Left Behind

Left Behind: Rural Zambia in the Third Republic seeks to identify persistent obstacles associated with integrating rural producers into the national economy. The analysis draws primarily on studies of the southern Luapula plateau. The economic citizenship of rural Zambians is an end in itself, but it also helps secure their democratic participation in defining the means and ends of the nation’s development. Small-scale farmers have generally lost out on both counts. For all of its much-touted ‘potential’, agriculture remains a back-breaking, unrewarding and uncertain livelihood for most Zambians, much as it was at independence forty-five years ago. The findings presented here demonstrate how government officials, chiefs and MPs are often distracted by concerns related more to their own, rather than their constituencies’ fortunes. When will rural Zambians find the means to have their voice heard in the corridors of power?