Adopting improved farm technology : a study of smallholder farmers in eastern province, Zambia

Over a 12-month period, data were collected from 330 respondents, according to four sampling variables: status of the farmer, use of hybrid maize seed, use of oxen, and gender of the head of household. Secondary data were collected on the physical, socioeconomic, and policy environment. This book presents the results of that project, which was the first major effort to collect primary data in Zambia. The book is divided into four parts. The first introduces the study area, its physical features, peoples, and major economic activities, and then analyzes Zambia"s agricultural policies on pricing, marketing, subsidies, extension, credit, exchange rates, trade, and land tenure. The performance and effectiveness of the strategies related to these policies, especially those governing credit and land tenure, are also examined. This part ends with a chapter describing the public and private institutions operating in Eastern Province. The second part of the book discusses the study findings relating to the determinants and effects of the adoption of agricultural technologies (inorganic fertilizers, hybrid maize seed, and animal draft power). These technologies affect a whole range of agricultural and nonagricultural activities and indicators, such as the use of land, inputs and labor, agricultural productivity, patterns of household income and expenditures, and nutritional status. The third part examines the patterns of access to a variety of agricultural services, including the training and visit system of agricultural extension. The major finding is that there is substantial potential to increase technology adoption among Eastern Province farmers. Policy implications are examined in Part four. Includes 13-page bibliography.