Atwaambe Initiative

WHEN PLANTS ARE PROTECTED, COMMUNITIES THRIVE

Today, on the International Day of Plant Health, we’re reminded that plant biosecurity is the foundation of food security.

For Atwaambe Initiative, this theme (Plant Biosecurity for Food Security) speaks directly to our work with radio and smallholder farmers, helping communities prevent pests, recognise crop diseases early, and protect their harvests.

Through inclusive communication and trusted local radio, we ensure every farmer has access to the right information at the right time.

Healthy plants mean stronger families, resilient communities, and better futures.
And we’re proud to play our part.

Healthy Plants. Healthy Communities. Healthy Food Systems.

GROWING AGRICULTURE FOR EVERYONE: INCLUSION AT THE HEART OF EVERY MESSAGE

At Atwaambe, we believe that women, youth, and persons with disabilities should not just access agricultural information, they should help shape it.

That’s why inclusion is at the heart of our field learning groups, radio programmes, and agricultural practices. When everyone is included, everyone benefits.

Through our Inclusive Communication Initiative, we are working to make agricultural spaces more equitable by:

✔️ Training broadcasters on disability inclusion
✔️ Conducting inclusion audits in our radio partners
✔️ Promoting gender-transformative content
✔️ Partnering with gender and disability organisations to strengthen inclusive communication

Together, we’re building an agriculture sector where no one is left behind.

🌳 Growing Trees. Growing Hope. 🌳

“I came to the first meeting expecting relief food… but instead we were trained to plant Musangu (Faidherbia Albida) for agroforestry. Now I am proudly growing 50 trees.” - Webster Simakwama, Choma.

Agroforestry is more than planting and growing trees, it restores soils, boosts yields, protects farms from climate shocks, and gives farmers long-term independence.

Smallholder farmers feed the nation, yet still face high costs, weak markets, and recurring climate stress. These are not surface issues; they are structural barriers.

That’s why our work combines field sustainable farming training with radio broadcasting, turning information into action and ensuring farmers lead the solutions that shape their future.

When farmers are treated as economic actors, not just beneficiaries, real, lasting change begins.

📻🌱 Agroforestry + Radio = Stronger soils, stronger voices, stronger communities.

🌾 When Press Freedom Feeds a Farmer 🌾

For a smallholder farmer who depends on radio, press freedom is more than a principle, it is a lifeline.

It means reliable weather updates, fair market information, and practical farming tips they can trust.

Free media empowers farmers and empowered farmers grow stronger communities.

To all the broadcasters who make this possible: Happy Press Freedom Day!

Your work keeps farmers informed, prepared, and hopeful. 🌱📻

🌾 Happy Labour Day to Our Smallholder Farmers!

Today, we celebrate the hands that feed our nation.

To every smallholder farmer across Zambia and beyond, your labour sustains households, and drives our agricultural future.

As Atwaambe Initiative, we recognise that true agricultural transformation begins with you.

Your knowledge, your resilience, and your daily commitment to the land are the backbone of food systems and community development.

This Labour Day, we honour:
🌱 Your hard work - from tilling, planting, weeding, to harvesting.
🌱 Your innovation - adapting to climate change, trying new practices, and sharing knowledge.
🌱 Your hope - ensuring that every season brings new possibilities.

Atwaambe remains committed to communicating for change, strengthening extension systems, and supporting sustainable farming solutions that empower farmers to grow more, earn more, and live better.

Thank you for feeding the nation - today we celebrate YOU.

Happy Labour Day!✨

🌱 This International Seed Day, Atwaambe Initiative stands with farmers, communities, and custodians of our indigenous seed heritage.

Seed sovereignty is not just about agriculture, it's about food security, cultural identity, climate resilience, and the right of farmers to determine their own futures.

