It has also teamed up with farm advisers and researchers who recommend regenerative agriculture and will organise seminars and field days.
Calm the Farm will be a way of sharing funding options, information and data, he said.
As data analyst Taitoko’s own interest was sparked two years ago when working on a government project that highlighted how farmers are under stress and what the pressure points are.
He met a farm adviser who promoted regenerative agriculture and quickly saw how farmers can address the stresses with the right advice and redevelopment.
“We looked overseas and read the research and landed on a methodology we think is revolutionary for the short time and low cost of transition.”
Regenerative agriculture is the elimination of chemical fertilisers, the establishment of mixed pastures and adoption of long rotations, he says.
While it does take time, the new pastures can be established at reasonably low cost through over-seeding.
The claims include improved ability of soil to store carbon, reduced erosion, restored biodiversity, replenished nutrients, increased water retention and minimised nutrient leaching,
He describes the parent company, Toha Foundry, as a data and payments network for financing environmental action, conditional on verification.
“The fund is for co-ordinated, effective and informed environmental action,” he said.
Investors are increasingly interested in ways of making environmental improvements on larger scales.
Landowners can access willing investors and farm advisers, have grant and/or loan agreements drawn up, take advantage of coaching and networking and effectively pledge themselves to regenerative agriculture.
Interest rates and terms for loans have not been finalised and Toha is still working on regulatory approvals, he said.
Only after agreements and loans are approved would Toha take a transaction fee.
The Calm the Farm platform will track and verify results for improvements in soil health and productivity to show the longer-term impacts on climate and waterways.
It has new tools and technology for monitoring, for example, dissolved nitrogen levels in waterways in real time.
Toha has a partnership agreement with the Federation of Maori Authorities to organise workshops and field days for members and source advisers and scientists where iwi are keen to participate.
“Maori farmers have been quick to understand the principles of regenerative agriculture and many are keen to learn more,” Taitoko said.
The other founders of Toha are Nathalie Whitaker, who launched the Give-a-Little platform, and Professor Shaun Hendy, a physicist and co-author of Get off the Grass.
