ExpoAmazónica 2026 in Cusco: The Challenge of Integrating a Regenerative Approach into Public Policy
In Peru, the conversation around sustainable production is entering a decisive stage for the Amazon region. For years, communities, organizations, and producers have promoted practices aimed at restoring soils, diversifying crops, and reducing pressure on forests. Within the framework of the first ExpoAmazónica Cusco 2026, the challenge is beginning to shift toward a different arena: how to translate these approaches into public policies, financing mechanisms, and regulations that can be sustained over time and respond to the realities of Amazonian territories.
Regenerative agriculture and livestock farming are beginning to gain prominence within this discussion. In several Amazon regions of the country, such as Madre de Dios, agroforestry systems, sustainable pasture management, and productive restoration strategies are being implemented as responses to issues that directly affect the stability of rural territories: soil degradation, forest cover loss, declining productivity, and increasing vulnerability to climate change. According to Peru’s Ministry of Environment (MINAM), agricultural and livestock activities continue to be among the main drivers of deforestation in the country. At the same time, international organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warn that Latin America faces increasing pressure on its food systems due to climate variability and ecosystem degradation.
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In this context, WWF Peru specialists agree that the transition toward regenerative models requires something far more complex than isolated good practices. This process demands clear public policies, strategic investment, and effective coordination among institutions in order to create enabling conditions that support sustainable development in the Peruvian Amazon.
“Collaboration, trust, and scalability are key to advancing regenerative livestock farming. In a context of climate change and increasing pressure on Amazon forests, the transition toward these models requires coordinated efforts among producers, government, and the private sector, as well as conditions that allow existing territorial solutions to be sustained and expanded”, highlighted Aimée Leslie, Conservation Director at WWF Peru. “It is important to design and promote regulations that not only enable the implementation of good production practices, but also create enabling conditions for public and private investment in sustainable value chains, through a landscape approach and integrated territorial management. This reinforces the role of the State in promoting these public policies”.
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One of the main challenges continues to be financing. Implementing regenerative systems requires technical assistance, initial investment, and adaptation processes that are often difficult for small-scale producers to undertake. This is compounded by the limited incorporation of sustainability criteria into public investment instruments and rural financing mechanisms.
“In recent years, various public institutions and organizations have begun working on strategies aimed at closing these gaps. Among them are advances related to the national definition of regenerative agriculture, the development of guidelines for sustainable tropical livestock farming, and the strengthening of public investment projects linked to restoration and sustainable production in Amazonian regions”, Leslie added.
An important part of this discussion also involves the participation of financial programs and institutions that are constantly seeking to develop financial products tailored to local needs, types of activities, and, above all, adapted to the realities in which they operate.
“Although the financial system is increasingly incorporating environmental criteria, the challenge remains translating these advances into accessible instruments for producers. There are already initiatives aimed at reducing these gaps and strengthening coordination with public investment, which opens opportunities to consolidate a more favorable environment for the adoption of regenerative models”, said Jery Mori Vela, Head of Projects and Technical Cooperation at FEPCMAC.
These topics were part of the discussions promoted during the “Regenerative Agriculture and Livestock Farming” Forum, held within the framework of ExpoAmazónica Cusco 2026 and organized by WWF, technical secretariat of the Productive Value Chains working group of the Amazon Regional Commonwealth, with support from Mecanismos de Desarrollo Alterno, together with representatives from the public sector, academia, and international cooperation organizations. The forum addressed progress in the design of sector regulations, barriers and alternative solutions, as well as key examples related to financing. It concluded with an expert dialogue that gathered insights contributing to the development of proposals and experiences aimed at strengthening public policies, incentives, and instruments capable of accelerating the transition toward sustainable value chains in the Peruvian Amazon.
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