Abstract:
The Zambian agriculture sector comprises crops, livestock, and fisheries. There are three broad
categories of farmers: small-scale, medium, and large-scale. Most Zambians are subsistence
farmers. Agriculture contributes about 19 percent to GDP and employs three quarters of the
population. Domestic production is comprised of crops such as maize, sorghum, millet, and
cassava while exports are driven by sugar, soybeans, coffee, groundnuts, rice, and cotton as well
as horticultural produce. The Zambia territory is 75 million hectares (752,000 km2
), out of which
58% (42 million hectares) is classified as medium-to high-potential for agriculture production.
However, only 15 percent of this land is currently under cultivation. Human influence on the
land and other natural resources is accelerating because of rapid population growth and
increasing food requirements. Therefore, agricultural intensity generates pressure not only on
land resources but also across the whole environment. Even though the forest resources of
Zambia are one of the highest in the Southern Africa region (estimates between 47% - 67%
forest cover) it is decreasing at a rate of between 300,000 ha and 445,000 ha per annum due to
agricultural activities and other factors (Ng’andwe et al., 2007; Mukosha, 2006 and Mbindo,
2007). Chibombo district as the study area is a rural district which relies on agriculture as a
source of income. Nevertheless, the standard of living in Chibombo district is below the
acceptable standard. The study focuses at determining why the socio-economic status of the
people in Chibombo district is below the accepted standard of living. The study aims to
determine the extent of land use change in Chibombo District. The study intends to clearly
determine the impact of social effects of agricultural expansion in Chibombo district by analyzing the drivers of change so as to analyse the socio-economic status and agricultural
expansion in Chibombo district.
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