Input support
The Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) supplies subsidised fertiliser and seed to registered small-scale farmers. It targeted 1,024,434 farmers in 2017/18, one million in 2018/19β2020/21 and 1,024,434 in each season from 2021/22 to 2024/25 and in 2026/2723456. Since 2022/23 the standard pack has been three 50 kg bags of Compound D, three of urea, 10 kg of maize seed and a bag of soya bean or groundnut seed for a farmer contribution of K4005. The programme has moved between direct input supply and electronic vouchers, which let farmers buy inputs from agro-dealers. The e-voucher targeted 739,266 farmers in 74 districts in 2024/25, was to be extended to the remaining 42 districts in 2025/26 and covers all 116 districts in 2026/27716.
The 2023 Budget Address announced that FISP would be expanded into a Comprehensive Agriculture Support Programme covering extension, irrigation, access to finance, value addition and storage89. The broader reform was then taken forward as the Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Support Programme, launched in July 2024 and costed at US$5.7 billion for 2024β2033, while FISP continues as its input-support component10116. The 2026 budget allocates K9.2 billion to FISP, about US$483 million at the end-August 2026 rate, out of K15.5 billion for agriculture, fisheries and livestock112.
| Season | Beneficiaries | Of which e-voucher | Farmer contribution and pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009/10 | 534,000 | β | β |
| 2015/16 | 1,000,000 | 241,000 targeted (13 districts) | K400 maize pack, subsidy 70.67% |
| 2016/17 | 1,006,666 conventional + 602,521 e-voucher | 602,521 (39 districts) | β |
| 2017/18 | 1,024,434 | planned for all | K400 of a K2,100 voucher |
| 2018/19 | 1,000,000 | 626,384 targeted | K400 (Government K1,700) |
| 2019/20 | 1,000,000 | 382,455 (42 districts) | β |
| 2020/21 | 1,000,000 | β | K400 |
| 2021/22 | 1,024,434 | β | K400, 6 Γ 50 kg fertiliser + 10 kg maize seed |
| 2022/23 | 1,024,434 | 0 (all direct input supply) | K400, 3 Compound D + 3 urea + 10 kg maize seed + legume seed |
| 2023/24 | 1,024,434 | 221,899 targeted (17 districts) | same pack |
| 2024/25 | 1,024,434 | 739,266 targeted (74 districts) | β |
| 2025/26 | β | planned for remaining 42 districts | β |
| 2026/27 | 1,024,434 targeted | all 116 districts | β |
| Budget year | Total budget | Agriculture, fisheries and livestock | FISP | Strategic food reserves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | K64.5 billion | β | K2.9 billion | K942.5 million |
| 2023 | K167.3 billion | K11.2 billion | β | β |
| 2024 | K177.9 billion | K13.8 billion | K8.6 billion | K1.7 billion |
| 2025 | K217.1 billion | K15.4 billion | K9.3 billion | K2.4 billion |
| 2026 | K253.1 billion | K15.5 billion | K9.2 billion | K2.1 billion |
Maize marketing and the Food Reserve Agency
The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) holds the national strategic reserve and buys maize from smallholders at an announced price, operating under the Food Reserve Act of 20203132. Its price rose from K180 per 50 kg bag in 2022 to K340 in 20253334. In the 2025 season it bought 1,663,934 tonnes by 31 October, worth K11.3 billion, about US$447 million at the 2025 average rate, from 846,655 farmers, against a target of 543,000 tonnes3412. The 2026 budget allocates K2.1 billion to strategic food reserves1. In 2026 the Agency offered up to 700,000 tonnes of reserve maize for sale through the ZAMACE platform under warehouse receipts35.
