195
planning was done prior to settling, and where the plans have been followed, there are no serious soil
or water conservation problems. Such is the case with most of the original farms on State Land but
not on traditional land. In these areas, soil erosion is said to be evident in most areas, especially in
pastoral rural communities. While some livestock owners have shown regard for animal stocking rates
and carrying capacities of their holdings and have adopted appropriate farming practices, others have
disregarded all such factors, resulting in general land degradation.
The Land Use Planning Section of MAFF indicates that, at present, only about 6 percent of
Zambia's arable land is adequately planned for agricultural use. It warns that present land development
remains a big threat to overall resource conservation and management, and suggests that appropriate
planning and conservation need to focus high on the agenda from now on.' (See table 6.12 for
details on existing planned agricultural areas in Zambia.)
Table 6.12: Existing planned agricultural areas in Zambia
Province |
RCP° |
CCP° |
SS" |
FBD* | ||||
No. |
Area |
No. |
Area |
No. |
Area |
No. |
Area | |
Central |
13 |
3,525 |
9 |
6,842 |
8 |
333 |
3 |
3,840 |
Copperbelt |
3 |
1,143 |
3 |
1,108 |
14 |
1,014 |
5 |
801 |
Eastern |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1,184 |
23 |
700 |
2 |
199 |
Luapula |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
24 |
5 |
844 |
Lusaka |
12 |
3,080 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
131 |
1 |
35 |
Northern |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
296 |
4 |
3,677 |
North-Western |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
115 |
2 |
365 |
Southern |
29 |
7,730 |
20 |
4,591 |
25 |
844 |
- |
620 |
Western |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
_______30 |
2 |
96 |
All Zambia |
57 |
15,478 |
37 |
13,725 |
89 |
3,487 |
24 |
10,477 |
a. RCP = Rural Reconstruction Program; CCP = cooperative program; SS = Southern province small block
program; FBD = farm block development.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Land Use Planning Section, "Statement of Policy and Plan
of Action: Final Report" (February 1993).
XI. Concluding remarks
Based on the information available to the authors, attempts have been made to help researchers
identify what is known of resettlement schemes in the Zambian literature. Highlights of successes and
problems encountered in the various settlement programs have been given. No attempt, however, has
been made to draw conclusions on the future of settlement schemes or on ways to improve their
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Land Use Planning Section: Statement of Policy and Plan of Action 1993.