❌ Let us not criminalise traditional farming practices by restricting farmers’ rights to save, share, and sell their own seeds.
❌ Let us not undermine biodiversity and climate resilience by promoting genetically uniform seeds at the expense of diverse, locally adapted varieties.
❌ Let us not reduce seeds to a mere commodity, seeds carry culture, knowledge, ecology and intergenerational wisdom.

🌾 Our seeds are our heritage. Our resilience. Our life.

Reviving our soils, revitalising our farms

Zambia’s agricultural land is increasingly degraded and it’s costing farmers productivity and livelihoods.

Sustainable growth in agriculture is more than applying fertilizer.

It starts with understanding soil types, choosing the right inputs, and restoring soil health as the foundation of long-term productivity.

With climate change, rapid urbanisation, and rising food demand, investing in soil health is no longer optional, it’s a strategic necessity.

That’s why Atwaambe supports smallholder farmers with practical knowledge on soil-mending methods through radio.

We work at the intersection of farming, radio, and behaviour change communication using a participatory approach that positions farmers not just as listeners, but as co-creators of radio content.

Atwaambe is turning radio into a catalyst for agricultural innovation, helping farmers across Zambia grow smarter, adapt to climate change, and prosper together.

🌱 Agriculture starts from the soil! 🌧️🌾

Everyone is talking about improved seeds and new technology…but you can’t outgrow bad soil.

Lent Munsaka, a smallholder farmer in Choma, says no matter how advanced the seed is, if the soil is weak, depleted, or lifeless, the harvest will always fall short.

After listening to the Atwaambe radio programmes on agroforestry, Lent learned that healthy soil means better yields, smarter water use, higher income, and a more secure food future.

👉 “I am practicing agroforestry which I learnt on radio on one hectare of my land because I now understand that the future of agriculture is not just about what we plant, but what we plant it in.”

🎙️ Atwaambe supported radio programmes bring you:

✔️ Local solutions to climate challenges
✔️ Expert advice in agriculture
✔️ Real stories from fellow farmers
✔️ Knowledge that encourages investing in soil health and not chasing quick fixes

🌾 In Case you missed as why Atwaambe Exists - The Problem We Solve 🚜📻

Smallholder farmers grow most of Zambia’s food but many still lack timely, accurate, and localised agricultural information.

Challenges include:

❌ Limited access to extension services
❌ Poorly researched agricultural programming
❌ Weak linkages to experts & markets
❌ Barriers for women, youth & persons with disabilities

💡 Atwaambe is changing this! We strengthen communication systems so farmers not only access information but also help create it.

🌱 Farmers Shaping their own Stories 👥📝

Fecia Malasa, a smallholder farmer from Choma, says radio helped her learn about agroforestry and gave her the confidence to share her own journey of doubt.

Through the Atwaambe supported radio programmes, she told her story on air, and women in her community are now showing interest in agroforestry after hearing her experience.

Radio becomes truly powerful when farmers take the lead in shaping the content that represents their lives, challenges, and breakthroughs.

🌳 “Through radio I came to understand that agriculture starts from the soil, that’s why sustainable farming matters.”

Agroforestry, for Fecia, is no longer just about planting trees. It is a path to healthier soils, and a stronger future for her family and community 🌱🌳

Real stories. Real issues. Real solutions.

🌾 Radio has given me a voice - Mary Mweetwa 🎙️

💬 “My fellow women tell me, ‘Mary, you speak for all of us. When they hear me talk about agroforestry on radio, they feel proud and that gives me strength,” says Mary Mweetwa, a smallholder farmer from Choma.

Radio has boosted her confidence and helped her share vital messages on climate change and farming.

For Mary, radio has turned her lived experience into knowledge that reaches far beyond her village.

She believes climate issues must stay on air because they affect daily survival.

🎧 When farmers hear their own voices on radio, participation and learning grow.

Through our Radio-for-Change model, we support broadcasters to produce farmer-centred, accurate, and participatory programmes.

Mary’s story shows the power of accessible information and community voices.

Together, we’re transforming agriculture. 🌿📻