On 10 and 11 March 2026, a group of people who care about the future of farming gathered in Lusaka. They came from universities, government research institutes, civil society organisations, and farming communities. Some had travelled from Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe. They were there to launch the Zambia Agroecology Knowledge Network (AEKN) – the newest addition to a growing regional effort to rethink how we teach, research and practise agriculture in southern Africa.
For Tweende, represented at the event by the Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity (ZAAB) and Mulungushi University (MU), the event felt like a natural extension of the work already underway. Over the past year, Tweende has been on the ground with farmers in Itebe, Kasanengwa and Mpanshya, testing poultry systems, running Bokashi trials, navigating flooded green manure plots, and learning what participatory research actually requires in practice. The AEKN is a space to take those grounded lessons and connect them to the people who shape curricula, set research agendas, and influence policy.
Why a network now?
The invitation sent out ahead of the workshop put it plainly. The dominant industrial agricultural model, built on high external inputs and chemical-dependent production, has significant negative impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem health, animal welfare and human well-being. Agroecology is increasingly being recognised as a credible, forward-looking response. But as Frances Davies from ZAAB and the Seed and Knowledge Initiative (SKI) emphasises, transformation cannot happen in the field alone.
“Agroecology embraces a food system that benefits both the environment and humankind,” she said. “It empowers farmers and enables them to adapt to climate change, fosters more equitable social relations, improves food and nutritional security, and protects natural resources and biodiversity. But transformation towards an agroecological future cannot be achieved without transforming agricultural education, research, policy, and markets.”
This is precisely what the AEKN is designed to do. Supported regionally by the University of Cape Town and SKI, and coordinated in Zambia by Mulungushi University in collaboration with the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) and the University of Zambia, the network has four core aims: to influence tertiary curricula, to share best practices in teaching and learning, to improve coordination of research, and to support transformative, collaborative research projects.
Who spoke, and what was said
Ambassador Prof. Royson M. Mukwena, Vice Chancellor of Mulungushi University, opened the proceedings with a clear message: universities cannot afford to stay behind the curve. He was followed by the assistant director of ZARI, who reaffirmed the government’s interest in research that serves farmers, not just journals. This was followed by the keynote address, where Prof. Felix Kalaba, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovations at Mukuba University (and a contributor to the IPCC), laid out the socio-ecological and policy context for agroecology in Zambia. While he did not sugarcoat the challenges, he made a compelling case that the pieces for a genuine shift are already in place: farmer innovation, emerging research capacity, and now, a coordinated knowledge network.
Other contributions included a global overview of agroecology curricula from Morgan Lee (UCT), findings from Zambia’s agroecology education scoping review delivered by Dr Siatwiinda M. Siatwiinda (MU), and a presentation on the pioneering diploma in agroecology at Kasisi Agricultural Training Center. Farmer-led research needs were voiced by the Community Technology Development Trust and PELUM, while ZAAB spoke to the policy space, both the barriers and the emerging opportunities.
What was decided
By the end of the second day, two concrete outcomes had been agreed. First, the Zambia Agroecology Knowledge Network was officially launched. It now exists as a recognised national platform. Second, a steering committee was formed to carry the work forward. Secretariat support will be provided by ZARI. The committee includes representation from all universities spearheading agroecology in Zambia; from relevant government ministries; and from civil society organisations, including ZAAB and KATC. This structure is designed to keep the network grounded, accountable, and connected to both research and practice.
The steering committee will meet in the coming weeks to formalise its terms of reference and to begin work on an action plan. National thematic working groups are expected to form around priority areas such as curricula reform, farmer-led research, and policy engagement. Regionally, the RAENS network (Research for Agroecology Network of Southern Africa) is launching communities of practice on key themes, and Zambian members have been encouraged to join.
Where Tweende fits
The Tweende initiative is about participatory research with farmers. But as we have learned over the past year, good participatory research does not stop at the farm gate. It needs to inform what is taught in agricultural colleges. It needs to shape what researchers choose to study. And it needs to feed into policy frameworks that either enable or block change.
The AEKN gives us a vehicle for exactly that. It aligns with our goal of driving an agroecological transformation that moves together – from the field to lecture halls to policy frameworks. The network will not replace the work already happening in communities. It will amplify it.
A RAENS conference on agroecology is planned for 2028. Between now and then, the task is to build something that lasts – not just a network on paper but also a genuine, functioning community of practice that connects the person teaching soil science at a college in Chipata with the farmer trying out Bokashi in Mpanshya and the policymaker drafting the next national strategy. For the Tweende team, that is work worth showing up for.