Mother of Seven Becomes Leader and Entrepreneur for Family and Community in Zambia

In 2009, Agness Ndililwa, 57, found herself alone with her two-month-old baby and six children in Chembo village, Zambia. When life became difficult, her husband left. At the same time, Zambia was grappling with the global financial crisis, rising cholera rates, and persistent droughts and flooding. Agness recognized that to protect her family, something needed to change. So she took decisive action. 

She enrolled in an iDE training program aimed at helping develop her business skills and market linkages.

“My determination and hard work paid off after receiving support from iDE through capacity building as a Farm Business Advisor (FBA),” she told iDE this year.

“I connected with reliable suppliers, which meant I could access better-quality products for my farmer clients,” she said. The iDE workshops also helped Agness register for her seed business license, while connecting her to the ‘Farm to Market Alliance’ project funded by NORAD through the World Food Programme. Shortly after, Agness also registered with iDE as a Farm Business Advisor (FBA), helping connect agricultural suppliers with farmers she knew, located in remote communities. Soon, farmers working with Agness were able to improve their production through demonstration plots, training sessions, and community-based programs that promoted income diversification and resilience.

“These partnerships provided the essential resources needed to take my business to the next level and achieve the growth I had been striving for,” Agness told iDE. As an FBA, she also worked as a farm aggregator, farmer, agro-dealer, soil tester, and mobile money service provider. 

Last year, Agness was awarded the ‘Most Outstanding Female Farmer in Climate-Smart Agriculture’ in her province by the Conservation Farming Unit (CFU), a local NGO specializing in agriculture. She also attended an agriculture conference in the UK with support from Golden Valley Agriculture Research trust (GART) to learn more about sustainable agricultural practices.

An essential aspect of an FBA is to travel to remote areas to visit farmer clients in their own field, reducing transportation costs and making farm inputs more affordable. “Although many think money is power, I believe knowledge is power,” she said. 

The most important impact iDE’s training has had on her life is helping her children receive an education and become involved in farming. She hopes to pass on her business to the next generation. 

Today she is a role model in her community, and hopes to inspire other women by sharing her story. The gender-empowerment aspect of her iDE training has helped boost her confidence; “I learned that women can achieve great things, too,” she said. “I wanted to encourage other women to join the aggregation business and challenge the notion that only men can succeed in this field.”

Written by Pezo Siabasimbi, Communications and Information Sharing Officer at iDE Zambia. Stay connected with iDE Zambia on our social channels here.