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IntroductionAs agriculture provides the main support for

Zambia�s rural economy, growth in the agriculturalsector is one avenue through which poverty reductioncan be achieved in Zambia. However, despitewidespread recognition of the strong connectionbetween agricultural development and povertyreduction, there is continuing under-provision of publicinvestments for over a decade and small scale farmershave continued to wallow in poverty for a very longperiod. Zambia�s primary policy objective of achievingaccelerated growth and competitiveness in theagricultural sector cannot be achieved unless adequatepublic resources are committed towards catalysing thedesired growth.

Long-term public investment in research anddevelopment, extension services, rural infrastructure,and food safety and quality systems have high pay-offsand are among the most important drivers ofagricultural growth and competitiveness. The small-scale farmers are highly affected by challengesinhibiting the commercialisation of their production. Inthis regard, there is a need to understand the extent towhich Zambia�s agriculture development framework isinvolving and helping small farmers and producers toimprove their production and eventually theirlivelihood.

Agriculture has been contributing positively to thenational income and presently contributes about 21percent to the gross domestic product (GDP). It is really

The Zambia agriculture sector comprises mainly of the small-scale farmers in the rural areas facing

different obstacles to participate fully in the agriculture growth framework. Interventions are needed

to enhance productivity of small-scale farmers as this would be a useful step towards the sustenance of

Zambia�s agriculture production as well as in poverty alleviation efforts. Firstly, they are major players

in rural areas where poverty is widespread; hence their improved production would directly eliminate

poverty. Secondly, farmers are confined to less profitable sections of agriculture, facing several challenges

with little incentives to increase productivity. However, different programmes by the government and

NGOs aimed at creating a conducive environment to graduate farmers from small-scale to medium-

scale producers in terms of their production and productivity have not yet succeeded.

This Policy Brief highlights outcomes from a research study undertaken in Zambia which assessed

Zambia�s Agricultural Growth Framework and its contribution to the improvement of Small Scale Farmer�s

Livelihoods. In doing so, the structure of the agriculture sector in Zambia country was examined,

including the challenges that prevent small-scale farmers from developing into large-scale farmers. The

paper also presents the various policy recommendations to improve the situation.

Policy Brief March 2013

An Investigation intoZambia�s AgricultureDevelopment Frameworkand its impact onsmallholder farmers

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a concern that despite the country experiencing goodrainfall in the recent past, the performance has beenstatic compared to its potential. Having sustainedgrowth in the agriculture sector enables the farmers toenjoy better incomes, and hence improved theirlivelihoods. The majority of the population are involvedin agriculture, but despite the agriculture sector being apositive contributor to the GDP, poverty levels stillremain high. This can be attested by the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) Human DevelopmentReport of 2011 for Zambia, which indicates that:� 58.3 percent of the Zambian population lived in poor

households in 2006, compared to 56.3 percent in2004;

� the average poor person was deprived in 44 percentof the weighted indicators in 2006, compared to 42.8percent in 2004;

� the share of the population that is multidimensionally poor1 (adjusted by the intensity of thedeprivations suffered) was 0.257 in 2006, comparedto 0.241 in 2004.

This shows that the agriculture sector has notperformed very well due to its failure to significantlycreate employment opportunities and assure foodsecurity. This failure is mirrored by high poverty levels,especially in rural areas, where most people derive theirincomes from farming. This is an indication that there isa lot that is needed to be done to improve the rate ofequitable growth for the Zambian economy.

Table 1 illustrates that on average the allocation topoverty reduction programmes [Irrigation Support, LandDevelopment, Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP)among other items detailed in Table 1) have maintainedan upward trend between 2006 and 2010. Much of theallocation went to FISP and Strategic Food Reserveswhich when combined in the year 2010, accounts for92.1 percent while the five others remaining with 7.4percent.

Although the country has experienced growth in theproduction of maize, this may have come at the cost ofincreased inequality, since pricing policies mayrepresent a de facto transfer of rent from the maize-consuming population to the big commercial farmers.Areas critical for enhancing productivity, such as cropscience, extension programmes, infrastructuredevelopment, and a stable and supportive policyenvironment have not received the needed support.

Further and in terms of the contribution of the sectorto food security and nutritional status, the recent gainsin crop production Zambia has experienced have beenmatched with improved food security, at least at themacro-level. On the other hand, the micro-level foodsecurity was however dependent on other factors, suchas rural household involvement in food and non-foodcrop production, the inclination to export and thegender distribution of power at the household level.These factors have combined to make micro-level foodinsecurity a major concern.

Engagement and Contribution ofSmall-scale Producers

Small-scale farmers in Zambia account for a higherpercentage in terms of production field and a few cashcrops. According to the Crop Forecast Survey of 2011-2012 most of small-scale farmers are engaged in theproduction of maize, seed cotton, sorghum, rice, millet,sunflower, groundnuts, cowpeas, sweet potatoes,Bambara nuts, paprika and mixed beans as compared tothe production of tobacco, Irish potatoes, wheat andsoya beans which are heavily dominated by large scaleproducers. This shows that opportunities are there forthe smallholder farmers as they are the one feeding thenation.

