Large-scale farms and smallholders: Evidence from Zambia

Jann Lay, Kerstin Nolte and Kacana Sipangule

No 2098, Kiel Working Papers from Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel)

Abstract: In light of the surge in large-scale farms in developing countries, concerns have been raised that smallholders may be negatively affected. There is, however, very little evidence beyond case studies to support these claims. Drawing on nationally representative household data sets and an inventory of large-scale farms in Zambia, this study investigates the relationship between large-scale farms and smallholders. First, we analyse the geographical contexts of wards that host large-scale farms and show that large-scale farms are found in wards with good infrastructure and soil quality. Second, we adopt a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the impacts of large-scale farms on smallholders' area cultivated, maize yields, and access to fertiliser. We find that smallholders in wards with large-scale farms increase their area cultivated and maize yields, but have lower fertiliser usage. This hints at positive spillovers at the extensive and intensive margins but not at improved access to agricultural inputs. It is likely that these results are also driven by the emergence of medium-scale farms in these regions.

Keywords: large-scale farms; yields; smallholders; spillovers; Zambia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q12 Q15 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dev and nep-eff
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Working Paper: Large-Scale Farms and Smallholders: Evidence from Zambia (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:2098

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