Sorghum Cultivation in Zambia

EWB volunteer Josephine Tsui is currently working with CARE Zambia, assisting in a market driven sorghum pilot project.

The Southern Province of Zambia has been hit with frequent droughts, suffering an estimated loss of 40-65% of crops last year. The vast majority of rural Zambians live in extreme poverty, and nearly all of those living on less than $1 a day are small-scale farmers. They rely on the annual maize (corn) crop for subsistence, the only staple crop since the Zambian government instituted a one-crop policy in the 1960s.

This has created many problems for Zambian farmers, mainly because maize is rain-sensitive and does not grow well in poor soil conditions. The cost of irrigation is far beyond what most Zambian farmers can afford, especially because it is already an expensive crop, requiring high-cost inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. In the past thirty years, droughts have become increasingly frequent and the soil quality has deteriorated, causing a sharp decline in food security and requiring food aid on an annual basis.

CARE is working to introduce sorghum as an alternative cereal crop that is much more drought resistant and equally as nutritious as maize when made into a local food called nshima. It can also be used for livestock and poultry feed and has great potential for export to neighbouring Botswana. The most significant challenge confronting the project is that Zambians have grown accustomed to maize in their daily diet—creating a cultural barrier to other foods.

EWB's Role:

To address this problem, Josephine is working with CARE to establish a group of small-scale farmers to grow sorghum strictly as a cash crop. Since sorghum is a staple food in Botswana and used in other countries, namely in the U.S. as livestock and chicken feed, Josephine is exploring the various export opportunities this crop will surely present. Sorghum is also an ideal substitute for a very popular maize-based beer made in Zambia. Josephine is optimistic that this group of farmers will profit from growing sorghum in the short-term and she is working closely with them to ensure their successful entry into various markets. Ultimately, she hopes other farmers will see the benefits of sorghum cultivation and adopt the crop as well.

In the long-run, if farmers grow sorghum, they will be able to sell the crop to buy maize, and in drought years will have a back-up food supply, reducing dependency on food aid and improving Zambia's food security.