Key Trends from the 2004 country brief

• Agricultural research investments in Zambia, in real (inflation adjusted) prices decreased considerably over the past three decades because of declining government contributions and waning donor funding.
• Despite significant declines in resources in the 1990s, the Soils and Crops Research Branch (SCRB) remains Zambia’s principal agricultural research agency, accounting for over half the country’s agricultural research spending and half its research staff in 2000.
• Zambia’s agricultural research sector was significantly restructured under two consecutive projects—the Zambia Agricultural Research and Extension Project (ZAREP) and the Agricultural Sector Investment Program (ASI)—which were funded World Bank loans and donor contributions.
• The government established three research trusts to stimulate private sector participation in agricultural research; a number of seed companies also conduct their own research.

Zambia