Smallholder farmers in Eastern province embrace Climate-Smart Agriculture
By Watson Zulu of NAIS
Smallholder farmers under the Eastern Province Jurisdictional Sustainable Landscape Programme-EP-JSLP are steadily adopting Climate Smart Agriculture-CSA to boost productivity, protect the environment, and strengthen resilience to climate change.
Since the launch of the Zambia Integrated Forest Landscape Project-ZIFLP in 2018, 678 Farmer Field Schools-FFSs have been established across Eastern Province, engaging 169,500 smallholder farmers and bringing 171,000 hectares of land under sustainable CSA practices.
According to Provincial Principal Agriculture Officer Mr. Kelvin Chinama, monitoring across all 15 districts shows that many lead and follower farmers clearly understand CSA and are successfully applying it in their own fields.
The transition from ZIFLP to EP-JSLP in 2024 further expanded the programme by adding 200 Farmer Field Schools, supporting emissions reduction and future carbon credit opportunities.
A recent joint CSA monitoring exercise, led by Eastern Province Agricultural Coordinator Victor Zulu, toured Farmer Field Schools in Sinda and Nyimba districts. In Sinda, the team visited Chafulu Camp Farmer Field School, observed farmers planting agroforestry tree seeds at nurseries, and interacted with beneficiaries who received grain silos under ZIFLP to improve post-harvest handling.
In Nyimba District, the team inspected agroforestry tree seedlings ready for transplanting at a Farmer Field School and later paid a courtesy call on the Vubwi Council Secretary, underscoring strong collaboration between EP-JSLP, local authorities, and farming communities.
Farmers such as Yanika Daka of Nyimba and Ephraim Zulu of Lusangazi continue to testify to improved soil fertility, higher yields, and better-performing fields under CSA.
Pictures by Watson Zulu and Ushely Joseph-NAIS
#ClimateSmartAgriculture #EPJSLP #ZIFLP #SustainableFarming #SmallholderFarmers #Agroforestry #ClimateResilience #FoodSecurity #EasternProvince #NAIS
