Emergent farmer growth trajectories in Zambia : land accumulation and its implications for poverty reduction
Lost in the emotive debates over foreign land grabbing in Zambia is a process of land accumulation that has led a rapid increase in the number of relatively large, indigenously owned farms. This is occurring within the context of Zambiaas agricultural development strategy, which seeks to support land acquisition and agricultural investment among a handful of better-capitalized, emergentt farmers. Our analysis suggests that this strategy facilitates elite capture of agricultural lands and public spending on agriculture, and may systematically limit the potential for the majority of small-scale farmers to engage in agricultural-led capital accumulation, land acquisition, and production growth. We argue that this process of accumulation has worrying implications for the future of smallholder agriculture to contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction in Zambia.
Event: Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2013
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