Diminishing agricultural land and food production in Makeni, Lusaka district.
Date
2025
Authors
Namakando, Linda
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia
Abstract
Change in land-use, which causes a decrease in agricultural land, has an impact on food production. This situation is a major concern and a subject of many studies around the globe. The objectives of this study were to estimate the proportion of originally zoned agricultural land in Makeni, to determine the proportion of land converted from Agriculture to other land uses between 1990 and 2017 and to determine the implications of land-use change from agriculture to other uses on food production. In-depth Interviews with 5 key informants from different institutions were conducted. Landowners in Makeni were also interviewed. Surveys with traders in the surrounding markets were also conducted. Unsupervised classification in GIS was used to analyze the spatial data collected. The results obtained from interviews and surveys were analyzed using thematic analysis and the quantitative one was analyzed in SPSS. Land in Makeni was originally zoned for agriculture purposes; however, the results obtained show that the proportion of area covered by built-up land is on the increase, whilst there is a decline in land for Agricultural production. Built-up land increased from 5.1 km2 in 1990 to 7.4 km2 in 2000 and a sharp increase to 11.9 km2 in 2017 was recorded. There was a drastic decrease in Agricultural land from 24.2 km2 in 1990 to 17.8 km2 in 2000 and in 2017 it reduced drastically to 13.9 km2. These results also show that 84 percent of the farmers in Makeni experienced reduced Agricultural production. The survey conducted among the traders revealed that 90 percent of the traders witnessed reduced purchase of agricultural produce. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the farmers who maintained agricultural land-use reported a decrease in crop yield, potentially due to factors such as soil degradation or changing climate conditions, while the study indicates that only 16% observed an increase. Approximately 300 properties changed land-use from agriculture to residential in Makeni between 2010 and 2016. The desire for more accommodation as the city expands has influenced the land-use changes, which have led to a drastic reduction in agricultural land in Makeni. This has negatively affected the amount of agricultural production in the study area and has led to increased food prices in Lusaka as most food is sourced from other districts. Therefore, there is need for strict compliance to zoning regulations in the City. There is also a need for farmers in the city to be incentivized to continue engaging in agriculture production as this will help to improve food security in Lusaka.
Key Words: Diminishing Agricultural land: Land-use change; Food production.
Description
Thesis of Master of Science in Spatial Planning.