NAIROBI, Kenya (PAMACC News) – A €45 million partnership has been launched by the IKEA Foundation and SNV to reimagine how food and energy systems work together in Eastern Africa.
The five-year initiative, known as the Power for Food Partnership, will roll out in Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Kenya with the aim of boosting resilience, improving livelihoods, and driving systemic change at the intersection of regenerative agriculture (RA) and the productive use of renewable energy (PURE).
Breaking silos to build resilience
For decades, food and energy systems in the region have developed in isolation. Farmers tested sustainable practices on one side, while renewable energy projects expanded separately on the other. This fragmentation limited their combined impact.
“This partnership is an opportunity to think differently about how systems can work together, and who gets to shape them,” said Annemieke Beekmans, Director of Technical Expertise at SNV. “Beyond a technical overlap, the focus on nexus points between regenerative agriculture and productive use of renewable energy, through better coordination, smarter, more inclusive investment and the primacy of stronger local leadership are vital to scaling outcomes. In a time of increasing fragmentation, values-driven partnerships like this are a way to build the kind of enabling environment that long-term, inclusive and sustainable development actually requires.”
Farmers at the frontline of climate change
The need for such integration is urgent. In Uganda, climate models predict that shifting rainfall patterns could reduce maize yields nationally by up to 10 percent in the near future. Across the region, most rural households remain off-grid, leaving farmers unable to irrigate crops, process harvests, or preserve produce.
While technologies like solar-powered irrigation, cold storage, and decentralized agro-processing already exist, uptake is hampered by affordability challenges, policy barriers, and weak infrastructure. For women and youth, who already face systemic barriers in accessing land, credit, and decision-making spaces, the challenges are even steeper.
Locally-led solutions at the core
The Power for Food Partnership is designed to address these gaps through locally-led innovations and systemic collaboration. By bringing together communities, governments, civil society, and private sector actors, the initiative will create an enabling environment where regenerative agriculture and renewable energy can reinforce each other.
“This partnership is rooted in trust and shared purpose. It’s about standing alongside communities who are leading change from within. By connecting regenerative agriculture and renewable energy, we’re supporting locally driven innovations that respond to real needs and lived experiences. We’re proud to partner with SNV and local leaders in building systems that are resilient, inclusive, and shaped by those most affected,” said Marilia Bezerra, Chief Programme Officer of IKEA Foundation.
A new chapter of collaboration
The partnership builds on earlier collaboration between IKEA Foundation and SNV dating back to 2019, which piloted approaches and generated learning in the same four countries. That experience laid the groundwork for this larger, longer-term commitment.
With this investment in its first phase, the Power for Food Partnership signals a bold new effort to bridge fragmented systems, tackle structural inequalities, and empower communities to build resilience in the face of climate change.