In Zambia’s Eastern Province, Wilson Banda, a lead farmer, is teaching other farmers at a field school in Katete how planting shade trees can enhance soil nutrients and improve harvests. Training teams of farmers in such practices has transformed the region's negative cycle into a positive one. Previously, poor farming practices caused soil degradation, leading to deforestation for agriculture and further ecosystem disruption. Farmers are now adopting climate-smart agriculture practices such as precision farming, agroforestry, crop rotation, crop diversification, and efficient irrigation to optimize resource use, minimize emissions, and store carbon in the soil. As a result, soil quality is improving, agricultural yields are increasing, and reforestation efforts are underway to build resilience against climate change impacts. Additionally, the local community will soon receive payments for the carbon they have prevented from entering the atmosphere.
“We care deeply about our forests and the animals that call them home,” said His Royal Highness Chief Zingalume of Zingalume Chiefdom in Chadiza District of Eastern Province, Zambia. “It’s a great thing to be able to preserve the trees and land while still making a living. The trees improve the health of the soil, which helps increase our yields. This lets us help our families and our community. It’s nice to think we will be getting paid for this. We plan to use the money for developmental projects of our chiefdom to improve access to clean drinking water, local area economic growth, and natural resource management to sustain emissions reduction and management of soil and forest carbon.”
Elsewhere in Zambia's Banki Community Forest, a Community Forest Management Group (CFMG) is managing 1,000 beehives as part of alternative livelihood activities. The CFMG received a grant to start this enterprise focused on climate change mitigation by building honey processing facilities and a solar-powered water reticulation system.
The group developed a business plan with technical training from Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO), a local private sector company supporting small-scale farmers. Last season, they harvested 845 kilograms of honey sold under COMACO's brand "It’s Wild!"
These initiatives fall under the Zambia Integrated Forest Landscape Program (ZIFL-P), which supports sustainable farming practices and alternative production methods. This program aligns with the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL) emission reductions program. In June 2024, Zambia signed an Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement unlocking up to $30 million in results-based payments for carbon credits generated from climate-smart agricultural practices.
ISFL aims to reduce emissions from land sectors by promoting sustainable agriculture alongside forest conservation efforts. The work in Zambia exemplifies how better climate actions can enhance resilience while improving agriculture and livelihoods.
The program has increased selected crop yields by over 32%, created jobs in rural communities, and improved sustainable management across more than 72,000 hectares of forested land. Additional grant funding supports these activities alongside potential payments up to $30 million over five years for generated carbon credits.
Community members like Naomi Miti also benefit; she uses an energy-efficient fixed mud stove that runs on twigs gathered from the forest floor instead of cutting down trees.
Under the new emissions reduction agreement with Zambia, individuals involved in carbon-saving activities will share in carbon credit payments through a benefit-sharing plan.
The ZIFL-P also supports programs using indigenous knowledge to map animal corridors and engage communities in protecting biodiversity-rich areas like Lukusuzi and Luambe National Parks.
Both Chief Zingalume and His Royal Highness Chief Kapatamoyo of Kapatamoyo Chiefdom expressed optimism: "We weren't really sure how this was going to work out at first because it required changing things we've done for a long time. But now we are seeing our incomes rise more food available for the community."