Healthier soils could hold part of the answer to producing more nutritious food, according to scientists proposing a new approach that puts soil health at the heart of efforts to tackle micronutrient deficiencies.
In a recent paper supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, researchers from WorldVeg, University of Hohenheim, and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University introduce “regenerative fortification” – the use of regenerative farming practices to improve soil health and help crops naturally accumulate nutrients and other beneficial compounds.
“We know healthy soils are important for producing food. But what we’re looking at here is how – through regenerative practices – they could also help us produce more nutritious food,” said Lukas Pawera, Vegetable Agronomist and Agroecologist at WorldVeg and lead author of the paper.
“That could have benefits for farmers, the environment and human health. But the effects appear to be highly context-specific, and we need more evidence to understand what works, where and under what conditions.”
Why soil health matters for nutrition
The research, published in Agricultural Systems, comes as micronutrient deficiencies remain widespread globally. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 2 billion people are deficient in important vitamins and minerals, while a 2024 study published in The Lancet Global Health found inadequate intake of several micronutrients among more than half the world’s population.
The researchers point to the condition of agricultural soils as an important part of the picture. Crops depend on soils for mineral nutrients, yet many agricultural soils are depleted of micronutrients or degraded in ways that can limit the availability of these nutrients to plants. Some studies have found links between nutrient deficiencies in soils, lower concentrations in crops and inadequate dietary intake in the populations that depend on them.
Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide can further affect nutritional quality, reducing concentrations of protein, iron and zinc in some crops. Against this backdrop, the researchers argue that restoring the capacity of soils to store, cycle and supply nutrients could play an important role in producing more nutritious food.
Regenerative fortification seeks to improve the health and functioning of soil so that nutrients become more available and accessible to plants and can accumulate in the food they produce. The approach encompasses soil health principles and practices such as reduced tillage, maintaining soil cover and living roots, increasing crop diversity, balancing nutrient management and integrating livestock where appropriate. Together, these practices can improve soil structure, build organic matter and support soil microorganisms involved in nutrient cycling and uptake. These practices improve soil chemical, physical and biological properties, contributing to overall soil health.
Studies reviewed in the paper illustrate the potential implications for vegetables, other crops and animals. In individual studies, particular soil and crop management practices increased, for example, vitamin C and lycopene in tomatoes, and vitamin C and beta-carotene in sweet peppers. However, the researchers stress that these effects are highly context-specific and should not be assumed to occur consistently across different crops, soils, climates and farming systems.
“Regenerative fortification helps bridge a gap between ecological restoration and human health, repositioning soil as not just a foundation for productivity, but as a reservoir for nutritional security and climate resilience,” said John de la Parra, co-author of the study, and Director of the Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation. ”Evidence-based regenerative practices can allow farmers to grow food that is both more abundant and more nourishing.”
The researchers also acknowledge well-established efforts to improve the nutritional quality of crops through biofortification – increasing the content or availability of micronutrients through approaches such as breeding (genetic) or applying micronutrient fertilizers (agronomic). But the ability of crops to accumulate nutrients ultimately also depends on what is available in the soil and how effectively plants can access it. Rather than replacing existing approaches, regenerative fortification is intended to complement them by improving the health and functioning of the soil itself. A better soil environment will likely strengthen overall crop performance and increase efficiency of other strategies and inputs.
From healthier soils to healthier food
The paper examines evidence from a range of approaches that can improve soil health and influence how nutrients are made available to and taken up by plants, and integration of regenerative practices.
For example, one study found that planting radish as a cover crop – a crop grown to protect and improve the soil – increased zinc in potatoes by 36% and iron by 15%, compared with potatoes grown without a cover crop. In another study, biochar – a charcoal-like material made from plant and other organic waste – increased vitamin C and lycopene in tomatoes, while compost produced using earthworms increased vitamin C, beta-carotene and other beneficial plant compounds in sweet peppers.
“For nutrition, what matters is not simply producing enough food, but producing food that nourishes human health without depleting the planet,” said Ee Von Goh, a food environment and policy scientist at WorldVeg, and co-author of the paper. “Improving the nutritional quality of crops through the way they are grown opens a powerful avenue to tackle micronutrient deficiencies while empowering farmers as active stewards of food quality.”
Does better soil always mean better food?
The researchers caution that evidence is not yet strong enough to conclude that regenerative farming will consistently produce more nutritious food. Results vary by crop, soil, climate, variety and management, and higher nutrient concentrations do not necessarily mean greater nutritional benefits.
They also emphasize the complex relationship between yield, plant stress, and nutritional quality. For example, studies reported that crops grown under stressed conditions (such as drought) had higher concentrations of nutrients and bioactive compounds, but often with a yield penalty.
Pawera added: “The reduced yield might be ignored by nutritionists and consumers, while farmers and agronomists may overlook the nutritional quality. We need to somehow connect these isolated views and get a full picture.”
One of the paper’s key proposals is therefore to measure “nutrient yield” – the total quantity of nutrients produced per unit of land – alongside conventional measures of crop yield per hectare and nutrient concentration per 100 grams. This would help distinguish genuine nutritional gains per unit of land from cases where nutrient concentrations rise simply because a plant produces less food.
The authors also highlighted that rhizosphere soil (a thin layer up to 1 mm from roots) is the starting point for nutrient cycling in the food chain because of dynamic interactions among plants, soils, and microbes. Yet, this biochemical hotspot remains much less understood for improving crop productivity and nutritional quality than bulk soil, requiring further research.
The paper calls for long-term research across different crops and environments to determine which practices can improve nutritional quality without sacrificing productivity. Because many of the same practices can also restore soil health, improve water management and support climate resilience, the researchers see potential to pursue nutritional and environmental benefits together.
In addition, the paper acknowledges that crops with higher nutritional quality do not currently command higher market prices. However, consumer demand for regeneratively produced food is growing, alongside greater use of labels identifying products produced using regenerative farming practices. What is missing, say the researchers, is data and evidence. With laboratory analyses costly, AI and modelling could increasingly be used to predict the nutritional content of food in the future.
Key information
- Regenerative fortification is a new soil-centered framework for improving the nutritional quality of food through regenerative agricultural practices.
- The approach focuses on improving soil health and function rather than adding individual nutrients to food or crops.
- Some studies have found that practices including reduced tillage, cover crops, crop diversification and integrated nutrient management can increase certain minerals, vitamins and bioactive compounds in crops.
- Researchers caution that results are highly context-specific and that the evidence base remains limited.
- The paper calls for nutritional quality to be assessed alongside crop productivity, including through new measures of total nutrient yield per hectare.
- In the future, to explain complex interactions between plants, soils and microbes, deep analyses of food should be integrated with data from molecular studies of soils and plants.
- The approach can complement existing biofortification approaches and synergies should be explored.
Regenerative fortification: A soil-centric approach for enhancing food nutritional quality, soil health, and climate resilience was authored by researchers from the World Vegetable Center, University of Hohenheim, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
This work aligns with the Action Area on Climate Resilience and Healthy Diets in the WorldVeg Global Strategy 2026-2033. (Download｜Flipbook)
