Sustainable Soil Solutions: Biochar Innovation for Climate Resilience in Zambia

Climate-resilient and innovative approaches including biochar production are essential to strengthen climate adaptation and resilience of local communities in Zambia. 

Biochar is charcoal from incomplete combustion of organic waste, and it is composed by carbon and ashes obtained through a process called pyrolysis. Due to its alkaline reaction, biochar increases soil quality by reducing soil acidity. Apart from climate adaptation benefits, biochar production and its application to soil has potential to increase carbon sequestration and stocking in soils. When mixed into soil, biochar is stable, and thus its carbon is removed from the carbon cycle. This mitigates climate change and transfers a waste product into a valuable resource. 

Since 2022, People in Need (PIN) has been implementing a pilot biochar intervention in Western Zambia to generate impact evidence. Building on the good results of the pilot, PIN designed an intervention, which will facilitate transition to scale, increase adoption of biochar production and enhance local ownership and sustainability. The proposed intervention is designed based on a Theory of Change that if adoption of biochar production and local ownership is increased and if biochar production is developed into a climate-resilient livelihood strategy through enhanced market access and market linkages then this will lead to enhanced climate resilience of smallholder farmers in Western Zambia. This will ultimately lead to increased climate change adaptation and mitigation in Zambia. 

PIN will implement the proposed intervention in partnership with Mongu District Farmers Association (MDFA).