There’s going to be lots to learn from the ambitious Central Highland Ecoregion Foodscapes initiative and the partnership between Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry and The Nature Conservancy …
We are pleased to announce our partnership with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KNCCI) on the creation of the Kenya Innovation Hub. This Hub is the scaling mechanism critical to catalyse faster, equitable and sustainable realisation of The Nature Conservancy's 2030 conservation Goals. It is essential to harness private sector participation and finance necessary to hasten the transition to regenerative food systems. The hub will support the Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape (CHEF) covering at least 150,000 hectares of source water lands, production lands, and rangelands in biodiverse areas. It will scale the CHEF lessons in other regions. Food demand is expected to increase by 50% - and protein demand by more than 70% - before we reach 2050. But with declining soil and water quality and changing climatic conditions, this productivity increase will require a swift shift to regenerative production practices, or practices that put more into our lands and waters than they take from them. The Nature Conservancy in Africa has identified the Central Highlands Ecoregion in Kenya as a critical regenerative Foodscape that can help sustain food production and build climate resilience, while also restoring biodiversity and water quality in the region. The Kenyan Central Highlands are considered one of the most important areas for wildlife conservation in Kenya and East Africa. They are also a critical source of food and water to the region and Nairobi. The CHEF aims to also reduce emissions by 100,000 C02e/yr, enabling 300,000 households, at least 40% of whom are women to adapt to climate change. The Nature Conservancy in Africa is launching this pioneer program in Kenya to generate lessons for scaling nationally, and beyond. These lessons will form the core content of what the Kenya Innovation Hub replicates elsewhere. The CHEF initiative’s strategic approach includes: 🌾 Scale regenerative practices – increase productivity, protect both climate and environment. 💰 Strengthen market systems – that efficiently work to eliminate food waste, & promote sustainable business models, enhance men, youth, women participation. 👩🏾🌾 Enhance Capacity of institutions (private, public, not-for profit) and farmers for livelihoods, land, and water stewardship. 🤝🏾 Enrich Policy –to improve investment environment for regenerative agriculture – rural regen investor incentives. 💡 Innovation Hub – govern partnerships, support innovation, bring finance/investments to sustain agriculture transition, drive local equity. Discover more how The Nature Conservancy and our partners are transforming food systems as a central solution to meeting climate and biodiversity goals: https://lnkd.in/dmDr-R7A