To Examine the Effectiveness of Poultry Business in Improving Womens Livelihood: A Case Study of Lusaka District

This study examines the effectiveness of poultry business in improving women livelihood for women engaged in poultry farming in Lusaka District. Such schemes, often driven by government and NGOs, aim to provide financial support, skills training, and business development services to help women achieve economic independence. Focusing on women in poultry farming, a growing sector in Zambia due to its low capital requirements and rising demand, the research assesses how these schemes support women entrepreneurs in achieving sustainable livelihoods. The study was guided by three objectives: To evaluate the impact of these empowerment schemes on the income levels of women in the poultry business in Lusaka district: To examine the sustainability of women’s poultry businesses that have benefited from empowerment schemes in Lusaka district: To assess the challenges faced by women in accessing resources to recapitalized and expand their business in Lusaka district. The study sample was 100 respondents, comprising 20 financial experts, 25 women (not secured women empowerment), 35 women (secured women empowerment), 10 community leaders, 10 financial institutions.

A mixed method was employed; where questionnaires were used for quantitative data collection and one-one interactions for qualitative data collection. Quantitative data was entered in SPSS to generate pie charts, means modes, standard deviations and inferential statistics while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The study concluded that the results reveal that these empowerment schemes have positively influenced the economic well-being of women in poultry farming, contributing to higher household income, business growth, and better living standards as could be seen that many women reported that their monthly earnings had improved exponentially by 25-50% since receiving support from the empowerment schemes. However, certain debates occurred in this study during the weeks it was conducted, stimulating women interaction and providing appropriate feedback may become the markets main task. Future work should focus on issues such as complex application processes due to limited information, and the need for collateral, which were identified as significant hindrances to the accessibility and full utilization of these programs. By evaluating the outcomes of these initiatives, this research contributes to the broader discussion on women’s economic empowerment in Zambia and offers practical solutions to improve the sustainability and impact of these empowerment schemes.