STN MULTA research consortium

Regenerative agriculture is a multi-beneficial climate solution

The food system is facing a need for systemic change. It should harness its significant potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions while producing healthy food sustainably for a growing population under changing environmental conditions.

The capability of regenerating soil to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide is an underused asset of agriculture and one of the most effective natural climate solutions. Regenerative agriculture also supports other sustainability goals, such as soil health and productivity, biodiversity, water quality, resilience, and food quality.

stn MULTA designs climate-smart agricultural solutions that are widely beneficial to food systems and tests their application on a practical farm scale. The consortium also develops a verification system for carbon sequestration and other climate impacts to be used in policy and markets and develops economic measures and policies to promote the implementation of these solutions in Finland and abroad. Systemic change is created in collaboration between scientists, farmers, businesses, and policymakers.

Interdisciplinary studies

stn MULTA 1) studies processes of carbon sequestration and climate impacts focusing on knowledge gaps, 2) studies how these processes can be enhanced using farming practices and how these climate-smart practices can be implemented on farms, 3) develops a methodology for verifying carbon sequestration and the climate impacts for the purposes of climate and other policies and markets, and 4) studies policies and economics that support climate-smart farming and its role in the food system, climate policy and society in general.

Stakeholder engagement plays a key role

stn MULTA utilizes co-design and interaction with committed stakeholders to ensure the practicality and high societal impact of the project’s solutions.

The project designs and tests the agricultural practices on its network of 108 Carbon Action farms. It works together with major food companies all interested in improving the climate footprint of their production. It discusses the results and co-designs their impact on policies of climate, environment, and agriculture with politicians and civil servants in Finland and the EU.

National greenhouse gas inventories are also an impact channel as many European countries use our models in their inventories already. stn MULTA contacts media proactively to disseminate the results. The project’s work is a pilot example of implementing climate-smart agriculture in food systems, and has export potential to other countries.

Six work packages

Work package 1: ’’Processes in the soil’’, Doc. Jussi Heinonsalo, Department of Microbiology, University of Helsinki

Work package 2: ‘’Agricultural practices’’, Dr. Risto Uusitalo, Natural Resources Institute LUKE

Work package 3: ’’Verification’’: Doc. Liisa Kulmala, FMI

Work package 4: ‘’Steering’’: Prof. Markku Ollikainen, Department of Economics and Management, University of Helsinki

Work package 5: ‘’Interaction’’: Doc. Laura Höijer, BSAG

Work package 6: ‘’Coordination’’: Prof. Jari Liski, FMI

Other research sites and their PIs

Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, Dr. Tuomas Mattila

INAR – Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research, Associate Prof. Annalea Lohila

University of Zürich, Prof. Anna-Liisa Laine