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Geography

Zambia is a landlocked country situated on the southern central African plateau and covering a total area of 752,610 km2. It borders eight other countries: Namibia and Angola to the west, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, the United Republic of Tanzania and Malawi to the east, and Mozambique and Zimbabwe to the south. Most of the country extends over high plateau, with some hills and mountains. The climate is tropical, with cooler temperatures at higher altitudes. Zambia is vulnerable to periodic drought.

The country is home to more than 70 ethnic groups. Zambia is relatively sparsely populated, with a population of 10.5 million that is growing at an annual rate of 1.3 per cent. Since the mid 1990s, the population growth rate has decreased by about 1.5 per cent as a result of rising child mortality and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Agriculture

Agriculture contributes about 22 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), but the figure varies according to rainfall conditions. Most crop production is rainfed rather than irrigated. The agricultural sector grew at an average annual rate of 4.5 per cent during the 1990s. Recent growth has been slower because of drought. The main food crops are maize, sorghum, cassava and millet. Cash crops, including cotton, tobacco and vegetables, are gaining importance.

In the early 1990s the government began to withdraw support from agricultural producers and to privatize state-owned companies. Since then investment in the sector has been low. The country's agricultural production is still dominated by small-scale farms cultivating landholdings of one to five ha and producing most of the cotton, millet and sorghum in Zambia as well as a large proportion of its maize, groundnut and sunflowers. Presently there are about a dozen large commercial most of which are integrated with agro-processing.

Livestock production has traditionally been most important in the western regions of the country. However when the economy was liberalized in the 1990s the government ceased to provide preventive measures against cattle disease and as a result the country's livestock population was devastated by infectious diseases spreading across the borders from neighbouring countries. Since then cattle-raising throughout the country has been greatly reduced, and farmers who relied on draught animals to plough their land have been severely affected by the decline in livestock.

There is a considerable potential for expanding agricultural production in Zambia for both small-scale and commercial farmers, despite the high transport costs incurred in a country that is landlocked. Land is plentiful and climatic conditions are favourable across a broad central belt of the country. The pressure on natural resources is not as intense as it is in other countries. In response to economic liberalization over the past decade, the agricultural sector has expanded by an average of 4.5 per cent annually. The main agricultural exports are cotton, flowers, sugar, tobacco and vegetables, most of which are grown under contract farming arrangements. The sector has begun to expand into non-traditional exports.

Economy

When Zambia gained its independence in 1964 it was a major copper producer and a relatively affluent country by regional standards. In the 1970s and 1980s poor management of the mining sector and the economy, together with falling international copper prices contributed to the country's economic decline.

After three decades of poor economic growth, reforms introduced in the early 1990s helped limit the continuing decline. Since 2000 there has been some tentative growth, and macroeconomic performance has improved substantially since 2003. Over the past four years expanded mining production in response to high copper prices and continued sound economic management have contributed to strong economic development. Copper continues to account for most of Zambia's foreign exchange earnings. The industry was privatized in the 1990s.

Source: IFAD