Zambia is ranked 164th out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index and was recently reclassified as a lower-middle-income country by the World Bank. Poverty and food insecurity are widespread in both rural and urban areas, and the country remains extremely vulnerable to recurring natural disasters, including floods, drought and animal disease.
Food production levels vary widely from year to year. Food security is fragile because subsistence farmers depend on rainfall and traditional hoe cultivation. Even in years of national food surplus, many subsistence farmers struggle to make ends meet.
A lack of proper infrastructure such as feeder roads, inadequate provision of inputs such as fertilizers and seeds, poor access to markets, and entrenched attitudes to crop and livelihood diversification also mitigate against increased agricultural production.
Zambia enjoyed a good harvest in the 2009/2010 farming season with a record maize harvest of 2.7 million metric tons, including a maize surplus. While that harvest will help to improve overall food security, tens of thousands of people still require food assistance due to the local impact of floods and drought as well as increased food prices and poverty levels that remain high.
Zambia has very good agricultural potential due to abundant water resources. Out of the country’s 752,000 square kilometers of land, 42 million hectares (56 per cent) are arable. However, only about 14 per cent of the land is under cultivation. Irrigation remains underdeveloped.
There is a highly mechanized commercial farming sector which provides much of the non-metal exports such as sugar, cotton lint, tobacco, coffee and soya beans and produces the national requirement for wheat.
Maize production during the 2007/8 agricultural season declined to 1.2 million tons from 1.4 million the previous season - a third year of decline. Production rose to 1.9 million tons in 2009 - the largest harvest in 10 years. The country has projected another good maize harvest of 3 million tons in 2011, an 8% increase from 2010.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has contributed to a decline in socio-economic activity. HIV/AIDS is also both a cause and a consequence of household food insecurity in Zambia. Around 14.3% of adults are HIV positive and life expectancy is only 51 years. HIV/AIDS undermines the capacity of people in most rural areas to produce enough food for their families. Malnutrition is present to varying degrees in most communities nationwide.
Standard national statistics for malnutrition levels amongst under-fives are 5 percent wasting, 15 percent underweight and 45 percent stunting.
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