Rooted in resilience: Why Regenerative Agriculture is the future of Sri Lankan tea

Sri Lanka’s tea industry—once the pride of Ceylon and the third-largest tea exporter globally—is gradually wilting under the weight of environmental and economic distress

Introduction

On a misty morning in Nuwara Eliya, where the hills once shimmered like emeralds under a sheath of dew, the silence is broken only by the brittle crunch of dry tea leaves underfoot. But this cradle of Ceylon tea, famed from London to Beijing, is faltering. Soil, once fertile, now lies tired from years of chemical overload. Pest outbreaks are more frequent. Fertiliser prices have soared beyond reach. And the cup, once golden, is losing its richness. “The rain used to come like clockwork,” says Gamage Bandara, a second-generation tea farmer I met during one of my trips to Sri Lankan tea gardens. “Now, it either pours like a flood or disappears for weeks. The leaves don’t know when to grow anymore.” Gamage’s lament echoes through the central highlands of Sri Lanka, where tea is more than a crop—it’s heritage, livelihood, and national identity all steeped into one.

The crisis beneath the canopy

Sri Lanka’s tea industry—once the pride of Ceylon and the third-largest tea exporter globally—is gradually wilting under the weight of environmental and economic distress. From the hill slopes of Nuwara Eliya to the low-grown estates in Ratnapura, the once-verdant plantations are confronting depleted soils, erratic rainfall, and rising temperatures that threaten both yield and quality. In 2022, the industry’s output plunged to a 26-year low, with total tea production falling to 251 million kg from a high of over 340 million kg in 2013, according to the Sri Lanka Tea Board Annual Report.

However, the industry began to recover modestly in the following years. By the end of 2023, total production rose to 256.04 million kg, marking a 4.54 million-kg (+1.8 %) increase from 2022 (TEA Statistics, 2024). The upward trend continued through 2024: 262.16 million kg was produced by December, an additional gain of 6.07 million kg (+2.4 %) from 2023 (Market Reports – Ceylon Tea Brokers, Dec. 2024). While this modest rebound is promising, it remains significantly below the heights of the early 2010s and continues to face substantial challenges from climate impacts, soil degradation, and market instability. In fact, it will not be out of place to suggest that this downturn is more than cyclical. It’s structural.

It would be a profound irony—and a strategic misstep—if Sri Lanka, a pioneer in regenerative tea, lets others overtake it in the global shift to sustainability. After all, it was Halgolla Estate that made history as the world’s first Regenagri-certified tea estate, having implemented soil-restorative practices, wildlife conservation, and carbon footprint reduction to global acclaim. Likewise, Lumbini Tea Factory—the first to bring a group of smallholder outgrowers under Regenagri—has shown that long-term returns on investment come not just from environmental gains, but from lower input costs, premium market access, and greater climate resilience

Decades of continuous monoculture on steep slopes have eroded the health of Sri Lanka’s tea soils—up to 412 t/ha/year in some highland plantations—far exceeding the 9 t/ha/year threshold and causing yield losses upward of 133 kg/ha annually (Wickramarachchi and Bandara, 2014). Soil organic carbon has dwindled to around 2.16% (pH 4.5), weakening nutrient retention and soil structure (Joachim and Pandithasekara, 2004).

The nationwide ban on chemical fertilisers in April 2021 led to a 35% drop in usage, slashing tea production nearly 18%, and costing the sector an estimated LKR 84 billion (US$425 million) (Drechsel et al., 2025).

Climate patterns have also become unpredictable: rising temperatures, erratic monsoons and intermittent droughts now reduce yields by roughly 4.6% per 1 °C warming (IWMI, 2025).

Collectively, these pressures have eroded yields by about 15%, degraded cup quality, and left farming families in severe economic and emotional distress—signalling a crisis beneath the green canopy.

Amidst these compounding crises, regenerative agriculture emerges not as a niche idealism but as a strategic necessity. Rooted in ecological principles and traditional knowledge, regenerative practices focus on rebuilding soil health, increasing biodiversity, and restoring the ecosystem services on which tea production ultimately depends. Unlike organic farming, which can often be prescriptive and yield-focused, regenerative farming emphasises long-term resilience, carbon sequestration, and farmer autonomy, as detailed by the Rodale Institute.

As global buyers—from Unilever to niche ethical tea brands—increasingly shift toward carbon-neutral, traceable supply chains, Sri Lanka has a window of opportunity to rebrand its tea not just as premium, but as planet-positive. The world’s largest regenerative agriculture certification standard, Regenagri, offers a chance to lead that transformation.

Regenagri: The global benchmark for regenerative agriculture 

Regenagri is the world’s largest regenerative agriculture initiative, headquartered in London, UK, with over 2.2 million hectares under certification—more than any comparable program. Incubated by Solidaridad, the world’s oldest and largest sustainability organisation, Regenagri operates as a Community Interest Company (CIC), jointly owned by farmers, businesses, and NGOs, ensuring equitable governance and shared accountability.

In tea estates, Regenagri promotes sustainable practices such as cover cropping, organic soil amendments, shade tree planting, and biodiversity corridors. Its certification process helps tea producers move beyond just "chemical-free" claims by verifying long-term ecological restoration and carbon sequestration through third-party audits. The platform also provides a digital hub for farmers to track data on soil health, water use, biodiversity, and greenhouse gases, ensuring transparent and continuous improvement. 

