The Milk Revolution The role of the ‘emergent’ smallholder farmers in the commercialisation of the Zambian Dairy Sector

Sammanfattning: The purpose of the study is to contribute to the debate on whether smallholder or large-scale farming is the more pertinent strategy to spur agricultural growth and commercialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study will examine the meteoric increase in the growth of ‘emergent’ medium-scale commercial dairy farming in Zambia. Both the Magoye and Fisenge dairy cooperatives will serve as a case study to explore the growth of commercial dairy sub-sector. The time period will explore the development of the dairy industry from 1991 when the Zambian economy moved from central planning to a market orientation to the present day. In Zambia, the commercialisation of smallholder agriculture has become an integral part of the national strategy to address the problems of economic stagnation and food poverty. Despite extensive government efforts from numerous African countries to promote the transition of smallholder farmers from subsistence-based to commercially-oriented livelihoods, a broad-based transformation of the sector has not yet materialised.