Smallholder maize farming in Zambia: A systematic review of challenges and opportunities

Agriculture remains a key priority sector in many developing countries, serving as the backbone of their economies and providing livelihoods for a significant portion of the population. In Zambia, agriculture plays a crucial role in ensuring food security, generating employment, and fostering rural economic development. Smallholder farmers dominate the Zambian agricultural landscape, primarily engaging in maize production, which is the country's staple food. The smallholder maize farmers play a crucial role in ensuring food security, creating employment opportunities, and contributing to rural development. Despite their important role to food security and economic growth, smallholder maize farmers in Zambia have consistently struggled with low productivity over the years, even though a substantial part of the agricultural budget is dedicated to maize support. Understanding the challenges faced by smallholder maize farmers and identifying opportunities is essential to unlocking their potential, boosting yields, and improving livelihoods across rural communities. This paper explores the challenges and opportunities encountered by smallholder maize farmers in Zambia. Relying on secondary sources through a systematic literature review, including academic literature, agricultural reports, and publications from research institutes and private organizations from 2013 to 2023, the study employs thematic analysis using NVivo software to interpret the data. Key themes of challenges identified include; limited access to finance, inadequate farming inputs, limited market access, fluctuating maize prices, climate change impacts, inadequate extension service, and poor infrastructure. Conversely, opportunities such as the adoption of climate-smart agriculture, increased funding towards agricultural program initiatives, and regional market opportunities can be leveraged to enhance the productivity and sustainability of smallholder maize farming. Understanding these dynamics enables policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders to devise strategies and interventions that enhance the resilience and productivity of smallholder maize farming in Zambia. This paper contributes to the existing literature on smallholder farming and offers insights for sustainable smallholder maize farming in Zambia and similar contexts. Key words: Agriculture, smallholder maize farmers, challenges, opportunities, thematic analysis, Zambia