The Impact Of Yield Program In Zambia

Cotton production has been going down especially in African cotton producing countries. To try and preserve the production of the much needed raw material , people like Michael Otto initiated a program called cmiA (Cotton Made In Africa) in 2005. The program was running in a number of countries in Africa. It started with high incentives for those farmers that participated and these included premium price for every kilogram produced , full personal protective gear and subsidized farming inputs at 50%. Later all these incentives were removed after farmers had seen the benefits of improved farming techniques. However, extensive farmer training in improved farming methods was still going on. Thus the author of this book was interested to measure the impact that this great investment had yielded in Zambia under the domestic project called YIELD program. Much as it was a requirement for the award of a degree status in bachelor of Economics and Finance, the secondary drive was to affirm the magnitude and direction of impact. It was found that the program improved cotton production by 1,197 kilograms per hectare. Hence the conclusion that the program be scaled up to all farmers.