Abstract:

In Zambia, most of the small-scale farmers are affected by a lack of Value addition hubs to transform their primary agricultural outputs into higher-value products, which can allow them to harness more revenue. This paper outlines a clear examination on value addition of agro-products and their effects on the growth of small-scale farmers in Zambia. The methodology used a mixed-method in which a number of strategic documents were used as the national policy papers, academic studies, and project reports bordered on Agriculture. Zambia is known for its economic activities in agriculture, despite a number of farmers facing numerous constraints in adding value to their agro produce, and this has led to the selling of their produce in raw form and selling them at a lower price. This paper revealed that the main crops planted in Zambia are maize, groundnuts, soybeans, beans and some cotton/cash crops, and there are several small-scale agro-processors that have realised the opportunity to aid farmers with addicting value to their agro produce, and this is projected to provide numerous jobs among youths. Some of the constraints faced by small-scale farmers included inadequate funding, weak market linkages, lack of good infrastructure and limited technical capacity.

Keywords:

Value addition, agro-processing, small-scale farmers,

Aim/Objectives

Methods