Journeying with Youth: The RAENS Lusaka Networking Event

On 5th February 2026, at the M’kango Golfview Hotel in Lusaka, young professionals, researchers, educators, civil society leaders, and government representatives gathered for a networking and sharing event hosted by the Research for Agroecology Network Southern Africa (RAENS). This event was held to bring together research, teaching and practice to advance agroecology.

Through one of the panel discussions that was held during the event by experts in agroecology, it covered institutional training programmes, youth engagement, participatory plant breeding, and farmer-led research models. Panellists shared key lessons from their experiences, highlighting success factors in agroecology training, the integration of farmer knowledge into research, and approaches to making agricultural research more inclusive and participatory. Speaking on the panel were:  Sussana Phiri- Country Representative of  YPARD Zambia;  Dr Ndashe Kapulu- Director of the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI); Father Claus Recktenwald of the Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre (KATC); and  Mr. Charles Nkhoma of the Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT).