Sustainable Agriculture Zambia Project #73478

Empower Farmers: Affordable Nutrition Year-Round

by Tikondane Community Centre

Project Report | Jul 24, 2026
Report No.2 on the Empower Farmers: Affordable Nutrition Year-Round

By Carol Mushili | Project Leader

Beneficiary with her backyard garden

This second report presents progress made during the project. The project continues to strengthen household food security, improve nutrition, and increase the resilience of smallholder farmers through sustainable agricultural practices and nutrition-sensitive interventions.

During this period, emphasis was placed on strengthening farmer capacity, expanding year-round food production, supporting household nutrition, and enhancing community participation. Farmers continued to adopt improved farming practices while demonstration sites were used for practical learning. Despite challenges such as e.g. Heavy rainfall, high input costs and pest infestations. Implementation remained on track, with several planned activities successfully completed.

During this period, the project achieved the following:

Increased participation of smallholder farmers in training programs.
Improved adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices.
Expansion of household vegetable production.
Increased availability of nutritious vegetables.
Improved knowledge of balanced diets among beneficiary households.
Strengthened community ownership through active participation of local leaders and farmer groups.

During monitoring, it was observed that there was:

Increased adoption of compost making and organic soil management.
Improved vegetable survival rates due to better water management.
Households reported increased consumption of fresh vegetables.
Increased sharing of farming knowledge among community members.
Strong attendance at farmer training sessions.

Implementation of the project so far faced challenges:

High prices of agricultural inputs.
Pest and disease outbreaks affect vegetables.
Limited irrigation facilities during dry periods.
Transportation constraints affect field monitoring.

One beneficiary established a diversified backyard garden after receiving farmers' training. The family now produces vegetables throughout, reducing expenditure on food while improving dietary diversity. Surplus vegetables are sold within the community; this helps generate additional household income.

Please with your continued support, we will be able to overcome most challenges and continue to empower more farmers and change their livelihoods.

Beneficiary with his backyard garden

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Mar 27, 2026
Report No.1 - on the Empower Farmers: Affordable Nutrition Year-Round Project

By Elke Kroeger-Radcliffe | Voluntary Director

Mud Stove Construction

Empower Farmers: Affordable Nutrition Year-Round project continues to make positive progress in promoting sustainable farming practices and improving household nutrition within the community. This initiative focuses on equipping farmers with practical, low-cost agriculture techniques to ensure consistent food production throughout the year.

The Director of the neighboring hospital praised our project, when at another meeting the subject came up. He said the hospital employees could grow their own vegetables and even help the hospital by selling them more cheaply. However, he was not available around Christmas time and not since. We are told that it is because of problems caused by the USA changes in their donations. As for Mama Nyangu, the ceremonial Mother of the Paramount Chief of Chewa people, said she was too busy, but would be involved with the farm in Undi, near the paramount chief’s palace, owned by other of the Chief’s relatives. Now, the UNDI village is in fact very busy with our project, have a look at the photos.
At that time another Chief of Alick village came and asked for help, and here we have a report about activities that were done in his village. We are looking forward to telling you about their progress.

17th February 2026: Vegetable rings were successfully constructed and set up which are aimed at enhancing efficient vegetable production using locally available materials. And Hot 18-day Berkeley compost was made and covered.
20th February 2026:

Preparation of a worm dish to support organic and soil fertility.
Turning of the hot 18-day Berkeley compost to maintain proper decomposition and nutrient quality.
Construction of a mud stove to promote energy-efficient cooking methods and reduce firewood usage.

27th February 2026:

A pigeon kraal was set up to support small-scale livestock integration.
The hot 18-day Berkeley compost was turned again to ensure continued effectiveness and readiness for use.

Community Response and Conclusion: The community members expressed great appreciation and enthusiasm for the project. The village groups acknowledged the efforts of the Director and Tikondane Community Centre for introducing such a meaningful and practical initiative that directly benefits their livelihoods and nutrition.

Worm Dish Preparation

Covered Hot 18-day Berkeley Compost

Vegetable ring construction

Constructed vegetable ring

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