This report focuses on the technical and policy measures to address existing challenges, and outline gaps in the implementation of policies to improve agricultural water use efficiency and enhance management in paddy fields in Zambia. It promotes the formulation and deployment of an effective system for the development of the...

On a working day in June 2018 under my previous organization, I visited Shibuyunji district to conduct my usual technical support to the extension staff as well as project beneficiaries. Having had a short meeting with the extension staff, we immediately proceeded into the field to conduct on-site visits. I...

It all started on the day when I escorted our country director to Rufunsa District, which is located in Lusaka Province in Zambia. We were off to meet the village Chieftainess Mphashya, to talk about our intentions to build a community seed bank in her chiefdom. We were met with...

Honeybees (Apis mellifera), wild bees, and other pollinators can be adversely affected by pesticides as well as other stressors, with potentially large economic and ecological consequences. Legislation is one possible tool which can be used to support actions to protect pollinators from pesticides. Several documents have been published at the...

Special reporter Patrick Worms writes passionately of what he witnessed among agroecological farmers in Zambia and the potential for expanding their practices much more widely. Despite the challenges, the world is sprinkled with extraordinary farmers achieving amazing results by applying agroecological principles to restore degraded ecosystems. They combine the growing...

According to a new study, rising temperatures and decreased rainfall in eight Southern and East African countries are likely to reduce the production of vital food crops in the region by 2050. The International Fund for Agricultural Development has issued the scientists' report, which covers Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda,...

The impact of COVID 19 on food security in Africa has been among the most widely discussed subjects since the first cases of COVID-19 in Africa broke in February 2020. Most of the narratives were alarming. The headlines put Africa at the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis caused by...

A video translation workshop was organised recently in Lusaka, Zambia, by Access Agriculture to facilitate and build capacity of 12 local media practitioners and NGO representatives in translating video scripts, recording voice-overs and audio editing.

FISH4ACP is an initiative of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) aimed at making fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific more sustainable. It aims to enhance the productivity and sustainability of the small pelagics value chain in the Zambian waters of...

Interventions to improve the sustainability and nutrition of food can be misdirected when based on assumptions about people’s priorities and level of knowledge. When citizens have the capacity to act on their own priorities — in other words when they have agency — there is the potential to achieve better...

We cannot talk about food sovereignty without mentioning the role of mass markets on which the majority of people depend on their income and food. These markets have demonstrated their relevance during the COVID-19 era by strengthening rural-urban linkages. Mass markets have been the main avenue through which rural people...

Trees and shrubs play important roles on the farm and in the environment. Unfortunately too many trees are lost because of overgrazing, excessive fuel wood collection and deforestation. Agroforestry supports the efforts of people in rural areas to plant more trees and to use them to greater advantage, also because...

Situated at the end of Zambia’s Great Rift Valley, the Luangwa Valley has ecological riches but pervasive poverty. Poaching and subsistence farming of maize and sorghum are the main livelihoods. Increasingly, families are also relying on cash crops, such as cotton and tobacco, rendering them less able to meet their...

With their ability to mobilise 1.5 billion smallholder producers, forest and farm producer organisations (FFPOs) can help drive a paradigm shift away from large-scale monocultural systems, which are vulnerable to climate change and highly inequitable. FFPO businesses embody greater diversity and equity, pursuing market opportunities for a diverse basket of...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

In sub-Saharan Africa, crop diversification features prominently in many countries’ climate change adaptation strategies. This study focuses on the determinants of adoption and on the impact of seven cropping systems in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. The work finds that the selection of a high volatile or low productive cropping system...

The country gender profile analyses the gender gaps, good practices and way forward in empowering women in agriculture, value chains and food and nutrition security. It provides a baseline for monitoring the implementation of the SDGs, Malabo Declaration and National Agricultural Investment Plans. It will inform advocacy, research, and capacity...

This report unpacks and explores farmer-managed seed systems and their contribution to food and seed sovereignty, including the benefits they provide to farming communities as a part of their sociocultural, economic, spiritual and ecological livelihoods. The report highlights, exposes and explores how these systems work. It builds on reports of...

The agriculture sector in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains the backbone of national economies, sustaining rural and urban livelihoods alike, and providing food and income for the majority of households. Recent agriculture growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has been solid and has supported improvements in nutrition outcomes and poverty rates. Despite some...

Maize is the predominant crop in Zambia, both in terms of production and consumption, and levels of crop diversity on Zambian farms tend to be very low. The country’s maize-centric food system contributes to poverty, malnutrition, and vulnerability to drought, pests and diseases. Growing a wider variety of nutritious crops...