Working with smallholders to tackle food insecurity in Zambia
In landlocked Zambia, close to 60 per cent of households engage in some form of agricultural activity, much of it for their own consumption. Yet, the contribution of agricultural production to the gross domestic product has been steadily declining, from 24 per cent in the year 2000, to just 2.6 per cent in 2019. Closely related to an increase in climactic events and pest and disease incursions, Zambia is now anticipating further repercussions on agricultural productivity due to the impact of COVID-19 throughout the food value-chain.
For Zambians, food insecurity is an urgent issue. Around 18 per cent of the country’s rural population require urgent action to protect their livelihoods. A further 15 per cent are only marginally able to meet their food needs, while three per cent of the country’s 17.8m people are already facing considerable food gaps.