90
(271 farms, 14.4 percent). However, in terms of area, commercial farms are most extensive in the
southern regions (665,377 hectares, 43.4 percent), followed by Central (471,762 hectares, 30.8
percent) and Lusaka (177,946 hectares, 11.6 percent) provinces.
Southern province has the majority of the large farms with 38.3 percent of those with 2,000
hectares or more and 35.4 percent of those in the 800-1,999 hectare range. Only 3.5 percent of the
small farms and 10.7 percent of the mid-size farms in 200-799 category are located there however.'
Central province has another 32.2 percent of the two largest farm size categories, 39.4 percent of the
mid-size farms (200-799 hectares), but only 23.4 percent of the small farms. Lusaka and the
Copperbelt, which together comprise 23.0 percent of all farms, each have another 10-15 percent of
the largest farms with Eastern and North-Western provinces each having a few. Lusaka and the
Copperbelt are also the most urbanized and densely populated areas of the country with 39.9 and 31.7
people per km2 versus less than 10 people per km2 for the rest of the country (CSO 1991). 3 The small
farms are relatively evenly distributed across regions although North-Western province, which has
only a few large farms, has 42.8 percent of the farms in the 0-199 category and 26.6 percent of all
farms.
The skewed distribution of farm numbers versus farming area described above is also apparent
when one examines the regional figures. While most regions have roughly the same percent of total
farm numbers as total area, North-Western and Southern provinces are exceptions. North-Western
province, for example, has 26.6 percent of all farms but only 2.3 percent of the total land base. In
contrast, Southern province which is dominated by large commercial farms has only 14.4 percent of
the total number of farms but 43.4 percent of the total land area. It, like the Central region, is located
primarily in agroecological zone IIA which is characterized by a mean rainfall of 800-1,000 mm
annually, 100-140 day growing season, and 5-6 hours of sunshine per day. Despite some soil
limitations, it is the primary agricultural area (according to an unpublished report on agroecological
zones).
IV. Changes over time in farm structure
The change in the number of farms over time has been rather stochastic according to the
figures reported in annex 3.1 on the number of commercial farms by province for the period 1976 to
1990. The time series data begin in 1976 with 1,527 farms nationally. One year later, the number
jumps to 2,242, drops again to 1,566 in 1979, before surging again to 1,894 in 1980. A steady decline
in the number of farms nationally occurred from 1980 to 1985, when a low of 1,102 was reached. In
1986, the reported number of farms rebounded to 1,972 and held steady around the 2,000 mark
thereafter through 1990. These trends are illustrated in figure 3.1 for national totals and figure 3.3
for farms in the 0-79 hectare category. The Copperbelt/Others region seems to have enjoyed a long-
term gradual increase in the number of farms. The Central and Southern regions exhibited more
instability, with a fall in the mid-1970s from which they rebounded again in the mid-1980s. The
Central region seems to have included Lusaka prior to 1981 which may account for part of the dip
2 See footnote on number of farms over time and Southern province below.
] Population densities were calculated based on the 1990 census data and were reported in the CSO 1991 booklet,
"Women and Men in Zambia." The provincial population densities per square kilometer are as follows: Copperbelt, 39.9;
Lusaka, 31.7; Eastern, 9.4; Luapula, 8.3; Southern, 7.9; Central, 5.4; Northern, 4.6; North-Western, 3.9; and Western,
2.4.