The name is absent

97

The area purchased dropped dramatically during most of the early to mid-1980s with several
years of 0 hectares purchased in each of the provinces (annex 3.3). It is not clear whether this is due
to reporting error or structural changes in the land market. In Central province, 11,593.6 hectares
over 1976-78 were purchased on average, which was 1.36 percent of the land base, while only
2,223.0 hectares were purchased on average in the 1988-90 period, a decline of 80.8 percent despite
far less change in total farm area. Similarly, purchases in the Copperbelt/Other region averaged
12,327 hectares for 1976-78 but dropped to 2,048.6 hectares per annum by the 1988-90 period—an
83 percent decline. The change in purchases for Lusaka could not be measured over the same period
due to missing data, but there was a drop from the 1981-83 average of 4,221.6 hectares to an average
of 810.3 hectares in 1988-90. Southern province, in contrast, had only 174.3 hectares purchased on
average in 1976-78 but had 5,598.6 hectares purchased per annum in 1988-90. No purchases were
reported for several years. Small farms in all provinces, described in table 3.10, exhibit the same
tendencies with 0 hectares purchased in 1983 and 1987 and under 20 in 1985 and 1986.

Table 3.10: Small farms (0-79 ha), private transfers, 1981-1990

The amount of hectares leased also suffered a decline during the 1980s and an overall decline
for the data period. Comparing the periods 1976-78 with 1988-90, the leased-in area of 62,313.3
hectares in 1976-78 declined to 8,179.6 hectares in Central province; from 74,347.6 hectares to
1,284.6 hectares in the Copperbelt/others; from 75,537 hectares to 11,975 hectares in Southern
province; and a less dramatic 8,776.3 hectares (1981-83) to 7,824.3 in Lusaka, despite the fact that
land area in the sector remains relatively constant.

Overall, land purchases tend to be undertaken by farms in the larger farm size categories
(800-1,999 and 200-799 hectares) and principally in Southern and the Copperbelt/Other provinces.
Leasing-in tends to be more common on farms less than 2,000 hectares, and particularly on the
smallest farms in Lusaka province (0-199 hectares, 15.7 percent) and Southern province. In contrast,
sales and leasing-out tend to be widely dispersed among all provinces and, on the basis of area, tend
to be concentrated in the larger farm size categories. These data further suggest a land market that,
while quite important in the commercial sector, is still constrained compared with other countries in
the region. Most farms appear to renting-in land from other individuals or groups that fall outside the

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