Small-scale farmers account for about 70 percent offarmers involved in agriculture. According to the Crop

Table 1: Breakdown of Allocations under the Poverty Reduction Programmes by percent, 2006-2011

Category 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Irrigation support 0.7 2.4 2 1 0.1

Commercialisation of farm blocks 2.2 2.6 2.2 0 0

Animal disease control 1.5 1.6 3.3 4.2 2.5

Livestock development 0 0.9 0.6 0.6 0.4

Fertiliser Support Programme 74 38.2 62.2 75.6 78

Strategic Food Reserves 18.6 52.1 26.9 17.4 18.1

Cooperative education and training 0.3 0.7 0.2 0 0

Others 2.2 0.7 2.7 0 0.9

Total 100 99.2 100.1 98.8 100

Total ZK billion 198.8 196 198.2 196.6 199.9

Source: Agricultural Consultative Forum/Food Security Research Project 2006-2010.

1 Multi dimensionally poor index (MPI) is a measure that identifies multiple deprivations at the individual level in health, educationand standard of living

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Forecast Survey of 2011-2012, smallholder farmershave dominated the farming of maize (95 percent), millet(99.9 percent), sorghum (93 percent), groundnuts (99.5percent) and seed cotton (99.4 percent) in terms of cropproduction, which proves that the small-scale farmersare contributing substantially to the entire agriculturalproduction.

In addition, the Crop Forecast Survey, 2011-2012shows that small-scale farmers account for 100 percentproduction of rice, 98 and 99 percent production ofsunflower and mixed beans respectively. The large-scalefarmers have dominated the production of tobacco,wheat and soybeans accounting for 74, 100 and 93percent respectively.

Despite this vast potential to produce and increasesales by farmers, the agriculture sector still remainsunder developed. Different government and donor-funded programmes have failed to graduate small-scalefarmers into medium-scale farmers in terms of theirproduction and productivity, due to the fact thatessential factors to exacerbate growth among the small-scale farmers still remain underdeveloped. Only untilZambia manages to ease the access to inputs, trainingand extension services, post-harvest management andmarkets to small-scale farmers will see noticeablegrowth. In addition to this, the government shouldprovide the needed infrastructure (feeder roads, amongothers) to facilitate the reduction of cost in farmingamong the rural community.

Zambia Agriculture GrowthFramework: Main PoliciesNational Agriculture Policy (2004-2015)

The overall objective of the National AgriculturePolicy (NAP) is to facilitate and support the developmentof a sustainable and competitive agricultural sector thatassures food security in Zambia.

At the input stage, one of the provisions aims atpreventing and controlling pests, crop and livestockdiseases. To achieve this, the policy provides thatmonitoring, regulation and facilitation of disease andvector control implementation programmes for diseasesof economic importance would be intensified in priorityareas. Ensuring that crops and livestock are protectedagainst diseases is critical as this affects the extent towhich agriculture activities could turn out to beproductive.

The promotion of irrigation is also a key strategyidentified under the policy which would help transformagriculture at the input stage. Given that reduced cropyields and livestock losses in Zambia can also beattributed to severe droughts suffered from time to time,the policy provides for government to embark on fulland efficient exploitation of the country�s abundantwater resources, both underground and surface, andpromoting irrigation to ensure all year roundagricultural production. This is particularly withreference to small-scale farmers, who would beprioritised to improve household food security andincomes.

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Irrigation policy (2004)

The overall objective of the irrigation policy is tohave a well regulated and profitable irrigation sectorthat is attractive to both private investors and Zambia�sdevelopment partners. This objective would be achievedthrough addressing of a myriad of challenges, many ofwhich have a bearing on small scale producers. Forexample, the policy notes that Zambia has a poorlyenforced legal framework that neither regulates norallocates water in an equitable or economicallyadvantageous fashion hence making it difficult forsmall-scale producers to actively participate in thesystem as they could benefit a lot from participating inirrigation farming if there is a good enforced legalframework for the policy in question.

To achieve the overall objective of having a wellregulated and profitable irrigation sector, the irrigationpolicy also has some intermediate objectives that wouldhelp attain this main target. These include havingaccessible, demand-driven institutions characterised byefficient, transparent procedures and a service-orientedethos. One of the major challenges for small-scaleproducers is the challenge in having access toinstitutions that readily respond to their needs.

Thus, if demand-driven institutions are established,they would be largely those that would be able torespond to the demands from small-scale producers asthey constitute the majority of farmers in Zambia.

National Seed Industry Policy (1999)

The availability of seed is critical, not only for theattainment of the policy targets but also for theattainment of food security in Zambia. In that regard, theNational Seed Policy of Zambia was developed, whoseoverall policy objective is to ensure that quality seed ofvarious crops is made available to farmers in an

efficient and convenient manner to increase cropproductivity and agricultural production.

