Building Resilience and Regeneration: The Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape (CHEF)

At the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program (SFP), we believe that collaboration is essential for transforming agriculture and ensuring sustainability for both people and nature. One of the most promising examples of this collaborative spirit is the Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape (CHEF) initiative, led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and supported by dedicated partners, including CGIAR SFP.

CHEF represents a long-term, landscape-scale strategy aimed at transforming Kenya’s Central Highlands into a regenerative foodscape. Spanning 11 counties, this diverse region features interconnected habitats where highland forests, farmland, and rangelands meet. Water flowing from Mount Kenya sustains both ecosystems and communities downstream, emphasizing the deep links between healthy landscapes and human well-being.

However, one significant challenge in the region is fragmentation—where isolated efforts risk falling short of addressing the complex, interconnected issues across the landscape. The CHEF Secretariat was established to bridge these gaps, creating a space for partners to collaborate, exchange knowledge, and build coordinated solutions.

A Charter for Collective Action

To guide this ambitious initiative, the CHEF Secretariat has formalized its collaboration through a Charter. This document defines objectives, roles, and operational guidelines, ensuring clarity and shared understanding among diverse partners. It lays out how organizations will work together, communicate effectively, and jointly plan for success.

CHEF is intentionally designed to be adaptable. As a five-year “living program,” it can evolve with changing environmental conditions, community priorities, and funding opportunities. Its mission is clear: to catalyze innovation, promote equitable resource access, and build markets that reward sustainable and regenerative practices.

Strategic Priorities and Goals

The CHEF partners, including CGIAR SFP, have set ambitious targets across four thematic areas: Livelihoods, Climate, Water, and Biodiversity. Together, the program aims to:

• Improve management of 1,500 kilometers of streams and rivers.
• Enhance sustainable economic opportunities for 300,000 producers across the region.
• Place 150,000 hectares of land, including critical wildlife habitats, under improved management.
• Achieve an annual reduction of 100,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

These objectives highlight the shared vision of building resilient food systems that benefit both local communities and the ecosystems they depend on.

CGIAR SFP is committed to contributing to CHEF’s journey by applying science-driven approaches that support communities, conserve biodiversity, and foster sustainable food systems.

Partnership in Action

The success of CHEF hinges on the collaboration of a diverse group of stakeholders, such as:

• CAB International
• CETRAD (Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development)
• Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI)
• Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT)
• Syngenta Foundation East Africa
• CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program, which brings expertise from centers including the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, IWMI, CIP, and ICRISAT

For CGIAR SFP, participating in CHEF aligns seamlessly with our mission to translate scientific research into practical, impactful solutions. Through this collaboration, we share tools and expertise that help promote the adoption and adaptation of sustainable and regenerative practices across the region.

Through its Africa Agriculture Strategy, TNC is implementing an ambitious foodscape program, the Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape (CHEF), a long-term collaborative landscape-scale strategy that will eventually transition to become a self-sustaining strategy to drive food systems transformation for the benefit of people and nature.

1. CHEF
   • CHEF Overview

The Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape (CHEF) is a result of an elaborate co- creation and co-learning process that connects multiple actors, challenges, activities, programs, and goals in the foodscape with an aim to build social- ecological resilience and sustainability for people and nature. It is envisioned to bring together independent and like-minded public-, private-, civil society-sector organizations to pool skills, knowledge, resources, and efforts to achieve goals around the following four thematic areas:

1. Livelihoods
2. Climate
3. Water
4. Biodiversity

The Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape (CHEF) covers four ecoregions in 11 Counties in the central highlands of Kenya, i.e., Embu, Isiolo, Kirinyaga, Laikipia, Meru, Murang’a, Nakuru, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Samburu, and Tharaka Nithi.

This Charter is a statement of commitment, scope, objectives, and composition of the CHEF Secretariat.

This charter amongst other things: –

1. Formalizes the engagement of the Secretariat members with the CHEF
2. Defines the initial composition of the CHEF
3. Highlights the key objectives of the CHEF
4. Provides a shared understanding of each stakeholder’s contributions and aspirations in the CHEF Program.
5. Documents the shared operational guidelines of the CHEF
6. Considers the best interest of all

This Charter shall be effective from the date of signing and will remain in effect for a five-year term, unless sooner terminated. Any extension beyond the expiration date must be in writing and signed by the CHEF Secretariat members.

