We provide loans to nature-friendly farmers using organic methods, or financing conventional farmers who are on their journey to becoming organic.

These customers are all supported by our team of Relationship Managers.

But what does it mean to be an organic farmer today?

What are the challenges and solutions - and what does the future of organic look like?

We spoke to our Relationship Manager in the Nature, Food and Resource team, Jess Edwards, to learn more.

1. What is Triodos Bank's approach to organic farming? 
 

Triodos’ mission is to create a society that protects and promotes the quality of life for all its members on a thriving planet. I understand ‘all its members’ to mean all life, so not only people but all living beings from micro-organisms, to plants, and animals.

One way that we fulfil our mission is through our 35-year long support of organic farming.

Conventional, or intensive, agriculture typically erodes soil fertility and is damaging to the wider ecosystem due to the methods used. These methods include growing monocultures of crops over large areas, spraying chemicals to control weeds and pests, and using chemical fertilisers to replace lost soil nutrients.

This way of farming is damaging to soil fertility, biodiversity, and the wider ecosystem. This negatively impacts the environment as well as human health and wellbeing. 

In contrast, organic agriculture supports soil fertility, biodiversity and wider ecosystems which all underpin our planet’s ability to thrive. Triodos is proud to support organic farming and food production.

2. What can you tell us about the overlap between Triodos’ focus on nature projects, and Triodos’ focus on farming? There’s a debate on ‘land use’ at the moment – where do we sit with that?

From Triodos’ perspective, our focus on nature-based projects and organic farming is grounded in a commitment to ethical land use, ensuring that both ecological restoration and agricultural productivity can coexist harmoniously. This requires careful planning, but it is possible to achieve a balance whereby land can be used for sustainable farming, and nature restoration.

Finding this balance contributes to climate resilience, increases biodiversity and improves the surrounding environment. This in turn supports farmers and communities.

3. What are the key differences between organic, regenerative, and biodynamic agriculture? 
 

If an organic farmer wants to use the term organic for their products, they are legally bound to a set of practices. These practices ensure that food is grown to a high standard using processes that do not harm the environment, human health, plant health or animal health and welfare.

Biodynamics has many of the same principles as organic but has additional rules, specifically around bringing fertility onto the land. In addition, Biodynamic farming views the farm as a self-sustaining living organism with its own identity. This approach considers the array of interdependent elements which make up a farm: plants, animals, soils, people, etc, and effort is made to harmonise these elements holistically, to support the health of each and ultimately, the whole.

The term regenerative agriculture is loosely defined and is unregulated unlike organic and biodynamic.

Regenerative agriculture works to five principles; maintain living roots in the soil; keep the soil covered; minimise soil disturbance; maximise crop diversity; and integrate livestock within the system. Those are sound principles, and are compatible with organic rules, but as there is currently no certification body which checks if the principes are being followed, farmers can call themselves regenerative without having to prove their methods.

Currently, chemical inputs can, and often are, used within regenerative agriculture practises. Triodos does not endorse the use of environmentally damaging chemicals. Therefore, we would require farmers who are looking for our support to be transitioning from regenerative to organic farming.

More broadly, the agriculture system needs to transition to farming in a way that is regenerative at its core. To a system that restores soils, supports wildlife and the wider eco-system and feeds people healthy and nutritious food. If regenerative agriculture encourages farmers using more intensive methods to start on this journey, then it is a good first step.

4. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the organic sector today? 
 

I think the biggest challenge is consumer knowledge of just how damaging intensive agriculture can be to human health and the environment. Then there's also the challenge around consumer knowledge of what organic actually means, and why it's important to support the sector for plant health, animal health and our own health.

To add to this, organic products are seen as exclusive and only for the wealthy. It's a difficult one because currently, the hidden cost of the socially and environmentally damaging impacts of our food system are not paid for by the intensive farming industry, so the costs are not reflected in what we pay for the products. If all those ‘clean up’ costs had to be paid by those conventional farmers, their produce would be much more expensive.

I believe that good, nutritious food that is farmed in a way that is not environmentally damaging should be affordable to everyone.

5. What are the opportunities for the future of organic food and farming?
 

When it comes to opportunities for organic farmers, I think more people are looking to connect to where their food comes from and understand how it is grown. Personally, I want to visit a farm where cows are kept outside on grass, and the chickens can roam freely in a forested area (because chickens are actually forest birds). I want to see bugs and bees and, flower meadows, and wildlife corridors. This is the sort of farm I would want to see and that's also the sort of farm that I want my food to come from.

People are becoming more aware of how the food they eat impacts their health. This has resulted in a growing demand for organics. Consequently, retailers are increasing their organic offering and so there is the opportunity, for people who wouldn't usually, to purchase organic.

Eating is such a big part of our lives and for most people it isn’t something we think deeply about on a daily basis. We go to the shops, buy something, eat it, done. Everyday. We don't think about the long-term consequences on our health and the planet of consuming food that is farmed using chemicals.

The land is where it all starts. Farming is where it all starts. If we get farming right, and better support those farmers who are farming right, we can create a thriving planet for all.