Royd Michelo on his farm in Eastern Zambia. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS
By Isaiah Esipisu
CHONGWE, Zambia, Jan 23 2026 – In a quiet village known as Nkhondola, in Chongwe District, Eastern Zambia, Royd Michelo and his wife, Adasila Kanyanga, have transformed their five-acre piece of land into a self-sustaining agroecological landscape. With healthy soils built over time, the farm teems with diverse food crops, fruit trees, livestock and birds, nourishing their family and the surrounding community.
“On this farm, we are not concerned about soil fertility and food security,” said Michelo as he fed his flock of diverse birds, which included free-range chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, and hundreds of pigeons.
“We are deliberately nurturing healthy soils and food sovereignty, making sure that we control what we grow, how we grow it, and ultimately, what we eat,” he told IPS.
The animals and birds feed on crop residues and thriving insects and worms on the farm, and the dung and droppings are converted into nutrient-rich manure that builds soil organic matter and microbes, creating healthy soils that support the growth of stronger crops that in turn feed the livestock, birds and humans.
“On a daily basis, we collect at least two trays of guinea fowl eggs and another two of free-range indigenous chicken, and the farm is abundant with different types of vegetables and fruits, while our cattle and goats give us milk for the family nutrition and daily income,” said Michelo.
The self-sustaining farming system, also known as agroecology, is now gaining popularity as the most sustainable and climate-resilient farming system, particularly for smallholders across the world.
The Conference of Parties (COP 30) in Belem, Brazil, highlighted the potential of agroecology in ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and food systems, thereby introducing the ecological farming technique to the global climate dialogue for the first time in 30 years.
The final report from the conference launched under the COP 30 Climate Action Agenda axis 3 sets out a coordinated global pathway to scale agroecology and agroforestry as solutions to the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and food insecurity.
“Apart from increased food productivity and income for farmers, agroecology provides resilience to crises related to food, climate, biodiversity, soil and even social crises,” said Dr. Million Belay, the General Coordinator at the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).
Belay argues that since science has proven that agroecology addresses nearly all the looming crises, it is important for it to be central to frameworks such as the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), as well as to all policies produced by the regional economic commissions.
However, despite the CAADP’s Kampala Declaration not expressly mentioning agroecology, regional commissions are steadfastly advancing it as a relevant pathway for climate resilience. The Kampala Declaration is the continent’s latest 10-year roadmap (2026-2035) for transforming African food systems into resilient, sustainable, and inclusive agri-food systems.
The Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) is working with various research institutions and universities in southern Africa on a project called Research on Agroecology Network for Southern Africa (RAENS), which aims to create a strong and innovative network for agroecology research and knowledge sharing in the region.
CCARDESA is a sub-regional research organization established by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states to coordinate agricultural research and development in the Southern Africa region.
The main goal of the RAENS research project is to improve current agroecology efforts, like those of Michelo and his wife in Zambia; to demonstrate how effective and scalable agroecology can be; to encourage changes in agricultural training and research toward agroecological food systems; and to guide policy, creating a supportive environment for adopting agroecology, research, and training.
“One of the components of the RAENS project is to equip scholars and practitioners with skills, knowledge and tools through developing new or enhancing existing agroecology modules and curricula for university students and extension agents, and through cross-learning between institutions through co-teaching/guest lecturing and co-supervision of postgraduate students,” said Dr. Jerome Queste, the Resource Mobilization Specialist at CCARDESA in Gaborone, Botswana.
He noted that the project will also provide new leadership on agroecology through postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, and beyond, undertaking research on priority topics.
“This is a step in the right direction,” said Bright Phiri of the Civil Society Agrarian Partnership (CSAP). “With agroecology having been recognized at the UNFCCC climate negotiation level, learning institutions will be crucial for training the next generation of experts, researchers, and practitioners for a smooth transition.”
In the same vein, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is in the process of revising its Regional Agriculture food system and Investment Plan (RAIP), and according to the secretariat, there is a deliberate intent to include a section that will directly address agroecology.
“We are already in discussion with different partners, including the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), because we also intend to embed agroecology in our standards and trade frameworks so that we focus on issues that affect it in terms of trade,” said Providence Mavubi, the Director for the Industry and Agriculture Division at COMESA.
“We are also going to put agroecology as part of our value chain development programs and include it in our climate and green finance mobilization drive because we believe that this is an area that has been left behind,” she told IPS during an interview in Lusaka.
According to Phiri, efforts by CCARDESA and COMESA mirror the role of other initiatives like the Knowledge Hub in Eastern Africa (KHEA) and the Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture & Agroecology in Africa (KCOA), which are pivotal in disseminating agroecological knowledge and capacity building.
IPS UN Bureau Report
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