. Our standard’s requirements include maintaining a diverse variety of trees across the farm to provide habitat for wildlife and insects, promoting nature-friendly pest control, and protecting farm biodiversity from the ground up with natural vegetation.

  • “When I was a child here, canaries, for example, which are birds that today have flocks of two or three hundred, didn’t exist at all. Toucans were very rare. Jaguars [and wild pigs], no way. Maybe it’s because of a change in people’s culture, but together with environmental conditions […] they’re increasing, and we see that quite often here.”

    Mário Garcia, coffee producer, Fazenda Onça, Brazil

  • “In regenerative agriculture, there are two principles that are very common and that we have been adopting on the farm for a long time. One is cover [crops] and the management of cover [crops], and the other is the application of biological [pesticides and fertilizers].”

    Mário Garcia, coffee producer, Fazenda Onça, Brazil

  • “I recommend getting into regenerative agriculture […] I, at least, enjoy working with biodiversity, conservation, and the recovery of areas that have been degraded in the past. All of this gives me personal satisfaction, and I think it will also bring economic satisfaction.”

    Mário Garcia, coffee producer, Fazenda Onça, Brazil

Conserving water

Water is also a critical component of the Rainforest Alliance Certification Program. Water management practices—like efficient irrigation, protection of riparian buffer zones, and community water stewardship—can help farmers conserve water on their land.

  • “As soon as the harvest is over, the irrigation project team will arrive. Then we will have all the farm workers available so that everyone can be trained on the system as a whole: how to take care of the hoses [and] how to regulate the system, because you have a whole filter system, a pump, [and] a machine room just for irrigation. ”

    Gersoní Munhoz, coffee producer, Fazenda Pratinha, Brazil

  • “We started as follows: we took three crops […] because we want to analyze the impact of irrigation on these crops, because we are experiencing […] inconsistent rainfall [that] impacts crop productivity and grain formation.”

    Gersoní Munhoz, coffee producer, Fazenda Pratinha, Brazil

  • “So, we want to analyze it now, because we will have crops with irrigation and crops without irrigation. […] Of course, scientifically, it has already been proven that irrigation will obviously bring balance, because it will provide the necessary water for the plant.”

    Gersoní Munhoz, coffee producer, Fazenda Pratinha, Brazil

Building climate resilience

Our standard helps farmers better withstand climate shocks through a systematic approach in which soil health, agroforestry, and integrated weed and pest management all play a role. By requiring actions for reduced or no pesticide use, prioritizing climate-resilient crop varieties, and establishing practices that help protect soil and keep it moist, farms are better able to adapt and prepare for unpredictable weather patterns.

  • “Getting certified in regenerative agriculture helps us finding a role, an active role, be resilient with climate change and not just to be passive.”

    Emilie Dardaine, executive director of Cafetalera Nicafrance – La Cumplida and coordinator of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture in Coffee, Nicaragua

  • “Reducing the use of pesticides [and] the use of highly volatile chemical fertilizers that generate greenhouse gases, increasing organic matter in the soil [and] vegetation cover. All of these are factors that, together, create conditions that are different from traditional coffee cultivation.”

    Mário Garcia, coffee producer, Fazenda Onça, Brazil

Strengthening livelihoods, regenerating hope

While conventional farming eats up resources and worsens the climate crisis, regenerative agriculture offers an open door to a hopeful future. It can lead to more stable productivity, improved resource efficiency, and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers for farms. It also gives farmers a clear way to differentiate themselves in the market and gain recognition for their efforts. Plus, it provides renewed meaning to those working in a vital industry.

  • “You think about someone who could be anywhere in the world. It could be the guy waiting for a plane to travel, it could be a guy at the train station.  […] And then you start to think about how you’re touching these people’s lives in some way with your work. […] And you say to yourself, “I’m bringing this pleasure, this feeling to someone, and I’ll be there.”

    Gersoní Munhoz, coffee producer, Fazenda Pratinha, Brazil 

  • “We have noticed that consumers […] increasingly want to understand how the products they consume are produced. Therefore, coffees produced with social, environmental, and economic responsibility, using good agricultural practices and implementing actions focused on regenerative agriculture, are increasingly valued and well accepted in the market […] There is no turning back, [this trend] will only grow.”

    João Brito, sustainability supervisor, Guaxupé Exporter, Brazil 

  • “The certification process ultimately gives you greater analytical skills, because you start to look at […] your information and analyze it in an organized way. Then you start to take joint action. Certification is extremely important for validation: ‘Look, I went there and saw what is being done.’ So, someone is tracking this process, […] and knows from day one how it was planted and who worked on that crop.”

    Gersoní Munhoz, coffee producer, Fazenda Pratinha, Brazil 

Support for a regenerative future

The Rainforest Alliance Regenerative Agriculture Standard is transforming coffee farms to better support people and nature. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but the rewards for dedicated farmers are numerous. Regenerative agriculture connects farmers, consumers, and the natural world in a robust web of reciprocity. 

Without transformation, farming is unsustainable in the face of the climate crisis, rising global tensions, and rising prices. As our Regenerative Agriculture Lead Juliana Jaramillo says, “Regenerative agriculture is no longer a choice — it’s a necessity now.”

But regenerative practices require time, technical support, and investment—and farmers cannot do it alone. The transition requires up-front investment and a long-term perspective. Brands have begun to see the value in making the shift to regenerative agriculture and choosing to invest in farms. Now, we call on other companies to do the same.

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Regenerative Agriculture Standard

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