This study analyzes from a jobs perspective two high potential value chains (VCs) in Zambia’s agribusiness
sector poultry and aquaculture. With more than 50 percent of workers and over 80 percent of poor
Zambians recording themselves in agriculture in the 2010 population census, raising agricultural productivity is a
determinant to reduce poverty. Yet small-scale farmers (SSFs) and modern commercial operations in large farms
exist in parallel, as SSFs typically use backward production systems with scant capitalization. Zambia’s challenge
is to overcome the persistent disconnect between low productivity smallholder agriculture and high productivity
modern agribusiness firms.1
Developing market linkages will enable the agribusiness sector to meet the growing
urban demand for food products, while connecting more people to jobs.