ABSTRACT 

This policy brief reviews Zambia’s Farm Block Development Programme (FBDP), a key initiative to drive agricultural productivity. Despite allocating over ZMW 741 million between 2022 and 2024, only ZMW 109.2 million was disbursed, revealing major public investment lags and fiscal absorption challenges. 

Infrastructure development in the farm blocks has been uneven, with a few farm blocks like Nansanga and Luena making steady progress while most remain underdeveloped due to limited fiscal space, weak coordination, poor planning, low private investor interest and more importantly the absence of a comprehensive Farm Block Strategy. 

The brief provides recommendations to improve implementation, including finalizing the Farm Block Strategy, prioritizing infrastructure that will create an enabling environment for private sector investments, enhancing fund disbursement efficiency, and strengthening accountability systems. Fully unlocking the programme’s potential will require systematic public investment and integrated planning aligned with Vision 2030 and the 8NDP.

More details in the attached document!