our approach
In 2021/22 we piloted our approach with 150 farmers in 3 villages in Kalomo District, Southern Zambia. We provided every farmer with a 10kg seed loan and guaranteed to purchase the grain from them at harvest. We had hoped to aggregate 70MT of sorghum but in the end we only got 10MT. Out of the 150 farmers that got seeds loans, only 26 produced a harvest. Two of the three villages we worked in did not produce any harvest and farmers that did harvest got an average yield of less than 400kg / ha
In 2022/23 we adapted our approach to focus on increasing seed loan repayment rates: we asked farmers for a down payment against their seed loan. We worked with 150 farmers again but focused on one village. This proved effective and seed loan repayment increased significantly in 2022/23 with repayments up to 50%. Sorghum yields however remained stubbornly low. The most critical factor was late planting, due to the fact that farmers were prioritizing their maize crop for early planting, but planting spacing was another contributing factor.
In 2023/24 we adapted our approach again with a focus on increasing yields. Our goal was to double yields to 1 MT / ha. We reduced the number of farmers we work with but increased the support that we provide to each farmer and we piloted fertilizer loans with a small number of farmers. In 2023/24 Zambia experienced one of the worst droughts on record which resulted in 3.3 million people requiring humanitarian assistance. While their neighbors lost their entire maize harvest, sorghum farmers were still able to harvest a crop: about half their normal crop but this provided an essential source of food & income.
In 2024/25 we doubled the number of farmers we worked with: supporting 200 smallholders in Kalomo as well as collaborating with CRS Zambia to provide market access for an additional 100 smallholders in the neighboring district (Zimba). Having seen for themselves the resilience of sorghum, farmers for the first time prioritized sorghum and planted early. In order to support soil health we switch from traditional granular fertilizer to foliar fertilizer. The combination of early planting, an expansion of our fertilizer loans and good rains led to a good harvest: farmers sold almost 200MT of sorghum compared to only 10MT in previous season.
In 2025/26 we doubled the number of farmers we worked with again: supporting 400 smallholders.
The majority of farmers in these communities are now growing sorghum - and taking it more seriously.
More and more farmers are planting early & thinning their crop.
Trust between farmers & Southern Sorghum grows with every year. We significantly expanded our fertilizer loans.
We were fortunate to have good rains again and a bumper harvest: aggregating 520MT of sorghum.
Long range forecasts now indicate high probability that 2026/27 is likely to be another drought year. Note: high probability does not necessarily mean high severity.
Previous ENSO events, even ‘super’ El Nino’s, have resulted in ~30% reduction in rainfall in Southern Zambia.
While a 30% reduction in rainfall would reduce sorghum yields, sorghum is likely to still be able to produce a harvest - and a much better harvest than maize would produce under similar reduced rainfall conditions.
