The Broader Context
According to Black Rock, the world could lose 25% of GDP in the next two decades without sufficient stewardship of natural systems. Ag & food sector health is critical for food and water security; its decline in CA would hurt the economy, communities, and businesses in multiple ways.
As the biggest water user in CA by far, the ag sector - the most consequential in the US - needs massive changes to become regenerative and sustainable in ways that take pressure off ecosystems and reduce overall water stress to watershed health and resilience.
It is also true that societal demand for food drives ag supply, and that all buyers and consumers have much at stake and key roles to play. All business is at risk, not just farmers and food & ag companies. They can learn, lead, seize opportunities, and catalyze change for the better, especially through collective action.
The Challenge
Conventional agriculture provides substantial yields and economic benefits, yet also generates significant unintended ecological, water, and social impacts, and is not solving or resilient enough to climate change.
A new, regenerative approach for ag and the supply chain/marketplace is needed to address these challenges, yet CPG goals are yet to be backed by significant action. The economic system and marketplace is also making it very hard for agriculture to remain viable and cultivate the needed shifts to more regenerative approaches.
Furthermore, in California grower demand for funding and technical assistance outstrips State & Federal resources by 4-10x.
What Is the RAW Lab?
To increase the capacity of growers, CPG’s, and the supply chain generally to accelerate regenerative ag and water practices effective in the SJV, while removing barriers that help the food and ag industry generate healthier outcomes & products.
Build momentum through a network of organizations learning, taking collective action and shared leadership, and telling the story to support and catalyze the ag/food industry.
The Regenerative Ag & Water Lab (RAW Lab) is a collective action initiative designed to accelerate integrated regenerative agriculture and water practices in the Central Valley. Given the Mediterranean climate with virtually no rainfall from mid-April through mid-October, high temperatures, and aridity, water is a more fundamental concern than other outcomes like carbon sequestration. Of course, carbon is a key element in healthy soils that retain moisture, but it is harder to track in this context.
The RAW Lab is focusing on understanding from a broad supply chain perspective:
What really works and is economically viable,
The challenges and barriers to transition, and
The best ways to support accelerating transitions in specific contexts.
By convening partners across sectors, the RAW Lab builds momentum through shared learning, collaborative problem solving, and coordinated action to support and catalyze changes in the food and agriculture system in California and beyond.
Collaborators:
The Regenerative Ag and Water Lab (aka, ‘The RAW Lab’) is an initiative of CWAC and led by General Mills, American Farmland Trust, Sustainable Conservation, Campbell's and Ag Innovations with a commitment to accelerate and grow the transition for large-scale ag in CA to regenerative approaches. Partners include Blue Diamond Growers, Google, Bowles Farming and other growers.
