Zambia is making strides in its agricultural sector, despite facing persistent challenges such as rural poverty and land constraints. The sector, contributing 22% to the country’s GDP, has seen a commendable 7% growth rate, capitalizing on its natural advantages. However, the path to sustainable agricultural prosperity is complex, requiring a delicate balance between increasing productivity, ensuring access to quality inputs, and safeguarding the environment.

Smallholder farmers, who dominate Zambia’s agricultural landscape, primarily cultivate maize, the nation’s staple crop. Yet, many grapple with limited land access, with a quarter farming less than half a hectare. This, coupled with nearly 30% of rural households being net maize buyers, highlights the precariousness of food security for a significant portion of the population.

Access to affordable, high-quality agricultural chemicals is another critical hurdle. Mwendabai Sinyinda, a productivity specialist with the USAID-funded PROFIT+ program, points out that while the Zambia Environment and Management Agency (ZEMA) is tasked with regulating the quality and safe use of these chemicals, its effectiveness has been hampered by allegations of corruption, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and budgetary constraints.

Recognizing these challenges, ZEMA has forged partnerships with key stakeholders, including CropLife Zambia, PROFIT+, and Musika. These collaborations aim to bolster ZEMA’s capacity in registration, licensing, monitoring, and training, ensuring that harmful chemicals are kept out of the hands of smallholder farmers.

“These partnerships are crucial in preventing agricultural chemicals with ‘non-permissible risks’ from reaching farmers,” Sinyinda explains. “They promote accountability and transparency throughout the supply chain, from manufacturing and import to storage, marketing, and ultimately, use on the farm.”

PROFIT+, for instance, focuses on training Community Agricultural Traders (CADs) on the safe handling and use of agricultural chemicals. This training covers licensing, proper usage, permitted pesticides, dosage rates, and integrated pest management strategies, emphasizing the protection of human health, aquatic life, and the surrounding environment.

Despite these efforts, Sinyinda emphasizes the need for more concerted action to strengthen ZEMA’s regulatory capacity. “Rigorous registration, licensing, monitoring, and spot checks are essential to ensure ZEMA effectively fulfils its mandate and engages fully with manufacturers, importers, and traders of agricultural chemicals,” he asserts.

The Zambian agrochemicals market is populated by major players like BASF, Bayer, and Syngenta, alongside local companies like Cropserve and Agrifocus. Demand for herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, acaricides, and grain fumigants is on the rise, driven in part by the government’s ambitious $2 billion National Agricultural Investment Plan.

This plan, focusing on sustainable resource management, production improvement, market access, and food security, aims to boost agricultural output and improve the livelihoods of farmers. A key component is the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP), which utilizes an electronic voucher system to provide subsidized inputs to farmers, encouraging diversification and promoting private sector participation.

FISP aims to reach an estimated 700,000 small farmers this year, with plans to gradually reduce this number as farmers graduate from the program. The program partners with approved agrodealers across the country to supply inputs to farmers, particularly smallholders.

Large multinational companies are also playing a role in supporting Zambian agriculture. Bayer, for example, has partnered with AGCO to launch a Future Farm project in Lusaka. This initiative focuses on developing sustainable food production systems, improving cultivation methods, and promoting the responsible use of crop protection products.

“Improved cultivation methods, responsible use of crop protection options, and seeds adapted to local growing environments are essential,” says Klaus Eckstein, CEO and Head of CropScience at Bayer Southern Africa. “An integrated approach, combining these elements, has proven more effective than standalone solutions and will revolutionize agriculture.”

Bayer’s involvement includes training farmers on pest and disease identification and educating them on the safe and effective use of crop protection measures.

Musika, a non-profit organization, is supporting the development of a “last mile” distribution network for essential agricultural inputs, including seeds, fertilizers, farm equipment, and agrochemicals. They also provide crucial technical information to smallholders, encouraging the adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies.

Zambia’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture and the movement of plants and plant products for trade and breeding purposes create pathways for the introduction and spread of pests, posing a significant threat to food security. While the country possesses a relatively well-developed agrochemical distribution network, ensuring that farmers are adequately trained in the proper application of these inputs remains a critical priority. This training must cover both safe usage on the farm and proper storage of treated crops to minimize risks to human health and the environment.

Zambia’s agricultural sector is at a critical juncture. Balancing the need to increase productivity with the imperatives of environmental sustainability and farmer empowerment will determine the success of its agricultural transformation. Through strategic partnerships, investments in technology and training, and a continued focus on responsible practices, Zambia can unlock its agricultural potential and ensure food security for its growing population.