The Feed the Future (FtF) program being implemented in Zambia’s Eastern Province by United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) has its goal of lifting more than a quarter of a million rural people (mostly farmers) out of poverty by 2015 (USAID 2011). The attainment of this objective will be achieved, in part, through sustained investments in several key value chains in the agricultural sector, including soya bean value chain. Despite the clear benefits of soya production for smallholders, soya production remains low. The purpose of this value chain analysis is to identify the factors limiting smallholder linkages to the growing markets for soya in Zambia, and to provide concrete strategies to overcome them. The primary data used in this study stem from qualitative research conducted in Eastern Province of Zambia. The study highlights the following challenges: First, there is limited availability of high yielding soya seed and limited incentive for private investment in smallholder soya seed multiplication. Another challenge concerns lack of inoculum as Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) is the sole producer within Zambia. Second, yield improving input usage in soya bean production is low. Low production is also related to poor agronomic practices, such as late planting and poor disease management Third, due to low production, farmers tend to have small quantities to sell and the earliest opportunity farmers have to turn their crop into cash is when the prices are the lowest of the marketing season during harvest time. Lastly, there is a large amount of trade distrust between farmers and traders, and it flows in both directions. Based on the highlighted challenges, the authors suggest intervention strategies to overcome them.