Publication:
Zambia's Farmer Input Support Program and Recommendations for Re-designing the Program

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (2.13 MB)
2,505 downloads
English Text (159.84 KB)
123 downloads
Date
2021-06-21
ISSN
Published
2021-06-21
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This note provides recommendations for redesigning Zambia’s Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) in the context of international experience with other similar programs, especially those in Africa. The objective of this note is to provide recommendations that can help in improving the current programs providing subsidized inputs to farmers, through enhancing the efficiency of the program, targeting the right beneficiaries, value perceived by beneficiary farmers, and probably bringing in savings. The note is a key deliverable under the Advisory Services work carried out by the Bank on strategies for food security in Zambia and Zimbabwe. This note has three sections following the summary: (i) a brief review of the evidence generated on input subsidy programs; (ii) specific recommendations for Zambia’s Farmers Input Support Program, and (iii) recommendations on complementary investments.
Link to Data Set
Citation
World Bank. 2021. Zambia's Farmer Input Support Program and Recommendations for Re-designing the Program. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35801 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Zambia - Impact Assessment of the Fertilizer Support Program : Analysis of Effectiveness and Efficiency
    (World Bank, 2010-06-09) World Bank
    This research report examines the technical efficiency and impact of the Zambia Fertilizer Support Program (FSP). The FSP was launched by the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) in 2002 as a temporary measure to provide subsidized hybrid maize seed and fertilizer packages to smallholder farmers and to promote the participation of private traders in supply. When the FSP was announced, the Government indicated that farmers would be eligible to receive support for two consecutive seasons only and that the subsidy level would be reduced by 25 percent per year. The program was meant to run for three years to the end of the 2004/05 farm season. Contrary to these initial plans, the scale of FSP operations has grown significantly since the program was launched with large additions to the numbers of farmers targeted in some years, a change in the subsidy level from 50 percent to 60 percent, little attention to the intended two-year "graduation" requirements, and a significant escalation of total costs and cost per beneficiary. The budgeted amount for 2007/08 was ZMK 150 billion. This assessment was prepared to help answer these questions and provide an improved basis for discussing the current and future role of agriculture input subsidies in Zambia. The request for this attests to the Zambian Government's commitment to transparent decision making. The analysis focuses specifically on the 2007/08 agriculture season.
  • Publication
    Tanzania Public Expenditure Review : National Agricultural Input Voucher Scheme
    (Washington, DC, 2014-02) World Bank
    Tanzania is largely an agriculture-based economy. This sector accounts for over three-quarters of national employment, and approximately 25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The national agricultural input voucher scheme (NAIVS) is a market smart input subsidy program designed in response to the sharp rise in global grain and fertilizer prices in 2007 and 2008. The main aim of the program is to raise maize and rice production, and thus preserve Tanzania's household and national food security. During the period from 2008 to 2013, approximately United States (U.S.) 300 million dollars has been invested in providing more than 2.5 million smallholder farmers with a 50 percent subsidy on a one acre package of maize or rice seed, and chemical fertilizer. The input subsidy program helped Tanzanian smallholders harvest more than 2.5 million tons of additional maize and rice grain. The NAIVS program also faced multiple logistical challenges. These challenges are being considered in the government's new big results now initiative. This report summarizes the results of an overview of the program, and the results of two major impact surveys independently conducted in late 2010 and late 2012. Chapter one places the NAIVS in context, reviewing the status of the agricultural economy and the importance of grain production in the country. Chapter two provides an overview of the NAIVS program, including budget, expenditure, and implementation rules. Chapter three briefly summarizes the impact survey results and highlights the financial and economic returns of the program. Chapter four discusses the challenges faced during implementation of the NAIVs, and chapter five reviews the implications for further investment in this sort of input subsidy.
  • Publication
    Do Global Trade Distortions Still Harm Developing Country Farmers?
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-04) Valenzuela, Ernesto; Anderson, Kym
    The authors estimate the impact of global merchandise trade distortions and services regulations on agricultural value added in various countries. Using the latest versions of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and the GTAP-AGR model of the global economy, their results suggest real net farm incomes would rise in developing countries with a move to free trade, thereby alleviating rural poverty. This occurs despite a terms of trade deterioration for developing countries that are net food importers or that enjoy preferential access to agricultural markets of high-income countries. The authors also show, for several large developing countries, the contribution of their own versus other countries' trade policies.
