Smallholder Enterprise and Marketing Programme

Smallholder Enterprise and Marketing Programme

This project was designed to stimulate commercialization of the smallholder sector and enable smallholders to operate profitably within a more efficient rural economy in response to the liberalization that has been in process in Zambia since the early 1990s. The overall objective of this programme is to help small-scale farmers break out of this cycle of poverty by improving their access to suppliers and markets. It creates new opportunities for successful production and marketing of higher-value crops, providing cash income and enabling small farmers to purchase the inputs they need to improve food production. The programme is national in scope, but supports operations in specific locations that have a good potential for market development. Specific programme activities include:

• supporting the formation and strengthening of smallholder enterprise groups
• improving access to suppliers and markets, including rehabilitation of access roads
• providing support for a cost-effective, competitive and efficient network of trading enterprises serving small-scale farmers
• promoting diversification in production and marketing of the produce of small-scale farmers
• strengthening the policy, legislative and institutional framework for improving linkages between farmers and markets

Source: IFAD