II.        Rationale for the Creation of the Charter

CHEF is a 5-year living program designed to be adaptable to changing needs, funding opportunities and evolving demands of the Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape. The CHEF Secretariat established by the CHEF Partners aims to ensure that CHEF’s goals are met, and that CHEF is efficient, effective and achieves the envisioned impact.

The Charter is thus a multi-stakeholder agreement to formalize the mutual collaboration between the members of the CHEF Secretariat with the purpose of implementing CHEF in the four eco-regions. It is a statement of good faith between the various Secretariat members to provide necessary expertise and support to ensure the success of CHEF.

The Charter also outlines pathways of collaboration, communication, and provides an institutional mechanism to enable discussions, negotiations, and joint planning between stakeholders working in the CHEF program.

An efficient, regenerative, and sustainable central highlands ecoregion foodscape.

Mission

To partner with diverse stakeholders to catalyze innovation, promote equitable access to resources, and create market systems that reward regenerative practices that ensure long-term prosperity of the Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape.

Strategic Priorities

The CHEF partners will pursue the following strategic priorities:

• Improvement management of the water and soil in the four CHEF ecoregions and beyond.
• Targeted improvement of producers, with equitable, sustainable, place-based economic opportunities for all.
• Improved rangelands management, including critical wildlife
• Reduction of carbon

Strategic Goals

1. 1500 kilometers of streams and rivers under improved management
2. 300,000 producers with improved sustainable, place-based economic opportunity
3. 150,000 hectares of land, including critical wildlife habitat, under improved management
4. 100,000 tons per year of reduced CO2 emissions

I.     Composition of the Secretariat

For the CHEF program, TNC has a working relationship with the following organizations:

1. CAB International
2. Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development (CETRAD)

• CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program, which replaced the CGIAR Excellence in Agronomy (EiA) Initiative, includes participating CGIAR centers operating under the program the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Potato Center (CIP), and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)1.

1. The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI)
2. Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT)
3. Syngenta Foundation East Africa

 The Central Highlands Ecoregion Foodscape, or CHEF, is an ambitious effort with a broad set of partners to transform the region into a regenerative foodscape where food production practices can actually help improve the health of soil and water supplies while also supporting biodiversity conservation.

Kenya’s Central Highlands features a range of interconnected and interdependent habitats. Water flows from Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa, through highland forests and farmland, to the rangelands where livestock and wildlife search for grass.

The CHEF Secretariat is where many partners aiming to solve to solve a critical problem— the problem of fragmentation. In this truly interconnected landscape, the CHEF program is bringing cohesion and community into solving complex challenges.

AgriTech4Kenya Demo Day: Advancing Agricultural Innovation with Science-Based Solutions

At the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program (SFP), we are committed to turning scientific research into practical solutions that improve farming and livelihoods. The recent AgriTech4Kenya Innovation Challenge was a great example of how this vision comes to life.

The challenge, launched by the CGIAR Accelerate for Impact Platform (A4IP) of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, was co-organized by CGIAR SFP and the CGIAR Initiative on Nature-Positive Solutions under the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

From over 1,100 applications, 15 agri-tech startups were selected to participate in a four-month program of tailored support, technical guidance, and investor readiness preparation. In total, participants benefited from more than 60 hours of capacity-building sessions covering business development, technology validation, and scaling strategies.

Demo Day marked the end of this intensive process. During the event, each team presented a five-minute pitch to a panel of six experts who assessed their innovations on market potential, scalability, and impact.

Among the final teams were two innovations from CGIAR SFP. Siyabusa Mkuhlani reflected on the experience:

“The AgriTech4Kenya Challenge has been a useful platform, supporting the advancement of the AgWise Decision Support Tool for farmers in Kenya and the Global South.”

Elly Atieno, representing the On-Demand Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Information – Sprout team, shared:

“This experience reshaped my mindset from simply delivering solutions to focusing on purpose-driven, user-centered impacts.”

These reflections show how combining scientific expertise with tailored support can accelerate innovation that meets real user needs.

At SFP, we remain committed to supporting innovators and ensuring scientific tools and insights reach the people who need them most. By working with entrepreneurs, partners, and investors, we aim to scale solutions that can transform agriculture across Africa and beyond.