Can Kenya transform its food systems while restoring ecosystems, improving nutrition, and building resilience to climate change?

‍That question brought together more than just experts, it united policymakers, researchers, farmers, youth, women, pastoralists, civil society, development partners and the private sector at the 3rd National Agroecology Symposium, held on 22–23 July 2026 at the Kenya Institute of Monetary Studies (KIMS) in Nairobi. Under the theme "Transforming Agrifood Systems through Agroecology: A One Health Approach for Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Futures," the symposium demonstrated that agroecology has evolved from an emerging concept into a national movement for transforming Kenya's agrifood systems.

Story by Dickens Ateku Alubaka, Senior Manager, Soil and Land Health Laboratories Research Services, Landscape Alliance (ICRAF)

Those of us who spend our lives in rangelands rarely think simply in terms of soil. We think in terms of soils.

Every soil type reflects an ancient geological history. The soils beneath my feet were formed over thousands, sometimes millions, of years from volcanic ash, ancient basement gneisses, river deposits and the black cotton clays that characterise parts of northern Kenya. They are the inheritance of geology. Each possesses its own physical and chemical characteristics, its own capacity to hold water, cycle nutrients, and support life. Every soil has its own potential, and every soil interacts with particular plant communities. Healthy rangelands are therefore built not on one soil, but on the remarkable diversity of soils and the equally remarkable diversity of plants they support.

On the 19th of June 2026, Daniela Solis addressed the 14th Global Soil Partnership (GSP) General Assembly on behalf of the Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH) and the Landscape Alliance, delivering a clear message: the future of food systems, climate resilience, and ecosystem restoration depends on translating soil evidence into policy and investment decisions.

The presentation highlighted both the urgency of the challenge and the growing momentum behind global soil action.

Welcome to the Kingdom in the Sky: Lesotho, a landlocked country surrounded by South Africa. Every part of the country lies above 1,000 metres above sea level, with vast areas rising between 2,000 and 3,400 metres. Towering mountains, deep valleys, high-altitude grasslands, and wetlands define a landscape of striking beauty and ecological importance.

What happens when a school follows the children instead of expecting children to leave their way of life behind?

In the rugged landscapes of northern Kenya, The Sarara Foundation (TSF) is helping answer that question through its innovative Nomadic Education Program. Designed around the realities of Samburu pastoralist life, the initiative is demonstrating that education and traditional livelihoods do not have to exist in conflict. In fact, they can strengthen one another.

On 4 June 2026, the AgriCord National Assembly convened at Swiss-Belinn in Nairobi, bringing together farmers’ organizations, researchers, development partners, financial institutions, and government stakeholders to exchange practical solutions for advancing sustainable agriculture. The assembly provided a dynamic platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among key actors committed to strengthening agricultural systems and rural livelihoods.

The Assembly also included a field visit with farmer organizations in Machakos and Kajiado counties, engaging participants from dialogue to action. These field visits offered an opportunity to ground discussions in real world contexts, enabling participants to better understand local realities, ongoing innovations, and emerging opportunities within farming communities.

Story by Dickens Ateku Alubaka, Senior Manager, Soil and Land Health Laboratories Research Services, Landscape Alliance (ICRAF)

Despite progress over the past five years, soil degradation is continuing to happen at alarming rates, with over 2.3 billion people experience moderate or severe food insecurity, globally. With over 40% of the Earth’s surface degraded, including about 50% of the world’s rangelands, concerted action is needed.

Business as usual is no longer an option.

On this the 2026 Desertification and Drought Day, which coincides with the start of the CA4SH five-year celebrations and the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), the theme of this year’s Desertification and Drought Day, Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore., is more relevant than ever.

Read the Op-Ed from Dr Leigh Winowiecki

For a group of emerging soil scientists from the United Kingdom, the journey to the 5th International Soil Judging Contest in China was about far more than competition. It was an opportunity to learn, collaborate, exchange knowledge, and build lasting connections with peers from around the world.

The UK team featuring British Society of Soil Science (BSSS) Early Career members Jessica Brook, Theodore Heaton-Davis, Cairo Robb, Thomas Smith, and coach Jay Ryan, joined participants from 18 teams representing 14 countries for the prestigious event, hosted by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) and the Soil Science Society of China.

Story and Photos from Dr Anneke Trux, Head of Programmes at GIZ

Soil organic carbon credits can help smallholder farmers improve food security, restore degraded land, and strengthen climate resilience while generating additional income. Drawing on experiences from Kenya’s ProSoil program, the article highlights the potential of sustainable land management to increase soil health and carbon storage. It also stresses the need for transparent carbon markets, affordable monitoring systems, strong partnerships, and fair benefit-sharing to ensure lasting environmental and social impact.

