In Zambia, as in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, rural poverty, food security, and farming are inextricably linked. While the livelihoods of nearly two thirds of Zambia’s population depend directly on their agricultural productivity, average yields have historically been low and soil fertility has...

In 1959, on the eve of Africa’s independence, Africa exported modest food surpluses while India confronted a food crisis. Facing the threat of a 28 million ton shortfall in food grain supplies, the Government of India requested Ford Foundation funding for an international team of agricultural...

This paper takes an inventory of technical and institutional capacities of some selected tertiary agricultural education and training institutions (AET) in southern Africa. Data were gathered on key selected areas such as student enrolment, physical infrastructure, teaching staff, curricula,...

Millions of smallholder farm households in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are net consumers of staple crops, and millions of poor urban households spend a significant share of their income purchasing staple foods. Recent research has underscored the major effects of changes in food prices on poverty,...

Livestock production and associated products offer significant opportunities for economic growth and poverty reduction, especially among the rural farmers in Zambia and other developing countries. However, smallholder livestock producers are characterized by low levels of market participation...

This technical compendium was developed to serve as a reference document for development organizations, researchers, government officials, and cooperating partners working in Zambia. It uses nationally representative survey data to provide descriptive trends and analysis relevant to the...

Nearly three decades after the initiation of agricultural market reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), subsidies for fertilizer and seed are once again the cornerstone of many SSA governments’ agricultural development and poverty reduction strategies. Zambia is a prime example. In the last...

All governments require accurate information on how the economy functions in order to formulate and implement sound agricultural policies. Policies to ensure food security are no different. Efforts to keep food prices at tolerable levels require information about the competitiveness of the...

Input subsidy programs that provide inorganic fertilizer and improved maize seed to small farmers below market rates are currently receiving a great deal of support as a sustainable strategy to foster an African Green Revolution. In recent years numerous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)...