Food Systems

Across Africa, smallholder farmers are financing their own fight against climate change, spending billions each year to keep food systems alive as global support lags. A new analysis shows they already shoulder most of the world’s adaptation costs, even as they receive less than 1% of the funding meant to help them.

In the heart of Kabati, a quiet climate revolution is unfolding. Bio-Logical Green is turning waste wood and macadamia husks into biochar, a carbon-rich soil enhancer restoring fertility, cutting emissions, and empowering Kenyan farmers. From waste to wealth, their innovation proves that Africa can lead in climate-smart agriculture.

A new report warns that coffee’s global rise is coming at the planet’s expense. In Brazil, over 1.2 million hectares of forest have been cleared for plantations, while in Kenya, smallholder farmers face the pressure of survival amid shrinking coffee zones and climate change. As demand grows, the world must now ask—can we make coffee truly sustainable before it costs us our forests?

As Kenya joins the world in marking World Food Day, millions of families face the harsh reality of hunger driven by drought, floods, and rising food prices. Yet across the country, a new wave of climate-smart innovation is taking root — from water harvesting in Makueni to drought-tolerant crops in West Pokot — offering a path toward resilience, sustainability, and community hope.

The report, UNEP's seventh in the Frontiers series, identifies four emerging environmental issues with profound implications for Kenya, a nation already grappling with climate change despite contributing minimally to global emissions.

In 2014, while studying at the University of Nairobi, Ng’etich took the plunge and founded Synnefa, an agri-tech startup dedicated to equipping smallholder farmers with cutting-edge hardware and software solutions.