This would be achieved through the attainment ofother intermediate objectives which benefit the small-scale farmers. These include ensuring the developmentof an effective, efficient and sustainable system ofproducing and supplying high quality seeds of crops tosatisfy the national seed requirements. Given thatshortage of seed, which results in high prices of seedsand high levels of use of traditional sources, is a majorconcern to farmers, implementation of this strategywould help in ensuring increased produce in Zambia.

The policy is also aimed at promoting an integratedseed industry involving both the formal and informalsystem. The recognition of the informal system in theseed industry is a good strategy in trying to ensure seedavailability, as the use of seeds saved from previousharvest and borrowing among other farmers arecommon informal systems used by farmers.

National Cooperative Development Policy(2011)

The formation of cooperatives can be a criticalstrategy, as through this, small scale producers in theagriculture sector could be transformed. Theestablishment of the following types of servicecooperatives for example, which are identified under thepolicy, might go a long way in helping small scalefarmers across the marketing chain:� Marketing and Supply Co-operatives sell crops

produced by the members. These are critical as theywould increase the bargaining power of farmers,compared to a situation where each farmer wouldsell individually and be at the mercy of middlementhat can easily exploit them.

� Transport Co-operatives run transport facilities fortransporting members� produce. Given the poor

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infrastructure networks, farmers often facechallenges in transporting their produce, and areforced to part with significant amount of money astransport costs. Utilising transport fromcooperatives would significantly eliminate costs dueto the mutual understanding among farmers as wellas the eliminated middlemen charges which ofteninflate the costs.

� Savings and Credit Co-operatives, where memberspool their savings and make loans to each other.Given the need for some level of investment intoagriculture, farmers should have access to credit tofinance agricultural activities. Many farmers oftenfail to produce on a large scale due to inability tomeet some costs related to agriculture inputs. Thus,these cooperatives would go a long way in ensuringeasy access to cheaper lines of credit for farmers.

This makes it important that strategies be developedto encourage the formation of cooperatives as well asregulating their operations. The Ministry of Agricultureand Livestock (MAL) thus established the NationalCooperative Development Policy in November 2011 withthe overall objective of creating an enablinginstitutional and legal environment for the developmentof autonomous, transparent, viable and demand-drivenco-operatives that contribute to socio-economicdevelopment and poverty reduction.

The strategies laid out under the all these policiesabove can go a long way in uplifting the living standardsof the small-scale producers if successfullyimplemented. Thus, there is a lot of scope for all thesepolicies to benefit small-scale and traditional farmers ifthey are well implemented and amended to the currentneeds of small-scale farmers. There also remain someserious challenges that need to be addressed to makethe policy more effective in achieving its enshrinedobjectives.

Institutional FrameworkThe MAL is the implementing agency for the policies

identified above; many other institutions are needed tocomplement government efforts. Among them include;� Seed Control and Certification Institute (SCCI)

complement MAL in the provision of quality seeds tofarmers as well as quality control, monitoring seedtrade and provide coordination of the sector;

� The National Plant Genetic Resource Centre; also hasto come in for collection and preservation of geneticresources, while other research institutions are alsoresponsible for variety development andimprovement. Private seed companies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) are also heavilyinvolved as they are responsible for production,marketing and distribution of seed.

� The National Plant Genetic Resource Centre collectand preserve genetic resources;

� Soil and Crops Research Branch of the MAL conductsoil and crops research on the basis of crop

comparative advantage in line with agro-ecologicalregions;

� The existing policy framework gives space to privatesector and NGOs to chip in the provision of services,such as extension services and production,marketing and distribution of seed.

� Other key players are Research Trusts, the Universityof Zambia, the Ministry of Science, Technology andVocational Training through the National Science andTechnology Council (NSTC) and the National Instituteof Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR) and seedcompanies involved in crops research.

These institutions generally form the key players inensuring that agriculture development objectivesidentified under various agriculture-oriented policiesare met. Thus, their capacity to deliver in a coordinatedmanner is also important in booting the agriculturesector.

Policy Constraints ImpactingSmall-scale Farmers

There seem to be a number of policies withambitious strategies aimed at improving theperformance of the agriculture sector broadly. However,the co-relationship between the content and strategiesin these policies and the impact on the performance ofthe agriculture sector especially for small-scale farmersseem to be distant.

For example, irrigation seems to be one of the majorchallenges most farmers are facing in Copperbelt,Chipata and Southern Provinces. Tapping subsurfacewater is still a pipe dream among most small-scalefarmers in these provinces and most of farmers whoproduce cotton, groundnuts and maize in theseprovinces depended on rains for good yields as well asthe use of watering can system.

