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Cattle's effect on land and labour productivity: Evidence from Zambia

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  • Robert E. Smith

    (Geneva, Switzerland)

Abstract

Cattle may have become under-appreciated as a means of boosting staple crop production in areas of recurrent food insecurity. This study tests number of cattle owned as a determinant (alongside agronomic and socio-economic control variables) of land and labour productivity for hybrid and local maize, and for all crops aggregated by value, from a cross-sectional sample of 266 small and medium-sized farms in Zambia's Southern Province. For all tested derivations of productivity, cattle ownership scores strongly as a determinant-more so than, for example, fertiliser application. The strong effect on land productivity (as robust as the expected effect on labour productivity) is ascribed to cattle owners' ability to optimally time ploughing and planting vis-à-vis the onset of rains. Cattle re-stocking thus appears to be an under-utilised tool of agricultural development. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert E. Smith, 2008. "Cattle's effect on land and labour productivity: Evidence from Zambia," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(7), pages 905-919.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:20:y:2008:i:7:p:905-919
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.1467
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Francis, P.A. & Milimo, J.T. & Njobvu, C.A. & Tembo, S.P.M., 1997. "Listening to Farmers: Participatory Assessment of Policy Reform in Zambia's Agriculture Sector," Papers 375, World Bank - Technical Papers.
    2. Scoones, Ian, 1992. "The economic value of livestock in the communal areas of southern Zimbabwe," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 339-359.
    3. Rendani Randela, 2003. "An economic assessment of the value of cattle to the rural communities in the former Venda region," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 89-103.
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    Cited by:

    1. Peterman, A., 2010. "A review of empirical evidence on gender differences in nonland agricultural inputs, technology, and services in developing countries," IWMI Working Papers H043605, International Water Management Institute.

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