Scaling Up Input Technology and Input Access: Clues from Zambia (Event Resources)

This event explored two new studies on Zambia that review different aspects of the agricultural input supply market evolution.

"Scaling Up of Drought-Tolerant Maize in Zambia" was the first of a series of Feed the Future reviews of successful scaling of agricultural technologies. It analyzed multiple factors that spread hybrid maize seed adoption through commercial pathways from 2006-2015.

"Scaling Impact: Zambia PROFIT Case Study" was the first in a series of studies reviewing the ex-post status of business models initially supported by donors' market facilitation projects. This study examined the extent to which input suppliers continue to serve the smallholder farmer market segment. Aspects of the market system were also examined, including the USAID-funded Production, Finance, and Improved Technology project.

Over the course of the discussion, participants learned where these two cases converged and where they revealed differing perspectives. Participants discovered what factors allowed for inputs to scale in Zambia and what that might mean for other markets.

This was a co-hosted Ag Sector Council and Microlinks seminar, brought to you by the USAID Bureau for Food Security and the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education & Environment.