The majority of farmers in three provinces have noaccess to any form of irrigation. Only few small-scalefarmers use Treddle pumps in southern province toirrigate their farms. This form of irrigation isspecifically for their horticultural crops, thus thesefarmers do not use any form of irrigation for cotton,groundnuts and maize crops.

What is apparently interesting is that the presentirrigation policy does acknowledge these and otherchallenges and provides remedies thereof in the quest toachieve the overall objective of having a well-regulatedand profitable irrigation sector. Implementation of theirrigation policy would go a long way in solving theplight of small-scale farmers. However, what is of worryis that the policy has been in existent since 2004 andlimited efforts have been made in ensuring that thepolicy measures are thoroughly implemented as it isevident that the challenge of irrigation is still persistent.This could be attributed to lack of capacity in the MAL orlack of government commitment in ensuring that suchmeasures are implemented. Having skills re-orientationtrainings for MAL staff, increased budgetary resource

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allocation to the agriculture sector and political willwould go a long way in addressing the implementationchallenge.

Another key policy issue that constrains small-scalefarmers� performance is access to credit. The NAPprovides for strategies in helping farmers to get accessto funding and these include creating a fund for accessby farmers through appropriate financial institutionsand NGOs. In addition, the policy provides for theencouragement of group lending to ensure good recoveryrates as well as the promotion of private/public sectorpartnership in credit provision and savingsmobilisation. These proposals and strategies arearticulated in the policy, the implementation is yet tostart in earnest, hence access to credit is still achallenge.

Although there could be some level of group lendingamong farmers which seem to be unsustainable and ona minority scale, the study establishes that all farmershave difficulties in having access to credit schemesoffered by financial institutions due to collateralrequirements. Besides the stringent requirements bysome financial institutions, the cost of borrowing inZambia is high and not favourable to small-scalefarmers.

Another area of concern was access to extensionservices and inputs. The provision of extension servicesto the farming population through the extension workersis an important responsibility of the government andreflected in the NAP. Although the NAP does recognise thelimitations of the government in the provision ofextension services, nothing much seems to have beendone about it.

For example, in the Copperbelt, Eastern and Southernprovinces, on average 1 extension officer covers 1000farmers. The study establishes that on average,extension officers only visited farmers three times in ayear. The findings indicate that distance has an effect indelivery and access of extension services. The DistrictAgriculture Coordinators (DACOs) indicated that theyare very under-staffed and could not meet the growingdemand to provide extension services on a frequentbasis.

Challenges Faced by Small-scaleFarmers

The study establishes a lot of challenges faced bysmall-scale farmers. Both goat and beef producers relyon nature to feed their animals due to high cost ofinputs (feed). They use free scavenging methods andavailable pastures to feed their animals without anyformalised feeding scheme. Most of farmers do haveknowledge on preservation methods of pasture but thestudy observes that there is a challenge on the quality ofthe pasture they preserve due to poor storingtechniques. Therefore, as good management of improvedpasture is the basis of better dairy feeding, it isimportant that these farmers are trained in pasturequality and preservation.

As acknowledged by the NAP, there are somelimitations on the ability of government to provideextension services on its own. Thus, the policyencourages the involvement of the private sector andNGOs in the provision of extension services, although itdoes not include the harmonisation and regulation ofinitiatives. In cotton farming, ginnery companies offerinputs at a credit and provide extension and marketingservices. This is a positive development and there isevery need to support such interventions which areworking. However, the relationship between ginnerycompanies and farmers needs to be closely monitoredas in most cases, going by the recent strife between thefarmers and the ginners, farmers tend to lose out. A goodexample is on the standoff that was experienced in 2012over cotton prices between farmer and the ginners aspresented in Box 1.

What is clear from this is that there is a proven lackof an effective regulatory oversight by the MAL and otherstatutory bodies such as the Competition and ConsumerProtection Commission (CCPC). Price discussions andagreements are supposed to be tightly monitored bysuch institutions to avoid such situations recurring andto avoid market distortions and failure necessitated bysuch perceived collusive actions from a competitionpolicy perspective.

The other challenge facing farmers is lack ofknowledge and capacity in understanding the broadvarieties of groundnuts. The study establishes thatfarmers use recycled seed and are very reluctant inadopting new and improved varieties. For maize, mostfarmers receive inputs through the FISP, although theamount of inputs received by most farmers under FISP isnot enough. Hence, they buy fertiliser and weed killersfrom the agro dealers in order to supplement thesubsidised inputs they receive.

Overall, the productivity level of various crops inZambia still leaves a lot to be desired. There is need to

Box 1: Standoff over Cotton Prices betweenFarmers and Ginners

There was a heated standoff over price betweenfarmers and the Zambia Cotton Ginners Association(ZCGA), which represents the main cotton buyers.Farmers are reported to have been demanding a priceof close to K4000 a kg, but the ginners were said to beoffering only half that. For its part, the ZCGA insistedthat the world price of cotton had plummeted and itsmembers were therefore unable to offer more.

