Quantitative Livelihood Profile Analysis of Rural Households in Zambia

Executive Summary

Addressing poverty, particularly in rural areas, is one of the main challenges facing the Zambian government (Chapoto et al., 2011). Currently, rural headcount poverty stands at about 77 percent (CSO, 2016). Reducing poverty and food insecurity are central to Zambia’s agricultural and social protection interventions, as reflected in the second National Agriculture Policy and the National Social Protection Policy of the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ). While GRZ is making considerable efforts to increase the coverage of non-contributory social protection programmes, the vast majority of poor and vulnerable households do not receive any kind of social
protection. Agricultural households in rural areas use limited inputs, basic production technologies, depend on rainfed agriculture and have poor access to markets, all of which affects their food security. Hence, sustainable reductions in poverty require interventions that work both to relieve immediate food insecurity and, in the longer run, improve agricultural productivity.