Adelaide Valentini
Adelaide Valentini
Main Expertise
- Regenerative farm design
- Soil health
- Agroecosystem planning
Affiliated Organisation(s)
Mamanui
Rete Agroecologica Microfarm Italia
Language(s)
- English
- Italian
Based in
Italy
Contact
More about Adelaide
I’m an Italian agronomist and agroecologist specialised in regenerative farm design, soil health and agroecosystem planning.
I work as an independent agronomist under my own practice Mamanui, focused on regenerative farm design and agroecology.
I am also the founder and president of Resilient Bee APS, an Italian non-profit dedicated to wild honeybee conservation and habitat regeneration.
In addition, I am a founder and active member of the Rete Agroecologica Microfarm Italia.
My main area of expertise is whole-farm regenerative design for diversified small- to medium-scale farms. I work at the intersection of agroecology, soil and water management, pasture-based systems and pollinator-friendly landscape planning, with a specific focus on regenerative beekeeping, pasture-raised chickens, agro-silvo-pastoral systems and biointensive horticulture.
I started collaborating with Climate Farmers by contributing to ecosystem monitoring (soil and biodiversity assessment) on partner farms.
Main Challenges for farmers transitioning
The biggest challenges are rarely “how to plant a cover crop”. They are structural and human. Farmers are asked to redesign their whole system while still keeping it running: they face financial risk during the transition period, lack of time and labour, and policies and subsidies that often reward conventional practices rather than regenerative ones. On top of that, there is a lot of confusion and greenwashing around “regenerative”, with many conflicting messages and very little context-specific support for small, diversified farms. Finally, many farmers are already close to burnout: changing practices means changing mindset, habits and sometimes family dynamics. Doing this without a supportive network can be one of the hardest parts of the transition.
Success stories
I once worked with a young farmer in Italy who was trying to build a regenerative market garden while still working full-time off the farm. He had the motivation but felt overwhelmed and unsure it could ever support him. We clarified his vision, redesigned the garden, improved soil and water planning, and built a realistic business plan. Within two seasons, demand exceeded supply and his system became clear and manageable. Recently, he left his off-farm job and will farm full-time next year. For me, that is real success: healthier ecosystems and farmers who can truly make a living without burning out.
One principle you wish more people understood
Regenerative agriculture is not a list of techniques, but a context-based design process. The most powerful “practice” is to slow down, observe deeply – climate, water, soils, people, markets – and design from that, instead of copy-pasting models from elsewhere. When you do this, cover crops, trees, grazing or compost are no longer isolated tricks, but parts of a coherent system that regenerates both the land and the people managing it.
“Regenerative agriculture, for me, is the art of designing farm systems that heal soil, ecosystems and people while producing truly nutrient-dense food that nourishes our health. It has to be our future, because any system that burns out land or farmers is already over.”
— What regenerative agriculture means to me
Learn Directly from the Experts
Meet this agronomist in our Regenerative Agronomy Training.
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