The price of cotton on the international marketmeasured on the Liverpool index had shot to recordhighs the previous year and was well in excess of£150 (K1.2 million), which farmers believe should havetranslated into a better price than they received.

Although international price of cotton were nolonger at those levels, farmers felt it was still tradingat reasonable levels which should have been reflectedin the local price.

Source; Post Newspaper, June 20, 2012

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integrate appropriate technologies that will enhancecrop productivity. With regards to productivity (yield/ha), Copperbelt is performing better than the Easternand Southern province hence the need to assess thescope of replicating the practices being imploredCopperbelt to improve the productivity of otherprovinces. Eastern province performed better in cottonand groundnuts production compared to Copperbelt andEastern province (Table 2).

According to the Zambia Central Statistics Office, by2010 cattle population was 3,038,000 and goatpopulation was 758,501 in the country. It is undeniablethat goats are second from pigs in terms of their prolificvalue. There was need to look at goat production fromcommercialisation side, as this is a product that has ahuge and specialised export market throughKasumbalesa and Nakonde border posts. An increasingdemand for livestock products such as goat meat can

Table 2: 2011-2012 Crop Forecasting Survey

Crop Province Area Area Expected Yield ExpectedPlanted Harvested Production (MT/Ha) Sales(Ha) (Ha) (MT) (MT)

Maize Copperbelt 89, 501 79,329 205,542 2.30 122,306

Eastern 276,288 245,319 572,760 2.07 214,265

Southern 303,429 227,076 554,275 1.83 257,126

Groundnuts Copperbelt 8,709 8,447 5,399 0.62 2,892

Eastern 56,903 54,793 30,895 0.54 10,223

Southern 22,874 20,420 9,514 0.42 2.040

Cotton Copperbelt 605 605 785 1.30 -

Eastern 190,607 184,472 160,956 0.84 -

Southern 40,380 36,460 33,417 0.83 -

Source: Crop Forecast Survey, 2011-2012

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Contd...

Box 2: Chiansi Irrigation Project

A lot of concerns are raised on investment in the agriculture sector as it might not be more effective in livelihoodsimprovement. The Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investments (PRAI), developed by Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Conference on Trade &Development (UNCTAD) and the World Bank can be useful is such an assessment. For example, a case study of theChiansi irrigation project, located in the Kafue district of Zambia, adjacent to the Kafue River was used by the studyto assess the nature of some of the agricultural investment in Zambia.

In 2012, CUTS carried out a study of the scheme, which involved some in-depth interviews with the beneficiaryfarmers. The findings would be used to assess whether the project carefully observed the PRAI principles. Thisproject, led by InfraCo Limited, is expected to see a sum of US$29mn being injected, with the Dutch governmentgranting US$10.5mn.

It is also important to highlight that the project has resulted in some benefits to a few small farmers in terms ofaccess to irrigation water and trainings on modern and efficient way of doing farming, which could even outweighthe negative issues on investment. The cooperative now holds a 25 percent stake in FarmCo and dividends havebeen settled at a consistent amount of K250, 000 to the locals in order to provide predictability. Though thesepositive developments, understanding the impact of investment needs a holistic and broad methodological approachfor the gains and losses to be thoroughly unpacked.

Realising that there are already in place some developed investigative principles in understanding agricultureinvestment, the PRAI was used for the Chiansi case. The PRAI framework has seven principles. While principles 5and 6 were found to be observed in Chiansi investment, there were some grey areas with regards to the followingprinciples, which might call for refinements to the manner in which investment was handled:

� Principle 1: Existing rights to land and associated natural resources are recognised and respected

Among other issues, investment that recognises this principle has to identify all rights holders and negotiatewith land holders/users, based on informed and free choice, in order to identify the types of rights to be transferredand modalities for doing so.

The process through which customary land is acquired by investors is often subject to abuse. The chief or theheadman is expected to verify first that the land is available and no one claims it, before the writing a letter to thedistrict council, which is also expected to check whether there are any conflicting claims before land is surveyedand used. Although most of the land is often reported to be available when investors come, it is often the case thatsome dissenting voice would be suppressed first by the chief, especially since it is only the chief and the investorwho have to negotiate on a price.

Prior to the installation of the Chiansi irrigation system, there were twenty one families that occupied most partof the fertile land which was used for various livelihood activities that include, among others, crop production,livestock rearing, and brick making for construction of utility shelters. Although 20 of these families were relocatedwithin Chiansi area and became members of the Chanyanya cooperative, one farmer refused to join. The reason forlack of buy-in the project included lack of clarity of the project outputs and how the dividends from the commercialfarms will be shared among the farmers.

At the time of this research, less than 10 small holder farmers had occupied and fully utilising the 20 percentland from the 125 members of the cooperative. This appears to suggest that full information was not disclosed tothe farmers when land was being acquired; hence the existing rights to land were not fully respected.

