Global food giants, PepsiCo, Unilever, and a coalition of international food and beverage companies have launched “STEP up for Agriculture” (Supporting Trusted Engagement and Partnership), a landmark initiative designed to accelerate the adoption of regenerative farming practices worldwide. While the program initially targets North America and Europe, its implications for Africa are profound, signaling opportunities for innovation, resilience, and climate-smart agriculture on the continent.
Regenerative agriculture emphasizes holistic practices that restore soil health, enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, and strengthen the resilience of food systems. According to the Platform for Agriculture and Climate Transformation, these methods prioritize the interdependence between soil, crops, and farmers, rather than focusing solely on yield. STEP up for Agriculture seeks to empower farmer-facing organizations with funding, tools, and technical training to guide farmers in adopting these practices, a crucial step, given that experts note that transitioning to regenerative methods requires more than technical solutions, demanding localized knowledge, trusted relationships, and sustained mentorship.
For Africa, where smallholder farmers make up over 70% of the agricultural workforce, these principles resonate deeply. Soil degradation, declining fertility, and climate volatility remain major challenges for the continent, threatening both food security and livelihoods. Programs like STEP up for Agriculture demonstrate that large-scale investment and corporate partnerships can complement local initiatives, potentially catalyzing a shift toward more resilient and productive agricultural systems.
According to PepsiCo’s sustainability report, the company sources over 50 crops from more than 60 countries and has committed to converting 10 million acres to regenerative agriculture by 2030. Unilever similarly aims to implement regenerative practices on 1 million hectares globally within the same timeframe. While these commitments are largely concentrated outside Africa, the lessons, tools, and networks emerging from STEP up for Agriculture could inform the continent’s own regenerative movement. Already, African agribusinesses, NGOs, and farmer cooperatives are experimenting with practices such as cover cropping, agroforestry, and organic soil amendments, core techniques promoted under the STEP up framework.
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The initiative is structured around a diverse partnership ecosystem. Lead partners like PepsiCo and Unilever provide funding and strategic guidance, while philanthropic partners, including the PepsiCo Foundation and PACT, offer technical expertise and capacity-building support. Farmer-facing support organizations, such as Practical Farmers of Iowa and South East Research Farm in Canada, provide hands-on mentorship and region-specific guidance. According to experts, the focus on supporting intermediaries rather than directly targeting farmers is a model that could be adapted to African contexts, where extension services and farmer cooperatives often serve as the primary bridge between innovation and on-the-ground adoption.
Chris Beaudry, a fourth-generation farmer in Saskatchewan, encapsulates the ethos behind the initiative: “When you, as a farmer, start looking at your soil having an interdependent relationship with you, then you can start making decisions that benefit you, benefit the crop and benefit us as humans as well”. In Africa, where land-use decisions are tightly linked to community livelihoods and cultural practices, fostering this kind of soil-centered perspective is essential. Projects that integrate local knowledge with regenerative techniques could help African farmers enhance productivity while maintaining ecosystem health.
Africa’s potential to scale regenerative agriculture is significant, particularly in regions vulnerable to climate shocks. According to the African Development Bank, the Sahel, East Africa, and parts of Southern Africa are already experiencing the compounding effects of droughts, unpredictable rainfall, and soil erosion. Initiatives like STEP up for Agriculture could provide valuable blueprints for climate-smart interventions. Partnerships could support African cooperatives to adopt no-till farming, intercropping, and cover cropping, while simultaneously providing access to climate-resilient seeds, irrigation technology, and training.
Moreover, STEP up for Agriculture underscores the importance of private-sector engagement in sustainability transitions. African agribusinesses, from cocoa and coffee cooperatives in West Africa to maize and horticultural producers in East and Southern Africa, often operate in fragmented supply chains with limited access to capital and expertise. Strategic partnerships with global companies could facilitate investment, knowledge transfer, and the creation of scalable farmer support structures. With reference to Nestlé and Olam programs, multinational firms have piloted regenerative agriculture programs in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Kenya, showing that such collaborations can complement local policies aimed at sustainable land management.
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Yet, the path to broad-scale adoption in Africa is not without challenges. Land tenure insecurity, limited access to finance, and infrastructural constraints may slow uptake. Ensuring that regenerative practices are economically viable for smallholder farmers is critical. Here, the STEP up model offers lessons: by channeling resources through trusted local intermediaries, the initiative emphasizes mentorship, adaptation to local conditions, and incremental adoption rather than imposing one-size-fits-all solutions.
There is also an opportunity for Africa to leapfrog traditional development pathways by integrating regenerative agriculture with digital agriculture platforms, satellite-based soil monitoring, and climate data analytics. Linking these innovations with local knowledge and cooperative networks could accelerate the continent’s transition to more sustainable and resilient food systems. In this context, STEP up for Agriculture is not merely a North American or European story, it serves as a potential inspiration and reference point for Africa’s sustainability leaders seeking to scale climate-smart agricultural interventions.
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The global momentum behind regenerative agriculture, exemplified by STEP up for Agriculture, mirrors a growing consensus: achieving resilient food systems requires collaboration across public, private, and civil society actors. For Africa, the lesson is clear, leveraging global expertise, integrating local knowledge, and investing in farmer-focused capacity building can transform agriculture from a sector vulnerable to climate stress into a driver of sustainable development, ecosystem restoration, and food security.
As STEP up for Agriculture gains traction in North America and Europe, African policymakers, agronomists, and cooperatives have the opportunity to observe, adapt, and innovate. By fostering localized regenerative agriculture initiatives inspired by these global programs, Africa can strengthen its agricultural resilience, protect biodiversity, and contribute meaningfully to the global sustainability agenda. The message is compelling: empowering farmers is not just a corporate responsibility, it is an investment in the planet’s future, one hectare at a time.
