Impact of HIV/AIDS-related Adult Mortality on Rural Households' Welfare in Zambia

This study estimates the impacts of prime-age (PA) adult morbidity and mortality on crop production and cropping patterns, household size, livestock and non-farm income in Zambia using nationally representative rural farm household longitudinal survey data. The findings provide important information to assist policy makers, donors, and development planners in designing interventions to mitigate the impacts of the AIDS on vulnerable households.food security, food policy, Zambia, HIV/AIDS mortality, Health Economics and Policy, Q18,

Emerging Structural Maize Deficits in Eastern and Southern Africa: Implications for National Agricultural Strategies

This note summarizes analysis of trends in net maize exports over the 1960-2005 period and examines whether these trends are being reflected in changing maize price levels in the region. The implications are highlighted of the findings for countries’ agricultural development strategies.food security, food policy, Zambia maize, Crop Production/Industries, Q18,

Security of Widows’ Access to Land in the Era of HIV/AIDS: Panel Survey Evidence from Zambia

1. The percentage of households that are headed by widows in rural Zambia increased from 9.4 % to 12.3% between 2001 and 2004. 2. Within 1 to 3 years after the death of their husbands, widow-headed households, on average, controlled 35 percent less land than what they had prior to their husband’s death. 3. To some extent, older widows are protected against loss of land compared to younger widows. 4. Women in relatively wealthy households are particularly vulnerable to losing land after the death of their husbands. 5. Widows whose family has kinship ties to the village authorities are less likely to face a severe decline in landholding size after the death of their husbands. 6. Widows in patrilineal and matrilineal villages are equally likely to lose their rights to land.food security, food policy, Zambia, HIV/AIDS, land, Health Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q20,

Staple food prices in Zambia

Prepared for the COMESA policy seminar on “Variation in staple food prices: Causes, consequence, and policy options”, Maputo, Mozambique, 25-26 January 2010 under the Comesa-MSU-IFPRI African Agricultural Marketing Project (AAMP)Zambia, food security, food prices, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Security and Poverty, International Development, International Relations/Trade, q11, q13, q18,

HIV/AIDS and Agrarian Livelihoods in Zambia: a Test of the New Variant Famine Hypothesis.

1. Consistent with the New Variant Famine (NVF) hypothesis, the negative impact of drought on crop output and output per hectare is further exacerbated where HIV prevalence rates are relatively high, particularly in the low- and medium rainfall zones of the country (agro-ecological regions I and II). 2. HIV prevalence rates and AIDS-related mortality rates in Zambia are highest in the lowest rainfall and most drought-prone zone of the country (agro-ecological region I). 3. Only for districts in agro-ecological region I do we find evidence of a robust negative effect of HIV/AIDS on agrarian livelihood indicators. Relatively stable food production zones and/or areas with relatively low HIV prevalence rates appear to be less vulnerable to the adverse effects predicted by the NVF hypothesis, which suggests that HIV/AIDS exacerbates the effects of drought and other shocks on agrarian communities. 4. HIV/AIDS reduces the crop production gains associated with fertilizer subsidy increases in the highest rainfall areas. 5. Increases in the percentage of female-headed households in a district are related to declines in agricultural production indicators, but these effects do not appear to worsen when the HIV/AIDS epidemic is severe. 6. Only in districts whose borders encompass both agro-ecological regions II and III do we consistently find weak evidence that HIV/AIDS reduces the contribution of productive assets to crop output and output per unit of land as would be expected under the NVF hypothesis.food security, food policy, Zambia, HIV/AIDS, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Q20,

Marketing Policy Options for Consumer Price Mitigation Actions in the 2008/09 Maize Marketing Season in Zambia.

1) Maize prices are rising rapidly in 2008 and are fast approaching import parity levels. 2) Maize traders, millers and farmers all agree that Zambia will likely require imports by early 2009 in order to avoid domestic maize supply shortages. 3) Official food balance sheets appear to have underestimated the demand for maize this year. They may also have slightly overestimated the size of the 2007/08 maize crop. Hence the slow government recognition of the need for maize imports. 4) As of late September 2008, neither the Government of Zambia (GRZ) nor the private sector have arranged to import maize from South Africa. Trade sources suggest informal imports from Tanzania are helping to relieve the likely shortfall. 5) Zambian policy makers face a delicate balancing act: they need to maintain remunerative prices for farmers, in order to stimulate maize supply response during the coming 2008/09 production season, while at the same time moderating maize meal price increases to protect urban consumers and the many rural households who are net buyers of maize. 6) The time to respond to this balancing act challenge is now rather than later in the marketing season when costs of supplies and transport will increase. 7) Several policy actions offer potential win/win options for balancing these twin concerns:food security, food policy, Zambia, maize, marketing, Crop Production/Industries, Q20,

Fostering Food Market Development in Zambia

This article assesses major features of the Zambian agricultural market that have led to the underdevelopment of the staple food marketing system, reviews existing empirical evidence explaining the variable performance of the maize sub-sector, and suggests potential corrective measures. As smallholder farmers in agricultural markets are considered to be vitally important to the attainment of food security, special attention is placed on how the current system affects these farmers, and on how to foster improved participation. The role and potential of new generation cooperatives is also considered.We identify seven major areas in need of serious and coordinated attention if the state of the agricultural sector and marketing functions is to improve

Mountains of Maize, Persistent Poverty

The past two years are a tribute to Zambian farmers; they have responded admirably to government efforts to promote maize production. But ironically, rural poverty remains stubbornly high despite the fact that the government has spent over 2% of the nation’s gross domestic product in supporting maize production and subsidizing inputs for farmers. Why is it that maize production has increased so impressively without making a serious dent in rural poverty? And what are the lessons for the new government?maize, poverty, Zambia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty,

Smallholder Income and Land Distribution in Africa: Implications for Poverty Reduction Strategies

This paper provides a micro-level foundation for discussions of income and asset allocation within the smallholder sector in Eastern and Southern Africa, and explores the implications of these findings for rural growth and poverty alleviation strategies in the region. Results are drawn from nationally-representative household surveys in five countries between 1990 and 2000: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Mozambique, and Zambia. The paper addresses five major points: (1) why geographically-based poverty reduction or targeting strategies-e.g., focusing on marginal areas-is likely to miss a significant share of the poor in any particular country regardless of targeting efficiency in these areas; (2) why current enthusiasm for community-driven development approaches will require serious attention to how resources are allocated at local levels; (3) why sustained income growth for the poorest strata of the rural population will depend on agricultural growth in most countries, even though the poor generally lack the land and other productive resources to respond directly or immediately to policies and investments to stimulate agricultural growth; (4) why agricultural productivity growth, while most easily generating gains for better-off smallholder farmers, is likely to offer the best potential for pulling the poorest and land-constrained households out of poverty; and (5) why meaningful poverty alleviation strategies in many countries will require fundamental changes to make land more accessible to smallholder farmers. This could be accomplished through various processes, including improvement in land rental markets or perhaps land redistribution. We briefly elaborate on each of these findings.Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use,

Smallholder Income and Land Distribution in Africa: Implications for Poverty Reduction Strategies

Farm Management, Food Security and Poverty, Downloads July 2008-July 2009: 15,