It also turned out that about 126 people were permanently removed from their homes and land as it wasdonated towards the running of the project. The erection of the project meant that indigenous people�s shelter, landfor keeping livestock and farming land was to be disrupted. Some of the households lost their land against theirwill. Their relocation on pieces of land smaller than the previous land size has bred some disputes within theneighbourhood especially those with livestock because the animals invade the land in the neighbourhood owing tothe fact that there is no leeway for the animals to move freely.

� Principle 2: Investments do not jeopardize food security but rather strengthen it

The Chiansi investment project has even generated regret from some members of the Chanyanya Cooperative.The investment has deprived some indigenous people from growing maize in large volumes since the land that theywere relocated to is small in radius and to some extent less fertile compared to that which was contributed towardsthe project.

This according to some respondents has ignited hunger to their households. A visibly annoyed resident lamentedthat she would not have managed to take her children to school if the project was introduced during the time when

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offer small-scale farmers the opportunities forincreased market participation. However, existing goatmarkets are largely informal, with poorly developedinputs and services.

Storage facilities being used by farmers are not welldeveloped and this has led to increases in the post-harvest losses being incurred by farmers. The farmerswho have traditional storage facilities have challengeson pest control-related issues, stacking, record keepingand fire safety arrangements and above all limitedstorage space.

Marketing Issues

In maize the biggest market player is the governmentthrough Food Reserve Agency (FRA). Though FRA providesa ready market, farmers are generally not satisfied withthe operations of FRA because of delays in payment. Thishinders their effective planning for the subsequentseasons. The Government of Zambia through the MALdetermines the floor price of maize which some farmersdo not find attractive.

However, the strong message coming from the famerswas for government to also allow the private sectorplayers to participate in the purchasing chain as this

will offer an alternative market. Lifting the export ban onmaize could also allow the farmers to tap in the regionalmarkets, such as Democratic Republic of Congo andMalawi.

The cotton sector is heavily under the control of theprivate sector who offers out-grower schemes to small-scale farmers. Ginners pre-finance the production ofcotton by providing the farmers with inputs and farmersare tied to sell their produce to ginners. The study learnsthat Dunavant, Cargill and Alliance remain the mainplayers in this sector. Under the out-grower schemefarmers are given inputs at a credit, normallyconsidered during the setting of the market price. Themajor challenge remains on the pricing as farmers aretied to a pre-arranged price which many farmers end upcomplaining about.

Groundnut marketing channels are not welldeveloped as this market is mainly informal. Theproblem in this sector is that farmers are unable to sortgroundnuts according to varieties and grades and if theyhad this capacity they would have been able tomaximise their returns. There is also a problem withpost harvest handling of groundnuts by these farmerswhich increases the level of aflatoxin in groundnuts

her children were still in school; as she was able to raise more money after cultivating on the lager land mass sheearlier occupied.

Although meetings on relocation modalities were held and some households concerned consented to the relocationprocess, the previous location is considered much more fertile compared to the new location. This has hamperedproductivity among some people as they are unable to cultivate maize for food as well as economic gain.

� Principle 3: Processes relating to investment in agriculture are transparent, monitored, and ensure accountability byall stakeholders, within a proper business, legal, and regulatory environment

There are general feelings that transparency might be lacking on the Chiansi project as there has been a lack ofconsistency on the data provided by InfraCo on the amount of land involved in the Chanyanya pilot project. TheChiansi Irrigation Briefing paper prepared by InfraCo in March 2010; the InfraCo official project webpage and theInfraCo documentary on the Chanyanya project contain inconsistent information regarding the breakdown on howland is distributed in the project.

� Principle 4: All those materially affected are consulted, and agreements from consultations are recorded andenforced

This requires clarity on: a) procedural requirements b) the character of agreements reached in such consultationsand c) how the agreements can be enforced. Given that the land involved would be owned by different households,it is difficult for all involved to reach an agreement with the investor under the same terms and conditions. Thevoices of dissent among some completed project point to the fact that agreements were not necessarily reachedwith all those affected before such investments were effected; hence this principle was not adequately observed.

� Principle 7: Environmental impacts of a project are quantified and measures taken to encourage sustainableresource use, while minimizing the risk/magnitude of negative impacts and mitigating them

There are general concerns that regulations on environment are often evaded. In Zambia, large-scale investorsmust provide an environmental impact assessment to the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) attime of purchase, but often this is not done. Many investors start production without contacting the ZEMA, despitethe existence of the regulation (Arslan Aslihan et al, 2011). Though this concern, the environmental impact assessmentfor the Chiansi was conducted and the report produced.

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hence preventing the crop from meeting internationalstandards.

Another challenge, hinges on lack of knowledge onthe lucrative nature of livestock business among mostfarmers. Most of farmers do not consider livestockrearing as a lucrative business. The NAP policy alsorecognises the importance of livestock farming and itsdemand both nationally and internationally andprovides strategies to ensure that animal productionand marketing is enhanced. But it is clear from thefindings on the ground that there is a disconnectionbetween intentions of the policy and the groundrealities. It is only hoped that the NAP, after beenreviewed, will offer better strategies on how to ensurethat whatever is contained is easy to implement.