This week, the IUSS Distinguished Service Medal was delivered to Martin Hojsík by the National Agricultural and Food Centre at Lužianky (Slovakia). The event took place during the meeting of the National Soil Hub and the Mirror Group for Soil of the Slovak Republic within the EJP SOIL programme, organized by the Soil Science Society of Slovakia and the Department of Soil Science and Conservation of Bratislava. The event was attended by different stakeholders, including representatives of the NPPC DG, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic, and of the National Mirror Group on Soil of the Slovak Republic.

22 May 2025 | The CIFOR-ICRAF campus in Nairobi, Kenya welcomed two globally recognized leaders for a high-level listening session and field visit focused on climate justice, regenerative food systems, and innovation in African landscapes.

‍Among their long standing advocacy for women and the planet, Pat Mitchell and Rhonda Carnegie are co-founders of Project Dandelion, a women-led campaign for climate justice. Their visit to the CIFOR-ICRAF campus formed part of Project Dandelion’s global listening tour, which seeks to surface innovations in food systems, amplify women’s leadership, and strengthen connections between science, policy, and lived experience across regions.

Hosted by CIFOR-ICRAF, the session brought together researchers, early-career scientists, and technical staff working across soil health, tree biodiversity, seed systems, and spatial analytics.

More than half of Europe's soils are degraded. Researchers are showing that restoring soil through better farming makes both ecological and financial sense.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, rising food insecurity and declining soil health are placing increasing pressure on agricultural systems. While governments collectively invest billions of dollars annually to support agriculture, questions remain about whether these investments are delivering the intended results for farmers, productivity, and long-term sustainability.

Against this backdrop, experts, policymakers, researchers and development partners gathered at the CIFOR-ICRAF Campus in Nairobi for the Building a Soil Information Systems (SIS) Workshop, convened under the Repurposing Agricultural Support for Soil Health Impact Programme.

China and the United States may differ in geography, demography and political systems, but in agriculture they share a remarkable distinction: both are global breadbaskets whose success has an impact far beyond their borders.

At GLF Africa 2026 in Nairobi, conversations around restoration repeatedly returned to one central idea: healthy rangelands cannot exist without the people who know, manage, and live within them.

Held at the CIFOR-ICRAF campus during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026), the conference brought together researchers, pastoralist leaders, restoration practitioners, policymakers, and youth advocates to explore the future of Africa’s landscapes in the face of climate uncertainty, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.

Across global rangelands, livestock move slowly through open landscapes, following rainfall patterns that have shaped ecosystems for generations. To some, these lands appear empty or degraded. But at last week’s GLF Africa 2026 conference in Nairobi, hosted at CIFOR-ICRAF, one message rang clear: rangelands are living systems essential to the future of climate resilience, biodiversity, food security, and soil health.

Held during the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026), the conference brought together pastoralist leaders, scientists, policymakers, youth advocates, investors, and restoration practitioners from around the world to rethink how rangelands are valued - and who is included in shaping their future.

For young people, the message was impossible to ignore: this conversation belongs to you too.

Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH) #Youth4Soil member Lordesturs Gordon attended the conference on behalf of the Coalition, documenting the discussions, experiences, and key themes emerging from the conference through a youth perspective.

The recent “Hooves of Hope!” webinar marked more than an Earth Day celebration - it became a powerful global conversation about the future of pastoralism, rangelands, and soil health in a rapidly changing climate.

Bringing together distinguished speakers from science, policy, pastoralist communities, and regenerative agriculture, the event was hosted by Soil4Climate in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the Coalition of Action for Soil Health (CA4SH), and collaborators from around the world. Timed alongside Earth Day and within the context of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, the webinar the webinar drew strong global engagement, with over 100 viewers. Together, participants explored an urgent question: how do we better recognise the communities and ecosystems already demonstrating resilience in the face of climate uncertainty?

The fifth Soil Health Solutions Showcase by #Youth4Soil, convened under the Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health (CA4SH), brought together young leaders, scientists and advocates to spotlight practical solutions for soil restoration and sustainable land use. The event featured innovators, researchers and community leaders presenting groundbreaking approaches to restoring degraded land and strengthening food systems.

Celebrating International Girls in ICT Day

As a Program Manager at the Varda Foundation, Ester Miglio works at the intersection of soil science, data, and digital innovation, helping transform complex information into tools that can be used in practice. Her role is to connect people, data, and products, ensuring that technical development is grounded in real needs and supports better land-use decisions.

The Visibilize4Climate Action project aims to make visible, through research, public and policy engagement, the impact of climate change on the nutritional status and mental health of vulnerable populations in the East African drylands (arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid zones), to catalyze context-specific climate policy and practice change at scale. Climate change directly affects health and well-being by driving land degradation, exacerbating poverty and food and nutrition insecurity.