From global vision to country action: post-2015 development strategies and food security in Zambia

The report identifies significant gaps between Zambia's national agricultural policies and the proposed global SDGs, noting that while national goals focus on production and exports, the SDGs emphasize human well-being and systemic sustainability. It highlights that current Zambian interventions, such as the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP), reinforce a reliance on maize and fail to address structural barriers like poor market access and climate vulnerability.

• There are significant discrepancies between the proposed global SDG framework and Zambia's national development strategies. While the UN Open Working Group (OWG) proposal and the Common African Position focus on ending hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture, Zambia's Vision 2030 focuses on an "efficient, competitive, sustainable and export-led agriculture sector".
• Zambia's agricultural sector is highly vulnerable to climate change, with the World Bank identifying it as one of the five most vulnerable countries globally. Impacts include increased drought, seasonal flooding, and a shortening of the crop-growing season.
• Despite strong macro-economic growth, poverty in Zambia remains severe and is concentrated in rural areas. In 2010, 60% of the total population lived below the national poverty line, rising to 78% in rural areas.
• The Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) is criticized for primarily benefiting wealthier farmers and reinforcing a dependence on maize, rather than reducing poverty or promoting crop diversification.
• Structural barriers hinder the effectiveness of the agricultural sector, including poor road and electricity networks, inadequate storage capacity, and high transaction costs for farmers.
• The government's 'farm blocks' strategy, intended to attract large-scale commercial investment, may conflict with domestic food security and put smallholder farmers on customary land at risk of losing their land.
• Small-scale interventions, such as the use of ICT for price information and the promotion of conservation farming, offer potential entry points for aligning national action with SDG goals, though they are often crowded out by political incentives to maintain maize subsidies.

APA

Weitz, N., Nilsson, M., Barron, J., & Mothabi, T. (2015). From global vision to country action: post-2015 development strategies and food security in Zambia. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/NEW/SEI-PR-2015-04-Zambia-1412r.pdf

Chicago

Weitz, Nina, Måns Nilsson, Jennie Barron, and Thabileng Mothabi. From global vision to country action: post-2015 development strategies and food security in Zambia. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/NEW/SEI-PR-2015-04-Zambia-1412r.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Weitz |first1=Nina |last2=Nilsson |first2=Måns |last3=Barron |first3=Jennie |last4=Mothabi |first4=Thabileng |title=From global vision to country action: post-2015 development strategies and food security in Zambia |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/NEW/SEI-PR-2015-04-Zambia-1412r.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{weitz2015from, author = {Weitz, Nina and Nilsson, Måns and Barron, Jennie and Mothabi, Thabileng}, title = {{From global vision to country action: post-2015 development strategies and food security in Zambia}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/NEW/SEI-PR-2015-04-Zambia-1412r.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }