14-18 October 2024: The World Food Forum (WFF) was held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy. It served as a powerful platform, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders to leverage the power of intergenerational collaborations, partnerships, and action across policy, science, innovation, culture, and investment. 

CA4SH members joined a series of youth-led dialogues, workshops, and networking events to highlight the transformative potential of soil health as the foundation of sustainable, resilient food systems. With over 200 members - including farmer organizations, youth, policymakers, scientists, and NGOs - the Coalition is committed to translating science into action, fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, and amplifying the vital role of youth in global soil health initiatives. 

The Stars in Our Soil is a 6-part series highlighting the scientific and social elements of the soil that are synonymous to the stars; each of them unique but when they are together, they light up the universe. 

In this article, Sussana Terieza Phiri (#Youth4Soil, YPARD Zambia, CA4SH Intern) explores the physical properties of soil, and some of the implications for agricultural growers.

From 19-26th September 2024, the inaugural cohort of the Youth Academy on Climate Adaptation & Leadership met in Nairobi, Kenya to strengthen their skills around youth leadership and climate adaptation.

The Academy was officially launched via a partnership between the Global Centre on Adaptation, the University of Nairobi, and the University of Groningen. The University of Nairobi hosted the 62 students, government officials, youth organizations, and other youth stakeholders who were selected to join the Academy. Among them was #Youth4Soil member Eliseus Bamporineza who shared some reflections in a Q&A with CA4SH.

The IFRC Limitless Innovation Challenge is a chance for youth around the World to showcase their innovations for climate and the environment. Daniel Chavo Kisekka of the #Youth4Soil Initiative has submitted his climate solution Nurtavest to support smallholder farmers in Uganda, and the World over.

We are calling on the CA4SH network to help support him by engaging with his pitch video, which could place him in the top 100 innovations!

Upendra Bhusal is a student of Agriculture at the Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal. He is a member of the CA4SH #Youth4Soil initiative, IAAS, YPARD, FAYI, Leo Club, and more.

Learn about his unique approach to scaling soil health in his community, and his plans to scale this approach in 2024/2025.

Samuel Bamidele has served as a member and mentor for the last 6 months at Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health. Samuel was accepted into the 2025 class of the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s (SWCS) Emerging Leaders Program. Recognized as the premier international organization for professionals shaping the future of natural resource conservation, SWCS has chosen Bamidele for his outstanding commitment to the science and art of conservation. He will join a group of up-and-coming leaders in conservation that are spread across several countries and disciplines. 

Eliseus Bamporineza is an East African Community Youth fellow, writer, poet, and staunch advocate for youth empowerment. He is a dedicated and visionary leader committed to driving positive change in the fields of education, climate resilience, agribusiness and diplomacy across Africa. Through different initiatives, such as Feed2Care where he advocates for quality food for all, and #Youth4Soil where he gives voice to life under our feet, he is committed to raising concerns about soil health threats and the need for its protection.

Soil health is a fundamental component of agricultural sustainability and environmental stewardship. In this article, CA4SH partner Samuel Bamidele explores how enhancing soil health can bolster resilience against the adverse effects of climate change and outlines related legislation from the United States.

Samuel holds a Master of Science from the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware. Hailing from Ibadan, Nigeria, Samuel's academic trajectory has been characterized by a profound dedication to soil science and agriculture.

June 3 to 13, 2024 - The 60th session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiaries Bodies (SB60) took place in Bonn, Germany. Also called the 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference, it brought together an estimated 6,000 attendees to prepare and shape the agenda for COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan later this year. This year, we contributed to several side events led by partners to elevate the importance of soil health.

From June 3-13, 2024 the 60th session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was convened in Bonn, Germany. These sessions serve as a crucial mid-year event, laying the groundwork for COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. This gathering is an essential platform for young professionals to observe and get involved in negotiations, host and participate in side events to raise important issues, and to amplify youth voices from all over the world.

