ScaleUp programme: supporting Europe's regenerative agriculture transition

"I don't know if regenerative agriculture is right for my farm, but I want to understand it better."

From 2020 to 2025, thousands of farmers across Europe joined EIT Food's ScaleUp programme driven by a shared ambition for change. Today, the ScaleUp report allows us to see what that ambition has delivered.

Their starting points varied. Some were seeking to restore soil health; others aimed to reduce reliance on external inputs, strengthen resilience to drought and extreme weather, or build a more sustainable and profitable business for the long term.

For some, this was their first step into resilient agriculture. For others, it marked a continuation of an ongoing transition—an opportunity to deepen their knowledge, learn from peers, and accelerate their progress.

The programme was designed with this diversity in mind, supporting farmers at every stage of their journey and helping translate their intentions into tangible results.

Every farm faces different realities. What works on a cereal farm in Poland may look very different from what succeeds in a Portuguese montado, an Italian vineyard, a Spanish dehesa or a mixed livestock farm in Ireland.

Recognising this diversity, ScaleUp combined practical training with personalised advisory support and peer-to-peer learning. What began as pilot activities in Spain, Italy and Poland evolved into a European network spanning Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain and Türkiye.

Over five years, the programme received more than 4,600 applications, trained over 2,900 farmers and agronomists, and provided long-term advisory support to 215 farms managing more than 35,000 hectares. More than 40 specialised advisors worked alongside participating farmers, helping them test ideas, solve challenges and develop locally adapted solutions.

According to the ScaleUp report, farms participating in the programme implemented a wide range of regenerative practices, including cover cropping, reduced tillage, grazing management, crop rotations, agroforestry, and improved water management. 

The report highlights regional differences in priorities: farms in Central and Eastern Europe tended to focus on soil cover, fertility management, and reducing soil disturbance, whereas Mediterranean farms more frequently incorporated livestock, perennial systems, and landscape-level approaches.

Despite these variations, the programme identified a consistent overall trend: practical changes at farm level translated into measurable improvements. In total, 98% of participating farms reported progress in adopting regenerative farming practices. More than half enhanced fertility management (54%) and increased soil cover (53%), while 71% improved their soil tillage practices. 

Beyond agronomic gains, the report shows that 61% of farms achieved economic benefits and 42% reduced agricultural input costs. Environmental improvements were also recorded in around half of the farms, reinforcing the report’s conclusion that productive agriculture and ecosystem health can advance together.

EIT Food designed and funded the programme as a collaborative ecosystem where farmers could learn from experts and from each other. Advisors brought expertise in soil health, livestock systems, water management, agroforestry and farm planning, while participating farms provided real-world testing grounds for regenerative practices. Together, they created a growing community of practice that continues to generate knowledge, inspire innovation and support wider adoption of regenerative agriculture across Europe.

• Every farm requires its own transition pathway.
• Long-term advisory support is as important as training.
• Collaboration beyond the farm gate is essential for lasting change.
• Farmer networks and demonstration farms accelerate learning and adoption.

Perhaps the most important achievement of this initiative is not the number of farmers trained or hectares reached. It is the network of demonstration farms, advisors and farming communities that the programme helped establish across Europe.

These pilot farms have become practical reference points for resilient agriculture, showing what is possible under different climates, production systems and business realities. Their experiences continue to provide valuable insights for neighbouring farmers and future initiatives.