Maize production in Zambia

Maize production has fallen in Zambia since liberalisation in the early 1990s as fertiliser became less affordable and subsidies did not reach many farmers. The country's poor agricultural performance is negatively affecting nutrition: the proportion of stunted children has risen from 36 to 47 percent since 1990.

Diversification into cash crops has partly offset this trend, but this is mainly by commercial farmers and is concentrated in Eastern, Central and Southern Provinces. Smallholder farmers, especially in remote areas, have gone back to traditional staple crops to feed their families, mainly cassava and millet, as these require less fertiliser and seed. As a result, incomes have fallen and diets are less varied, with limited access to fruit and vegetables.

Research in three villages in the Northern Province by the UK Institute of Development Studies demonstrates what has happened in Zambia over the last two decades. In Ngulula, Lufubu and Kabila farmers have moved into maize production and out again. Today, cassava and millet are the most widespread crops, although maize production remains common, especially local varieties. Yet many farmers told researchers how they used to grow and sell maize until fertilisers became unaffordable.

The Zambian government has reintroduced fertiliser subsidies in the last two years, but access to these is uneven. Even with a subsidy, fertiliser use is constrained by poor infrastructure, especially for remote, 'off-road' communities. Problems with water availability and the high cost of other inputs, including seed and herbicide, further limit opportunities to grow high-value export crops.

Farmers are caught in a poverty trap: they cannot afford the necessary inputs to increase production, and lack access to markets even if they could. Improving market access alone will not improve livelihoods. Supply-side measures - particularly improved infrastructure and the formation of farmer cooperatives - must be complemented by policies to stimulate demand, such as public works (for example, road construction and irrigation infrastructure) and feeding programmes using local produce.

Jennifer Leavy and Howard White
Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RE, UK
T +44 (0)1273 678747
F +44 (0)1273 621202
J.Leavy@ids.ac.uk
HowardW@ids.ac.uk
www.ids.ac.uk

See also

'Agricultural Development in Zambia's Northern Province: Perspectives from the Field Level', IDS Bulletin 36 (2), pages 132-138, by Howard White, Jennifer Leavy and Venkatesh Seshamani, 2005

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