Agriculture InvestmentAccording to Zambia Investor Guide of 2012, the

Zambian government has put in place several incentivesto encourage investment in the agriculture sector:� Guaranteed input tax claim for four years prior to

commencement of production for agriculturalbusinesses.

� Zero rating agricultural products and supplies whenexported.

� Value added tax (VAT) deferment on importation someagricultural equipment and machinery.

� Income tax rate of 10 percent.� Farm improvement allowance at 100 percent on

fencing, brick or stone wall and an allowance of K10million for farm occupied by farm workers.

� Farm works allowance at 100 percent for the fullcost of stumping and clearing, works for preventionof soil erosion, boreholes, wells, aerial andgeophysical surveys and water conservation.

� Dividends paid out of farming profit are exempt fromtax for the first five years the distributing companycommences farming.

It is clear from the above non-exhaustive listedincentives and exemptions, which are mainly given tolarge scale investors, that these incentives give largerscale farmers opportunities for greater economies ofscale. Ensuring that small-scale farmers also benefitfrom such incentives, of which most of them date back tothe investment Act of 1993 (amended in 1996), would bea great boost to small scale farmers.

An attempt to do so is reflected in the 2012 budgetspeech which notes that while committed to foreigndirect investment development and an incentiveprogramme, the Zambian government needs to re-assessthe incentive policy, to make it more cost effective andallow it to benefit a broader spectrum of the Zambiapopulation. This could also benefit small-scale farmers.

There are different ways through which investors canacquire land in Zambia, depending on whether the landis state land or customary land. For state land, they cancontact Zambia Development Agency, which would guideinvestors by pointing out available land that is ready for

investment. In addition, potential investors can alsoapproach existing owners of state land and negotiate oncommercial basis for the transfer of the land. Investorscan also end up owning customary land by approachingvillage headmen and chiefs directly in searching forland. However, customary land has to be converted intostate land first before it is acquired.

Suggested RecommendationsIrrigation and Productivity

What is quite apparent from the study is that there isstill a lot of scope for the agriculture sector to improve,especially if more attention is devoted to the small scalefarmers. They account for more than 70 percent of thefarmers and dominate the farming of maize, millet,sorghum, groundnuts and cotton. The study hasidentified some issues that need urgent attention toensure that small scale farmers� productivity isenhanced.

For instance, access to irrigation is poor; this can beattested by the use of buckets and watering can systemby small scale farmers. Productivity of their producecan be increased if farmers use reliable sources ofirrigation such as installation of pumps, provisions ofharvesting rain water and its storage.

Implementation gaps are also very apparent in theimplementation of the irrigation policy. Althoughupdating the standards and guidelines for the planning,design and construction of irrigation schemes to benefitsmall scale farmers is provided for, this is yet tocommence on a large scale. The fact that about 76, 62and 50 percent of the farmers had no access to any formof irrigation in Copperbelt, Eastern and SouthernProvince respectively is worrisome. There is need toscale up the implementation of the irrigation policy toenhance agriculture productivity by small scale farmers.

Seed Usage

The National Agriculture Policy provides that therewould be regularisation of the seed sector through seedtesting, seed crop inspection, variety registration,variety protection and enforcement of seed qualitystandards to facilitate seed trade, quarantine and otherseed related issues. Although cotton farmers indicatedthat they receive quality seeds throughout-growerschemes offered by the ginnery companies, thegroundnut sector still has challenges. The groundnutsfarmers indicated that they use recycled seeds, largelyavailable from informal sources; hence the policy is notbeing effectively implemented.

Although the NAP provides for the development of theinformal seed sector by providing accessibility of thesector to breeders/basic seed from research, findingsreveal that farmers are unable to sort groundnutsaccording to varieties and grades due to lack of capacityin sorting techniques.

In addition groundnut farmers are reluctant inadopting new and improved varieties � this may be due

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to information asymmetry and hence the need toorganise training programmes at ground level regardingthe use of new and improved varieties which willenhance productivity and also improve the delivery ofeffective extension services. There is also need to openseed banks at provincial level. This is also somethingthat the implementation of the policy would have gone along way in addressing.

Extension Service

Although farmer groups and farmer field schoolsand the use of electronic and print media ascommunication tools to support extension informationdelivery are strategies identified by the NAP, theimplementation is yet to kick off in earnest. As reportedin the study, farmers indicated that they were onlyvisited by extension officers three times in a year andonly about 71, 78 and 84 percent of the farmers inCopperbelt, Eastern and Southern Province respectivelywho were interviewed indicated that they had access toextension services.

