While focusing on strong relationships we strive to assist smallholder farmers to engage in a successful and sustainable agribusiness sufficient to provide for the needs of their families. We believe this requires:

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• Building on existing strengths; good soil, plentiful land, strong community ties, a hardworking people, and community leadership

• Agronomic decisions led by an agronomist while empowering farmers to take ownership of and implement changes.

• Training and implementation of basic farming principles; fertilizer and seeding rates and placement, timely planting with consideration of soil moisture hard pan assessments, weed and insect management.  Most importantly, instilling a plan of routine scouting to look for problems to make better future decisions.  

• Strong emphasis on teaching and implementing adaptive management techniques to identify problems or desired improvements, potential solutions, and trial those solutions on a small-scale, comparing results with current practices.  Adaptive management better prepares farmers to adjust to changing conditions and enhances decision making.

• Economic evaluation of different farming practices. We are striving towards a program where each farmer will purchase inputs and cover farming expenses while marketing products at current commercial prices. We plan to provide input loans to farmers.  They will be required to pay back the loans in-kind with grain which will be sold and placed in a revolving fund for future loans.

• Crop diversification to improve nutrition and improve food production in a system that experiences variable rainfall and other climate conditions. Petauke lies in climate zone 2A which can potentially support sorghum, millet, cowpeas, groundnuts, sunflowers, and soybeans as alternative crops.  Evaluations will be made to determine the short- and longer-term benefit of various alternative crops.  

• Expanding vegetable gardens to add nutritional value, bring food to the table earlier in the growing season, and further diversify food sources.  We plan to expand our work to include a community garden in each village. 

• Expanding garden and agricultural education to school children

• Minimization of loss due to spoilage and pests.  The community is constructing a storage facility meant to decrease spoilage and house a grain mill.

• Ongoing coaching, education, and support.  Our trainers visit and walk the fields with each farmer on a regular basis, observing plant stresses, stand count, and other parameters utilizing crop scouting techniques.  Photos and data are collected to evaluate and drive decision making.  Scouting provides an excellent opportunity for education.

• Accountability:  Ongoing scouting with trainers will encourage best practices.  Continued participation will be dependent on a farmer’s willingness to engage in quality farming principles and decision making.

• Water management to conserve moisture in the soil, exploration and potential implementation of irrigation and water catchment systems.

• Building resilience to better adapt to changing conditions and unforeseen challenges.

• Development of a work program in exchange for food in able bodied adults who remain on the vulnerable list.

• Identify and address spiritual, psychological, and cultural beliefs that hinder people from achieving their full God-given potential.  Each trainer is a member of the local Zambian team, committed to building relationships with individuals, and community leaders alike.  ​

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Join our work!  

​We believe there is immense potential to bring about change through improved agronomy education, business practices, input loans, ongoing coaching and vegetable production with education aimed at school children.