Read the full story from YPARD

In Northern Kenya, WWF works with a community-run organisation called Nature and People as One (NaPO) through the Voices for Climate Action programme, which serves as a great example of harnessing the intergenerational knowledge and experience of pastoralist communities. Founded in 2018 by young people from Karare, Marsabit, NaPO works closely with pastoralists to address the challenges they are facing constructively, in order to protect, manage and restore rangelands and the valuable ecosystem services they provide.

Read the full story on the UN Decade of Restoration website

Nakivale refugee settlement was established in 1958 and is the 8th largest refugee settlement in the world, located approximately 200 km away from Kampala, Uganda'. It is one of the oldest refugee settlements in Uganda and contains 79 individual villages.

Recently, food distribution has reduced, creating a food shortage worsened by persistent drought and soil exhaustion. Since 2023, the communities’ needs have outpaced available resources.

Mbilizi Kalombo is a young Congolese refugee living in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. He is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of KYETE BIINGI TAI NYEME - a refugee-led, community-based organization seeking to improve the lives of refugees, including by promoting sustainable soil management practices.

The Coalition of Action 4 Soil Health is rooted in the UN Convention to Combat Desertification because of the need for increased global soil health as a major tool to halt desertification, combat drought, and restore land.

The 2024 theme for Desertification and Drought Day (held annually on 17 June), is United for Land: Our Legacy. Our Future, so we asked members of CA4SH to share the relevance of soil health and fighting drought in the context of their organizations, and the role that multi-stakeholder partnerships play in achieving their goals.

This video blog is from the UNEP YouTube channel

To mark 2024 World Environment Day, the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) brought their lab to the UN complex in Nairobi (UNON) to teach the #generationrestoration the basics of soil management and opportunities for restoration.

The workshop on “The pathway to healthy soil management” hosted 40 students from Aga Khan Academy, Lenana School and Kenya High School. Students got their hands dirty learning about different types of soils, causes of land degradation, best practices and nature-based solutions to soil management.

Understanding of African ecosystems; initiative that establishes baseline and monitoring for land degradation assessment and rehabilitation

Story and photo essay by: Anthony Ochieng Onyango and Faith Tuarari

From afar, scaling soil health by switching from traditional monocrop agricultural systems to regenerative systems may seem as easy as planting the right plants in the right spot. However transitioning to new systems usually sees farmers’ yields decrease before they increase, which can be a limiting factor for farmers who don’t have a financial cushion to fall back on. Support is needed to help them bridge the gap.

CA4SH is a multi-stakeholder partnership of member states, the private sector, research institutions, civil society, farmer organizations, multilateral organizations, NGOs, and more. Drawing on this wealth of knowledge, we organized the second installation of our 2024 Webinar Series: The road ahead for soil health action to explore different mechanisms to invest in soil health, making sure these investments reach smallholder farmers.

Worldwide, agriculture employs the largest portion of youth (around 60% in Africa, for example), making soil health central to youth empowerment and food security in developing countries where agriculture's contribution to GDP exceeds 20%. Youth can participate in advocacy for soil and land health through political fora, techno-communications, community action, research and more.

Roël D. Houdanon, Founder & Chief Technical Advisor of the Land and Health Association, shares his thoughts on avenues for youth participation and his unique story of moving through advocacy spaces and championing soil health, as well as a case study for youth action on the ground.

CA4SH is a multi stakeholder partnership of member states, the private sector, research institutions, civil society, farmer organizations, multilateral organizations, NGOs, and more. Drawing on this wealth of knowledge, we organized the first installation of our 2024 Webinar Series: The road ahead for soil health action.

Women and gender-diverse people around the World are a non-negotiable, indispensable part of food systems and efforts to scale soil health, globally.

For International Women’s Day 2024, we reached out to powerhouse women from across the CA4SH network who are working with NGOs, farmer cooperatives, research, public and private domains, and more, to deliver key messages on why gender inclusion is so important to scaling soil health.

Research shows that soil is connected to all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, individually and as a holistic solution. To help underscore the importance of these connections, CA4SH has summarized how each of the SDGs links to soil.