Direct support to small scale farmers reduces poverty - what Zambia is doing right

By Jukka Pirttilä, Professor of Public Economics, University of Helsinki

Over half of Zambia’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2015. In rural areas, where 89% of households are engaged in agriculture, the poverty rate was even higher, at 77% of the population.

The government runs several programmes of financial support for farmers. Some provide agricultural inputs directly to households.

Agricultural input subsidies can encourage adoption of modern inputs like fertilisers, improved seeds or agro-chemicals,…

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