Environmental Sustainability

At just 27 years old, Nathan is defying the odds stacked against young farmers in one of Zambia’s driest and most drought-prone regions — Luangwa District. Once struggling to make ends meet, he is now the proud owner of a thriving banana plantation, thanks to support from ChildFund and the Luangwa Child Development Agency (LCDA), through the ChildFund New Zealand-funded Luangwa Integrated Agriculture Project (LIAP).

“I dropped out of school and was given a small piece of land where I started growing maize for my own consumption,” Nathan recalls. “But Luangwa is very dry, and sometimes I’d wake up to find elephants had destroyed all my crops.”
Luangwa experiences low and erratic rainfall, averaging less than 800 mm annually, according to the Zambia Meteorological Department. The district’s semi-arid conditions, compounded by frequent droughts and human-wildlife conflict, make farming a difficult and often unpredictable livelihood — especially for young people without access to the right tools and support.

Like many in his community, Nathan dreamed of growing cash crops like bananas and sugarcane — crops with higher market value. But environmental barriers stood in the way. That was until ChildFund and LCDA stepped in.
“When ChildFund launched the LIAP project, our aim was to ensure that communities had sustainable and resilient food systems,” said Dr. Danford Makayi, ChildFund Federation Manager for Luangwa. “We worked with over 1,500 farmers, including young people like Nathan, to provide access to irrigation, drought-resistant crops, and the knowledge they need to thrive.”

“I was one of the young farmers given fruit trees and trained on how to grow drought-resistant fruits,” said Nathan. “We were also taught how to market our products. Today, I grow bananas on a large scale. Business people drive to my farm to buy fruit directly. I never thought I would become such a big farmer.”
He has since diversified his production to include papayas and other fruits. Thanks to irrigation from the dam constructed under the LIAP project, Nathan now produces food all year round — increasing his family’s income and contributing to local food security.

Nathan now earns over ZMW 5,000 (approx. USD 180) per month from his plantation , up from Kwacha 300 per month he used to earn before. This is a life-changing income in a region where many struggle to earn even a fraction of that.
With the proceeds, he is able to feed his family, invest back into his farm, and send his young daughter to school, proving that with the right support, young farmers can transform not just their own futures, but their communities as well.