  • Publication
    Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of : Analysis of the Agricultural Support Programs
    (Washington, DC, 2013-10) World Bank
    The report is structured to allow readers familiar with Macedonia s agriculture sector to quickly grasp the essentials needed to improve the sector, as well as to inform a general audience on how to address the challenges of a modern European Union (EU)-aspiring state. Chapter two provides an in-depth analysis of the sectoral background, illustrating the main characteristics and challenges of Macedonia s agriculture sector. The illustration takes an integrated approach to the sector, covering a vast range of inter-related topics including the prominence of the sector not only in terms of its economic and social contribution but also its implications for trade, the urban-rural poverty gap and shared prosperity, farm structure, climate adaptation, and capacity building. Chapter three draws on lessons from the European Union (EU) and provides a framework to analyze Macedonia s agricultural support programs. Further, the chapter provides a primer on the EU s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its measures to support agriculture. Chapter four presents concise empirical evidence of the coverage and institutional capacity of the agricultural programs in Macedonia under both pillar one and pillar two measures. Chapter five then builds on the primary diagnostic set out in the previous chapters and critically examines the alignment of Macedonia s agricultural programs with the government s stated objectives of poverty reduction, competitiveness, and sustainable development. The results are at best mixed, suggesting substantial pathways for scaling up and exploiting untapped opportunities. Finally, chapter six synthesizes the overall evidence and presents policy implications and recommendations.
  • Publication
    Tanzania Poverty, Growth, and Public Transfers : Options for a National Productive Safety Net Program
    (Washington, DC, 2011-09-21) World Bank
    Tanzania has made significant economic progress in the recent past, with per capita national income almost doubling from United States (U.S.) 230 dollars equivalent in the late-1990s to U.S. 440 dollars. This report explores the role safety nets and transfers can play in reducing poverty more rapidly in Tanzania. It presents the potential need and costs, to inform a debate of options. The report reviews existing programs, and provides recommendations for an action plan to strengthen the current system and develop a more unified national program, one which will have a greater impact on poverty levels at reasonable cost, in line with the Government's poverty reduction strategy, known by the Swahili acronym MKUKUTA. The report looks at transfers to the poor, including public works employment, subsidies, food distribution programs, cash and in-kind transfers, and vouchers. This paper is organized in following chapters: chapter one gives introduction; attempts to lay out what the options might be, within an analytical assessment of the nature of poverty and shocks faced by the poor in Tanzania is given in chapter two; chapter three examines the effectiveness of existing transfer programs; at a strategic level it then evaluates the capacity of the state to spend on transfers, and how safety net programs can fit into the wider national development agenda is given in chapter four. The paper concludes by discussing some of the institutional and administrative concerns that effect program design in chapter five; and outlines for a series of immediate steps to improve the effectiveness of existing programs; as well as a medium-term strategy for moving towards a more unified national program is discussed in chapter six.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Business Ready 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03) World Bank
    Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.
  • Publication
    Doing Business 2014 : Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises
    (Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2013-10-28) World Bank; International Finance Corporation
    Eleventh in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 185 economies, Doing Business 2014 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity: Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders, Enforcing contracts, Closing a business, Employing workers. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2013, ranks economies on their overall “ease of doing business”, and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. The Doing Business reports illustrate how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. Doing Business is a flagship product by the World Bank and IFC that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies use the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 870 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2011
    (World Bank, 2011) World Bank
    The 2011 World development report looks across disciplines and experiences drawn from around the world to offer some ideas and practical recommendations on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development. The key messages are important for all countries-low, middle, and high income-as well as for regional and global institutions: first, institutional legitimacy is the key to stability. When state institutions do not adequately protect citizens, guard against corruption, or provide access to justice; when markets do not provide job opportunities; or when communities have lost social cohesion-the likelihood of violent conflict increases. Second, investing in citizen security, justice, and jobs is essential to reducing violence. But there are major structural gaps in our collective capabilities to support these areas. Third, confronting this challenge effectively means that institutions need to change. International agencies and partners from other countries must adapt procedures so they can respond with agility and speed, a longer-term perspective, and greater staying power. Fourth, need to adopt a layered approach. Some problems can be addressed at the country level, but others need to be addressed at a regional level, such as developing markets that integrate insecure areas and pooling resources for building capacity Fifth, in adopting these approaches, need to be aware that the global landscape is changing. Regional institutions and middle income countries are playing a larger role. This means should pay more attention to south-south and south-north exchanges, and to the recent transition experiences of middle income countries.
  • Publication
    Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21) Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Gala, Priyal Mukesh
    This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2006
    (Washington, DC, 2005) World Bank
    This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.