An Examination of Land Policy in Empowering Emergent Farmers: A Case Study of Emergent Farmers Chongwe District

Despite the fairly dismal agricultural growth rates across the continent, some countries appear to be making significant positive strides. For example, over the last decade maize production in Zambia has doubled, while the real value of agricultural production has grown by 23 percent. Much of this growth is being driven by a rapid increase in the population of indigenous, medium-scale or “emergent” farmers. The findings reveal a largely positive shift in market access following participation in the Land Empowerment Program (LEP). A combined 60.0% of respondents reported enhanced opportunities to sell their produce, with 28.0% indicating that access had improved significantly, while another 32.0% experienced slight improvements. Such responses suggest that the program has enabled a majority of emergent farmers to connect more effectively with buyers, likely through increased credibility, expanded production capacity, or better bargaining power. One farmer put it simply: “Now that I have proper land, the buyers take me more seriously - they even come to my farm instead of me chasing them.” Conversely, income stagnation or decline was prevalent among non-participants. Among the 14 farmers who did not benefit from the LEP, 57.1% reported no change, while 42.9% experienced a decline in annual income. A non-beneficiary expressed frustration, stating, “Those with land are moving ahead. For us without land, each year is harder than the last. ”The chi-square test (χ² = 32.993, p < 0.001) confirms that the relationship between LEP participation and income change is statistically significant, underscoring that access to land has been a pivotal driver of economic upliftment. Respondents highlighted practical benefits of these practices. One participant explained, “Planting trees along my fields has helped reduce soil erosion and provides shade for crops during the dry season.” Another noted, “Rotating crops has improved my soil fertility and led to slightly better yields, even though I cannot always follow the schedule perfectly due to limited land.” The Friedman test results indicate statistically significant differences in the adoption of various sustainable land management practices among emergent farmers in Chongwe District (Chi-Square = 13.000, df = 2, p = 0.002). The mean rank scores suggest that crop rotation or intercropping (Mean Rank = 2.14) is practiced more frequently than agroforestry/tree planting (Mean Rank = 2.14) and soil conservation measures such as terracing and contouring (Mean Rank = 1.90). The Friedman test results indicate statistically significant differences in the adoption of various sustainable land management practices among emergent farmers in Chongwe District. The study therefore recommends a need for timely capacity building programmes for farmers on various land empowerment and management practices The results reveal that a substantial proportion of respondents, 68.0% (34 out of 50), reported participation in the Land Empowerment Program (LEP), indicating strong engagement with the land policy initiatives at the household level. Conversely, 32.0% (16 respondents) had not participated. The recommendation is that there is a need for continuous farmer and government feedback on lad empowerment programmes.