For tea packers and brands, Regenagri certification ensures traceability from field to cup and opens access to premium markets demanding climate-smart products. With mounting global pressure to comply with sustainability laws like European Union’s Green Deal, Regenagri offers both ecological and economic resilience for South Asian tea producers looking to future-proof their industry. For tea estates, regenerative farming isn’t just good for the planet—it’s also good business. Under the Regenagri framework, estates that adopt soil-friendly practices like composting, reduced tillage, agroforestry, and cover cropping can sequester carbon—essentially pulling harmful CO₂ out of the atmosphere and storing it safely in the soil. What makes this powerful is that Regenagri provides a verified carbon certification system, aligned with global standards like the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-2. Once verified, estates can generate carbon credits, which are tradable on environmental markets or sold to companies looking to offset their emissions. This creates an entirely new income stream for tea growers, especially at a time when input costs are rising and market prices remain volatile.

Evidence shows that, over time, regenerative farms benefit from reduced input costs, access to premium markets, and increased resilience to climate shocks—resulting in higher long-term returns on investment. Regenerative agriculture emerges not as a niche idealism but as a strategic necessity

Myths and truths about Regenerative Agriculture

Critics often mistake regenerative agriculture for simply being another form of organic farming. While organic bans chemical use, regenerative agriculture suggests planned reduction. In fact, regenerative practices go further, restoring soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and actively capturing carbon, making it a systems-based, outcome-driven approach rather than a fixed-input model.

Some argue it's too costly or too slow to scale. Yet evidence shows that, over time, regenerative farms benefit from reduced input costs, access to premium markets, and increased resilience to climate shocks—resulting in higher long-term returns on investment (ROI).

Concerns about initial yield drops are not visible in several pilots conducted across the world. NGO Solidaridad has shown through its field trials in 2020-22, that 13,000 farmers cultivating cotton and soy have increased yield by 20% to 30%, reduced input costs by 30%, and received a market price premium of 3%. This project shows economic and environmental viability. Importantly, the smallholder farmers in India were able to generate 2 carbon credits per acre in cotton in partnership with carbon project developer Boomitra. 

Lastly, critics claim it’s too radical for legacy tea estates. In reality, Regenagri supports phased adoption, allowing estates to implement hybrid models that integrate regenerative principles without disrupting ongoing operations—making the transition both practical and strategic.

Global momentum, local opportunity

Across the world, regenerative agriculture is not just a movement—it’s becoming a market expectation. Meanwhile, global demand for regeneratively produced tea and other commodities is accelerating. Markets such as the EU, UK, and Japan are tightening sustainability regulations. The European Green Deal and the upcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EUCSDDD) require exporters to prove deforestation-free, low-carbon supply chains (CBI Report, 2023). Germany’s Lieferkettengesetz (LkSG) adds another layer of accountability for social and environmental compliance.

Importantly, Regenagri complements existing ethical labels like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance rather than competing with them. However, it adds deeper ecological validation and carbon-traceable integrity. It’s already attracting global brands like illycaffè, Candiani Denim, Giorgio Armani, and J.Crew, signalling that regenerative supply chains are becoming the gold standard in sustainability (Regenagri Certified Companies).

In this context, India’s recent partnership between Solidaridad Asia and the Indian Tea Association (ITA) is a game changer. It aims to bring 100,000 hectares of Indian tea under Regenagri certification over three years—a move that could propel Indian tea industry into a global leader in regenerative, climate-resilient tea production.

Sri Lanka must not miss the bus

It would be a profound irony—and a strategic misstep—if Sri Lanka, a pioneer in regenerative tea, lets others overtake it in the global shift to sustainability. After all, it was Halgolla Estate that made history as the world’s first Regenagri-certified tea estate, having implemented soil-restorative practices, wildlife conservation, and carbon footprint reduction to global acclaim. 

Likewise, Lumbini Tea Factory—the first to bring a group of smallholder outgrowers under Regenagri—has shown that long-term returns on investment come not just from environmental gains, but from lower input costs, premium market access, and greater climate resilience (Weerasooriya, 2024).

Missing this opportunity would mean more than lost market share. It could mean exclusion from premium markets, especially in Europe, where regulations like the EU Green Deal and German Due Diligence Laws demand verifiable environmental compliance. Regenagri’s framework, already in use by Sri Lankan estates like Halgolla, provides the tools, credibility, and international alignment required to keep "Ceylon Tea" not just relevant—but revered in a carbon-conscious world.

The question isn’t whether Sri Lanka can afford to embrace regenerative agriculture. The question is—can it afford not to?

A future worth brewing

Imagine the same mist-draped estate in Nuwara Eliya, five years from now—its slopes teeming with life. Tea bushes thrive under a canopy of shade trees, soil hums with microbial activity, and farmers no longer fear the rain. This is not a utopia—it is the promise of regenerative agriculture made real.

Regenerative tea is not about romanticising the past or rejecting progress. It’s about moving forward—with nature, not against it. It aligns ancient wisdom with cutting-edge science, ensuring that Sri Lanka’s proud legacy of Ceylon tea can weather the storms ahead. With pioneering estates like Halgolla and Lumbini showing the way, Sri Lanka has a rare chance to lead as a global model for climate-smart, carbon-positive tea.

But this transition needs support. Policymakers must step in with subsidies, extension services, and market linkages. Consumers can help too—by choosing regenerative brands. And industry bodies must reorient investments towards soil-first solutions. Because beneath every good cup of tea lies not just flavour, but a future.

(The author is the Managing Director of Solidaridad Asia and a founding member of Solidaridad’s global senior management team. An economist by training, he serves on the organisation’s Global Executive Board, providing strategic leadership in program development, financial stewardship, and governance. Since establishing Solidaridad’s presence in Asia in 2007, he has grown it into a regional sustainability powerhouse, with a multidisciplinary team of over 650 professionals operating from 26 offices across nine Asian countries. A published author of three books and numerous articles, he has led extensive research on sustainable development and policy, with a strong focus on the nexus of environmental sustainability, climate action, and socioeconomic equity. )