Since the DACOs confirmed this and attributed it tounder-staffing, it is quite apparent that theimplementation of the policy needs to be enhanced toincrease access to extension services. In order to havean effective and efficient extension service delivery,there is need to build capacity in terms of adequatestaffing and operation efficiency, and increasing accessto extension services requires the office of the DACOs toopen sub branches in every 10 km radius.

Access to Finance

The NAP is also yet to deal with the issue of access tofinance, despite the fact that the NAP proposes to createa fund for access by farmers through appropriatefinancial institutions and to encourage group lending.All the farmers who were interviewed indicated that theylack access to credit schemes offered by financialinstitution; this can be attributed to the fact that the costof borrowing in Zambia is high and not favourable to thesmall scale farmers.

Thus, it is recommended that the government shouldstart to put in place measures that ensure that access tocredit by small scale farmers is enhanced, in line withthe NAP. The government should promote the provisionof micro finance through cooperative system andencouraging the establishment of self help groups. Thereis need to encourage contract farming with the privatesector while government plays the regulatory role.

Marketing Support

Although NAP promises strategies that facilitatemarket information flow among stakeholders in variousregions, including facilitating the provision of ruralinfrastructure such as roads, rural storageinfrastructure and developing market centres, marketingis still a challenge for small scale farmers. Thegroundnut sector�s marketing channels are largelyinformal. Findings also reveal that in the threeprovinces, the storage facilities being used by farmersare not well developed, leading to post harvest losses.

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Oxfam Zambia, Plot 250 Zambezi Road, Roma Towmship, P.O. Box 35624, Lusaka, Zambia, Tel: +260 211 291016/291085/292070,Fax: +260 211 292496

This Policy Brief has been prepared by Simon Ngona, Centre Coordinator and Cornelius Dube, Economist,CUTS International, Lusaka for OXFAM Zambia as part of the project entitled ‘Assessment of the Status of theZambia’s Agriculture Sector Development Framework and its Impact and Contribution to Improvement ofSmall Scale Producer’s Livelihoods’ implemented by CUTS International, Lusaka on behalf of OXFAM Zambia.This Policy Brief is meant to inform and educate readers and provoke debate on specific issues.

Challenges with regards to pest control, record keepingand fire safety arrangements etc also compoundmatters.

In the livestock sector, the farmers face challengesdue to non-existent cold storage facilities (governmentshould take initiations and encourage privateinvestment to build storage facilities), making it difficultfor the small-scale farmers to continuously producegoat meat and beef. Thus, provisions on marketing in theNAP call for urgent implementation. In amplifyingimplementation, there is need to establish provincialcall centres/ information cells. There is also need ofcapacity building workshops to disseminate marketinformation that is arranged by the state and other keystakeholders to disseminate market information.

Cooperative Development

The strategies identified by the National CooperativeDevelopment Policy would also enhance theperformance of small scale farmers. The development ofa legal and institutional framework to facilitate the re-orientation and reforming of the co-operativeorganisation and ensuring that the Ministry responsiblefor cooperatives has a physical presence in all thedistricts of the country through field staff directlydealing with co-operative matters is provided for.Cooperative farming should be encouraged to ensureproductive returns to the farmers. Re-structuring ofexisting cooperative organisations is required in termsof its staffing and operational efficiency.

Livestock Development

There is also need for a change of attitude if goat andbeef production are to be enhanced in Zambia. All thefarmers indicated that they use free scavenging methodsto feed the goats, with no formalised feeding schemes inplace. The same is equally true for beef production,which is largely reliant on traditional pastures asinputs into the farming activity. There is need fororientation of small scale farmers as well as capacity

building support to ensure that the need to treat bothgoat and beef farming as a business, which would alsocall for some investments.

The government support towards this would also goa long way in enhancing productivity. The currentextension policy does not cover livestock, thus there isalso need to have a clear extension policy that coversboth the crop and livestock sector comprehensively witheffective implementation.

Investment and Land Acquisition byInvestors

There are also some issues that need attention toensure that the investment is in line with the PRAI. Thereis need to ensure that the existing rights to land andassociated natural resources are recognised andrespected by ensuring that some households do not loseland against their will. There is also need to ensure thatfull information is disclosed to the farmers when land isbeing acquired as a way of respecting rights to land.

Instances where uptake by the displaced farmers istoo low in newly invested areas might imply that theinvestment is jeopardising food security as farmers�production would become lower than the situationbefore the investment. Efforts should also be enhancedto ensure that all those materially affected by the hugeinvestments are consulted, and agreements fromconsultations are recorded and enforced.

One challenge that is also apparent is the weak landtenure system among the farmers. As found out in thereport, the predominant form of land ownership iscustomary land ownership, with only 37.5 percent of therespondents indicating that they had title deeds. Amongthese, about 70 percent were from Copperbelt province,an urban province. Having title deeds would go a longway in helping the farmers to unlock credit, as thesecould be used as collateral. There is need for a relookinto the land tenure system to ensure that more farmershave title deeds to their land.

(Courtesy: Pictures taken from the internet)