Regional crop production instability in Zambia and its implications for food security
Date
1991Author
Maleka, Phiri
Milimo, John
Siandwazi, Catherine
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Abstract
This paper reports an attempt to measure crop production instability in Zambia at the regional or provincial levels. The objectives of this paper are:
° to measure crop production instability in Zambia’s nine regions/provinces for maize, cotton, sorghum, sunflower, soya-beans and rice. These crops are chosen because of their national importance and data availability (Fourth National Development Plan, 1989);
° to identify the correlation between the production of maize and other crops. Maize is chosen as a yardstick because it accounts for more than 60 percent of the value of crop output in Zambia (Levi and Mwanza, 1986; Sano, 1988);
° to measure the relationship between instability in yield and hectarage and the instability of production of these crops; and,
° to identify the implications of crop production instability on food security.