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Agriculture
more, efforts to diversify agricultural production have
spurred the growth of non-traditional agricultural,
horticultural, and floricultural exports.
The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) plays an active
role in purchasing various crops from small-scale
farmers—particularly those in remote areas. It guar-
antees a stable and ready market for their crops.
Additionally, the agency has historically been able
to supply disadvantaged households with relief food
through the Disaster Management and Mitigation
Unit and the World Food Programme. As a result,
most farmers are presently part of the agricultural
marketing network, with further improvements set to
focus on enhancing the capacity of the cooperative
movement and strategies to increase PPPs.
Chal
l
eng
es to ag
ricul
ture
Despite large and fertile tracts of arable land and
a climate that is conducive to agricultural develop-
ment, the sector faces numerous challenges. The
lack of long-term investment in agriculture, poor ru-
ral infrastructure, and generally underdeveloped ru-
ral areas has eroded productivity. At the same time,
staple crops are in need of a significant increase in
their yields if food security is to be ensured.
Less than one-sixth of the total arable land is be-
ing used for agricultural purposes. Most farmers fall
into the small-scale farmer category. That being said,
commercial agriculture ventures are on the rise, but
they are confined to a small number of large and
medium-sized farms.
Specifically, obstacles facing the agricultural sector
include limited access to credit, inputs and extension
services, fluctuating costs of inputs, low labor and
land productivity, limited market access for small-
scale farmers, poor livestock management, weak-
nesses in the Farmer Input Support Programme,
failure to attract adequate private sector investment,
and the seasonal nature of agricultural production.
Ag
ricul
tural
pol
icy
The government is focused on maximizing the con-
tribution of the agricultural sector to the overall Zam-
bian GDP by facilitating and supporting the develop-
ment of a sustainable and competitive industry that
ensures food security at the national and household
level. They also plan to facilitate poverty reduction
through employment and income-generating activi-
ties in the agriculture sector.
In addition to ensuring that the existing agricultural
resource base is maintained and improved, the Na-
tional Agricultural Policy 2004-2015 is also focused
on crop diversification, opening new agricultural
production areas, providing agricultural support ser-
vices, reducing dependence on rain-dependent ag-
riculture, increasing the efficiency of irrigation tech-
niques, and expanding markets. This policy entails
the following measures:
• Increased investment in rural development and in-
frastructure—in particular, from both the public and
private sectors to boost productivity and better link
farmers to the market
• Targeting support from small-scale food producers
• Improved incentive measures and subsidy
schemes for provision of inputs
• Effective and efficient agricultural extension ser-
vice
• Robust adaptive research services that accelerate
small-scale farmer adoption of appropriate tech-
nologies to boost productivity
• Better trade terms at both regional and global level
for agricultural produce and inputs•Formulation
and implementation of national policies and in-
ternational cooperation agreements that enhance
productivity for the majority of small-scale farmers
• Provision of inputs at affordable costs
• Irrigation development—especially for small-scale
farmers
• Strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems,
the capacity for gathering agricultural statistics,
and ICTs
Farmer Input Support Prog
ramme
The government has, for some years, encouraged
food production by subsidizing farming inputs like
fertilizer, seeds, and chemicals for small-scale farm-
ers under the Fertilizer Input Support Programme
(FISP).
Infrastructure dev
el
opment
To boost investment and productivity in the sector,
the development of farm blocks, made up of large
and small-scale operations coexisting in a symbiotic
relationship, is being heavily pursued. The 155,000
hectare Nansanga Farm Block in the Serenje District
is one of the country’s largest farm blocks. It is made
up of large-scale commercial farming estates and
small-scale farms located within a close proximity to
one another.
Similar infrastructure development is taking place in
the Luena Farm Block in Kawambwa district. This
is an area with vast potential for the development
