Transformations  in
Business & Economics

FARMER INPUT SUPPORT PROGRAMME AND HOUSEHOLD INCOME: LESSONS FROM ZAMBIA'S SOUTHERN PROVINCE
William Funsani, Michael Rickaille, Jing Zhu, Xu Tian, Velindah Chibomba, Aniah Dominic Avea, Tomas Balezentis

ABSTRACT. Zambia reinstituted agricultural input subsidies as one of its Poverty Reduction Strategies in 2002. Since the introduction of Farmer Input Support Programme, the studies that quantify its effects on income have focused either on the fertiliser or the seed component but not on both which constitute the FISP pack, making it difficult to determine what changes in farmers' incomes can be attributed to FISP as a whole. Using Propensity Score Matching with panel data from 305 randomly surveyed households in Choma and Monze districts of Zambia, the authors of the article estimate the effect of a FISP pack on household revenue from maize. The results show that FISP increased household annual maize income by 30.8% and total household income by 13.9% for 2013/14 and 2014/15 crop seasons. However, although FISP is achieving its objective of increasing small-scale farmers' income, this increment is not large enough to lift households above the poverty line.

KEYWORDS:  average treatment effect, income, input subsidies, Farmer Input Support Programme, Zambia.

JEL classification:  M14, M19, P2.