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Smallholder Income Diversification in Zambia: The Way Out of Poverty?

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  • Bigsten, Arne
  • Tengstam, Sven

Abstract

1) One can achieve poverty reduction in rural areas of Zambia by both growth and inequality reduction, but growth must be the main driver; 2) Rural income growth does not come from agriculture alone so options to diversify income are very important and should be pursued; 3) But careful attention is required to focus on improved endowments and reduced constraints facing households trying to improve agriculture directly as well as trying to improve possibilities of income diversification away from agriculture; and 4) Land per labourer, education, and location (market access and infrastructure) are key dimensions to understand and figure out how to improve.

Suggested Citation

  • Bigsten, Arne & Tengstam, Sven, 2008. "Smallholder Income Diversification in Zambia: The Way Out of Poverty?," Food Security Collaborative Policy Briefs 54637, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:midcpb:54637
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.54637
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bigsten, Arne & Kebede, Bereket & Shimeles, Abebe & Taddesse, Mekonnen, 2003. "Growth and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia: Evidence from Household Panel Surveys," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 87-106, January.
    2. Reardon, Thomas, 1997. "Using evidence of household income diversification to inform study of the rural nonfarm labor market in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 735-747, May.
    3. Barrett, Christopher B., 1998. "Immiserized growth in liberalized agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 743-753, May.
    4. Thurlow, James & Wobst, Peter, 2004. "The road to pro-poor growth in Zambia: past lessons and future challenges," DSGD discussion papers 16, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Jayne, Thomas S. & Govereh, Jones & Chilonda, Pius & Mason, Nicole M. & Chapoto, Antony & Haantuba, Hyde H., 2007. "Trends in Agricultural and Rural Development Indicators in Zambia," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 54483, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    6. Doss, Cheryl & McPeak, John & Barrett, Christopher B., 2008. "Interpersonal, Intertemporal and Spatial Variation in Risk Perceptions: Evidence from East Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 1453-1468, August.
    7. Bigsten, Arne, 1988. "A note on the modelling of circular smallholder migration," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 87-91.
    8. Barrett, Christopher B. & Bezuneh, Mesfin & Clay, Daniel C. & Reardon, Thomas, 2001. "Heterogeneous Contraints, Incentives, and Income Diversification Strategies in Rural Africa," Working Papers 179567, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    9. Arne Bigsten & Abebe Shimeles, 2007. "Can Africa Reduce Poverty by Half by 2015?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 25(2), pages 147-166, March.
    10. Datt, Gaurav & Ravallion, Martin, 1992. "Growth and redistribution components of changes in poverty measures : A decomposition with applications to Brazil and India in the 1980s," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 275-295, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kelvin Mulungu & John N. Ng’ombe, 2017. "Sources of Economic Growth in Zambia, 1970–2013: A Growth Accounting Approach," Economies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Chapoto, Antony & Banda, Diana J. & Haggblade, Steven & Hamukwala, Priscilla, 2011. "Factors Affecting Poverty Dynamics in Rural Zambia," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 109888, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    3. Asfaw, Solomon & Scognamillo, Antonio & Caprera, Gloria Di & Sitko, Nicholas & Ignaciuk, Adriana, 2019. "Heterogeneous impact of livelihood diversification on household welfare: Cross-country evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 278-295.
    4. Govereh, Jones & Jayne, Thomas S. & Chapoto, Antony, 2008. "Assessment of Alternative Maize Trade and Market Policy Interventions in Zambia," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 54492, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    5. Banda, Diana J. & Hamukwala, Priscilla & Haggblade, Steven & Chapoto, Antony, 2011. "Dynamic Pathways into and out of Poverty: A Case of Small Holder Farmers in Zambia," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 113649, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    6. Bigsten, Arne & Tengstam, Sven, 2009. "Renewed Growth and Poverty Reduction in Zambia," Working Papers in Economics 424, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Farm Management; Food Security and Poverty;

    JEL classification:

    • Q20 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - General

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