The government has also restricted maize and mealie meal exports, with bans between December 2012 and early 2014 and in 2019 and restrictions in the 2024/25 marketing season, and quotas were used in 2021 and from May 202536373839.
| Marketing season | FRA price (ZMW per 50 kg bag) | Purchases (t) | Purchase target (t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | β | 740,361 (to 8 Oct 2010) | β |
| 2013 | 65 | 407,113 (to 18 Sep 2013) | β |
| 2014 | 70 | β | β |
| 2015 | 75 | 595,883 (Nov 2015) | β |
| 2017 | 60 | β | 500,000 (cap) |
| 2022 | 160, raised to 180 | β | β |
| 2023 | 280 | β | 500,000 |
| 2024 | 330 | 580,594 (to 18 Sep 2024) | β |
| 2025 | 340 | 1,663,934 (to 31 Oct 2025) | 543,000 |
| Period | Measure |
|---|---|
| Dec 2012 β early 2014 | Export bans on maize and maize meal introduced, lifted and reintroduced |
| About April 2014 | Ban on maize exports lifted, with 43,590 t of export permits issued since January 2014 |
| 2017 | Export ban on maize and maize products lifted after the 2016/17 harvest |
| September 2019 | Export of maize and maize products banned |
| 2021 | Monthly private export quota of 30,000 t, then a quota of 1,177,500 t and suspension of the 10% export tax in September |
| 2024/25 marketing season | Exports of maize and maize products restricted after the drought |
| May 2025 | Quota-based export programme introduced |
| April 2026 | Remaining trade restrictions removed |
Food balance and the 2023/24 drought
Each May the government publishes a national food balance that compares the forecast harvest and opening stocks with requirements. After the 2023/24 harvest the balance showed a deficit of 2,137,183 tonnes of maize equivalent for all staples, and the government contracted 650,000 tonnes of white maize from Tanzania4851. The drought destroyed 982,765 of 2,272,931 hectares of maize, and the April 2024 response plan required K23.5 billion (US$941 million at the plan's rate of K25 per dollar) to assist 6.6 million people5455. The first DMMU situation report gives K21.3 billion for the same dollar amount, and the plan's figure is used here54. The IPC projected 5.8 million people in crisis or worse for October 2024 β March 2025, and 1.7 million for October 2025 β March 20265657. For the 2025/26 marketing season the balance returned to a surplus of 501,621 tonnes58.
| Marketing season (harvest) | Production | Opening stock | Total supply | Requirement | Surplus or deficit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016/17 (2015/16 crop) | 2,873,052 | 667,524 | 3,540,577 | 2,887,810 | 634,681 |
| 2017/18 (2016/17 crop) | 3,606,549 | 569,317 | 4,175,866 | β | about 1.1 million |
| 2022/23 (2021/22 crop) | 2,706,243 | 146,613 | 2,852,857 | 3,004,763 | β151,906 |
| 2023/24 (2022/23 crop) | 3,261,686 | 450,891 | 3,712,576 | 3,242,197 | 470,379 |
| 2024/25 (2023/24 crop) | 1,511,143 | β | β | β | β2,137,183 (all staples, maize equivalent) |
| 2025/26 (2024/25 crop) | 3,655,646 | 384,999 (own calculation) | 4,040,645 | 3,539,024 | 501,621 |
Warehouse receipts, the commodity exchange and cooperatives
The Agricultural Credits Act of 2010 created a Warehouse Licensing Authority and made warehouse receipts negotiable documents that can be pledged to lenders62. The Zambian Commodities Exchange (ZAMACE) operates the receipt system and a trading platform, and by 2019 it had certified 300,800 tonnes of storage operated by eight warehouse operators6364. No later statistics were found by October 2026. An Agricultural Credits and Warehouse Receipts Act, which adds an electronic warehouse receipt system, was assented to on 31 March 2026 and published on 8 April 2026, together with a new Food Reserve Act and an Agricultural Marketing Act that creates a Zambian Agricultural Marketing Council. Each Act comes into force on a date set by statutory instrument, and no commencement order had been published by October 202665666768. Cooperatives remain governed by the Co-operative Societies Act of 199869.
Market, data and advisory institutions
Sources cited on this page
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