When proponents of regenerative agriculture consider how they might get the practice to spread, they might begin with evidence, technology, finance, or policy. But convincing a farmer to change how they farm begins with trust. It’s the farmer, and not the person offering advice, who bears the consequences of failure. Any strategy for encouraging new practices must therefore earn farmers’ trust in the information, the messenger, and the institutions behind it.
This is critical in places like my home country of Colombia. For decades, violence robbed rural farmers of their lands, their livelihoods and their futures. By the time Colombia signed the 2016 peace accord, rural communities were deeply fragmented. Farmland was degraded, and biodiversity was under growing pressure.
Today, Colombia’s smallholder farmers face an urgent crisis. Seven out of every 10 farmers are smallholder farmers, and they are facing degraded soils, climate shocks, low productivity, and limited access to technical support. Meanwhile, the agricultural sector and land use account for approximately 60% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Regenerative agriculture is part of the solution. Rooted in practices such as composting, seasonal crop rotation, and using natural fertilizers instead of synthetic chemicals, it offers numerous benefits for both people and nature. It helps restore the soil, supports biodiversity, promotes carbon sequestration, and creates more resilient landscapes. Regenerative agriculture can help produce higher crop yields, healthier food, financial security for farmers, and overall food security for communities. Our own comparative soil analysis between 2021 and 2025 showed increases in Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) following implementation of regenerative practices.
Despite the urgent need and clear benefits, it is hard for farmers, or anyone, to change behavior. Information alone is not enough. Farmers’ decisions are shaped by emotions, social norms, and the fear of adopting practices that may not work. Effective change requires addressing these human factors, not just transferring knowledge.
Helping farmers adopt new practices requires an understanding of this human behavior and decision-making. That is why promoting regenerative agriculture always begins with listening to farmers.
By talking to farmers in Colombia, I have learned that the people around them play a major role in their decisions about whether to adopt new techniques. Farmers trust the farmers around them. When farmers see their peers adopting regenerative practices, they may be more likely to adopt them, too.
Based on this insight, my organization established a network of farmer-to-farmer leaders, known as Profes (teachers). Their nickname reflects their role in educating their peers in sustainable practices like composting, crop rotation, and agroforestry. These trusted and respected leaders are creating the conditions for sustainable, regenerative practices to take root. Farmers aren’t being told what to do by an unfamiliar organization. Instead, they are being welcomed and respected by a friend or neighbor. That is fertile ground for behavior change.
The Profes demonstrate how peer relationships can catalyze the adoption of new practices. But human networks alone cannot meet the demand for technical assistance. After all, in many regions of Colombia, only one extension advisor serves up to 5,000 farmers. Technology could help bridge that gap. Indeed, Bill Gates’ USD 1 billion commitment to equitable AI includes delivering advice to smallholder farmers. But for AI to be effective, farmers must trust the advice it provides.
We think we have found a way to do so in a new AI-powered virtual extension agent, Agent Tierra, that has successfully reached more Colombian farmers while still maintaining the trust of the Profes.
Agent Tierra puts trusted technical support in the pocket of every farmer. It translates regenerative agriculture practices into accessible language, while respecting farmers’ experience, knowledge, and decision-making.
But when designing the tool, instead of asking what artificial intelligence could do, we asked farmers what they needed. We set out to build a tool with farmers, not simply for them.
With over 600 million family farms operating globally, and many facing the impacts of climate change, we need a solution that can scale. Regenerative agriculture can help the planet while helping farmers. Technology can put trusted information in their hands.
Success depends on whether those on the receiving end trust the information, the messenger, and the solution being shared. Trust is not a soft complement to scale; it is the foundation on which scale depends.
