Zambia: Chongwe District – HealthyFoodAfrica

Reducing food loss in green leafy rape rural-to-urban supply chain in Zambia

Green leafy rape (Brassica napus L) is a key vegetable in Zambia, vital for nutrition, food security, and livelihoods. However, its rural-to-urban supply chain suffers from significant quality and physical losses, undermining economic returns and food availability. Key Findings A study conducted in HealthyFoodAfrica examined food loss in the Chongwe-to-Lusaka supply chain, focusing on four […]

Improving postharvest practices of the green leafy rape in a rural-to-urban supply chain in Zambia

Postharvest practices are a major determinant of losses for green leafy vegetables like rape (Brassica napus L), which are vital for food security, nutrition, and livelihoods. In Zambia, these vegetables are largely produced in rural areas and transported to urban markets, where inadequate practices at various stages contribute to significant quality and physical losses. Key […]

Promoting stakeholder participation in the food chain through the cooperative model

Text by Mangiza Chirwa Since 2020, the FSLs in Lusaka and Chongwe have been working to increase the participation of farmers and traders in the food system by building their capacity in various aspects. The project believed that putting local and marginalized citizens at the center of finding solutions to food challenges is key to […]

Using Policy To Create An Enabling Environment For Thriving Food Systems

Mangiza Chirwa, Hivos Since the beginning of the project, the Lusaka FSL has been working towards creating an enabling environment for the provision of healthy food in Lusaka through the involvement of multi-stakeholder actors operating in Lusaka’s food system. The FSL engaged the mayors’ office to create time for dialogue with traders to express their […]

Developing the Chongwe vegetable value chain

Author: Mangiza Chirwa, Hivos Chongwe, located about 46 kilometres from Lusaka, is one of the largest suppliers of vegetables to Lusaka. Despite this, access to markets is still a major challenge for the smallholder farmers in Chongwe supported by the HFA project. At the start of the project, some of the challenges identified in accessing […]

HealhyFoodAfrica's Food System Lab Chongwe promotes organic farming

Food System Lab Chongwe: Organic farming in practice

The direct impact of climate change on the agricultural practices of small scale farmers has been well documented and Chongwe is no exception. This is why when Hivos through the HealthyFoodAfrica project (a Horizon 2020 project) engaged the farmers in Chongwe’s Kanakantapa area to promote more sustainable ways of farming, the farmers were elated. After […]

Promoting Nutrition in Chongwe Food System Lab

Through the Chongwe Food System Lab (FSL), Healthy Food Africa is promoting production of traditional vegetables such as pumpkin leaves, sweet potato leaves, African eggplant, and other leafy vegetables. Author: Mangiza Chongo Chongwe is a peri-urban settlement in Zambia’s Lusaka province. It is located just over 40km from Lusaka and sometimes referred to as Lusaka […]

The daily work in Chongwe: Promoting sustainable organic farming

Author: Mangiza Chongo, Hivos Chongwe is one of the major suppliers of fruits and vegetables to the population of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. In 2015, a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and RUAF on City Region Food Systems revealed that only 25% of smallholder farmers in the study area (city region […]

Chongwe district supplying diverse, nutritious and healthy vegetables for Lusaka markets

Chongwe is a semi-rural district next to Zambia’s capital city Lusaka. It is one of the two largest suppliers of fresh vegetables to Lusaka. Our vision for the Chongwe Food System Lab is that in 10 years, the farmers in Chongwe venture into sustainable vegetable production which means that more safe (chemical free), diverse, nutritious and healthy vegetables will be grown, sold and consumed.