Production In Zambia Research Articles

Accessing Future Mixed Beans Yield in Zambia under a Changing Climate Scenario

Quantitative evaluation of the response of crop yield and crop water productivity to future climate change is important to prevent/mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. This study assessed the future impact of climate change on rain-fed mixed beans production in Zambia. Mixed beans yield data from 1976 to 2000, was used, aggregated by province and was detrended for non-climatic factors, then correlated with the climatic variables from WABAL function in MOSAICC programme. The significantly correlated variables were regressed to generate coefficients (xi) for each variable (ai) and the intercept (b) to build models for each province. Downscaled data from three GCMs of CanESM2, CNRM-CM5 and MPI-ESM-MR were used to forecast the 2011-2069 yields under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. By comparing the historical and the future mean yields for each RCP, the change was computed and judged for significance. The general trend in the projected climate simulated future yields by the three GCMs under the two RCPs showed a decrease in yield in Agro-Ecological Region (AER) III, IIb and I, and an increase in AER IIa. The projected decrease was attributed to the temperature increase and rainy seasons tending to start later and end earlier than the historical average. This change calls for use of varieties that are more resilient to elevated mean temperatures, use of early maturing varieties, selection of suitable planting dates, the use of chemical fertilizers and the construction of irrigation and water conservancy facilities.

Assessing the Effect of ICTs on Agriculture Productivity Based on the UTAUT Model in Developing Countries. Case Study of Southern Province in Zambia

The study was assessing the effect of Information and Communications Technology (ICTs) on agriculture productivity in Zambia’s Southern Province based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model. Additionally, the study focused on highlighting social economic factors that influence adoption of ICTS. The sample was drawn from small scale farmers in Mazabuka and Monze districts of Southern Province. The study used a mixed method approach and used a multi-stage sampling procedure to draw the sample. Data was collected using both qualitative and quantitative responses using both closed ended and open ended questionnaire generated based on the UTAUT conceptual framework. The response rate was 94% from both Mazabuka and Monze districts. The research utilised the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software and used Regression and Pearson Correlation to analyse the data. Pearson Correlation analysis showed that Performance Expectancy (R = 356**, P-Value = 0.000), Social Influence (601**, P-Value = 0.000) and Facilitating Conditions (R = 0.647**, P-Value = 0.000) and Effort Expectancy (R = 0.185**, P-Value = 0.001) are all positively correlated to behavioural intention. Similarly, regression analysis results were less than the significance level of 0.005 therefore, it was inferred that there is significant impact of all the independent variables on behavioural intention. The research also concluded that there is a relationship between ICT adoption and productivity.

Outbreaks of the Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), and Maize Production Constraints in Zambia with Special Emphasis on Coping Strategies

The fall armyworm (FAW) (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) is an invasive pest of maize, as well as other important cereals and vegetables, threatening food systems and biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to assess the outbreaks of the FAW, farmers’ perceived production constraints, and coping strategies in maize production in Zambia. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) study was conducted in two FAW-affected maize production districts in Zambia in 2017 and 2018. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires, preference ranking, and focused group discussions. Crop losses due to FAW, the high cost of fertilizers, and a limited availability of arable land were the major production constraints across the districts. There were significant differences (X2 = 12.415; p = 0.002) in the severity of FAW infestation between the two districts in 2017. Notable FAW coping strategies used by the respondent farmers included cultural and landscape management practices, chemical pesticides, and crushing of FAW larvae. There was a disparity between male and female respondents who perceived social, agronomic management, and crop protection-related factors that influenced the choice of a maize variety. Information presented here will serve as a basis for FAW-resistant cultivar development and deployment of the integrated pest management methods for Zambia.

Assessing land suitability for rainfed paddy rice production in Zambia

Rice is one of the staple food crops and is a profitable smallholder cash crop in Zambia. It has the potential to contribute significantly to increased incomes and employment among rural producers. However, rice is the only staple crop in the country for which domestic production does not meet or exceed domestic demand. Low productivity is one of the factors that contribute to this. One necessary step towards addressing this problem is the identification of land with greatest potential for rice production, as well as the identification of land-based limitations which might be overcome by improved management. The aim of this study was to develop a land suitability index for rainfed paddy rice production reflecting expert opinion and published studies based on climatic, topographic and soil properties. Land suitability was evaluated using a method which accounts for important multiple factors, and which considers their joint effect in terms of a hierarchical model of constraints. The suitability classes were ranked according to the FAO land suitability classification as: Highly Suitable (S1), Moderately Suitable (S2), Marginally Suitable (S3), Currently Not Suitable (N2), and Permanently Not Suitable (N1). Results showed that there is limited potential for rainfed paddy rice production in Zambia with <20% of the land classified as either highly or moderately suitable. Therefore, the potential of irrigated and upland rice production in Zambia needs to be assessed as this would help expand the potential production area of rice.

The Chemical Composition of Oils and Cakes of Ochna serrulata (Ochnaceae) and Other Underutilized Traditional Oil Trees from Western Zambia.

Currently, the negative effects of unified and intensive agriculture are of growing concern. To mitigate them, the possibilities of using local but nowadays underused crop for food production should be more thoroughly investigated and promoted. The soybean is the major crop cultivated for vegetable oil production in Zambia, while the oil production from local oil-bearing plants is neglected. The chemical composition of oils and cakes of a three traditional oil plant used by descendants of the Lozi people for cooking were investigated. Parinari curatellifolia and Schinziophyton rautanenii oils were chiefly composed of α-eleostearic (28.58–55.96%), linoleic (9.78–40.18%), and oleic acid (15.26–24.07%), whereas Ochna serrulata contained mainly palmitic (35.62–37.31%), oleic (37.31–46.80%), and linoleic acid (10.61–18.66%); the oil yield was high (39–71%). S. rautanenii and O. serrulata oils were rich in γ-tocopherol (3236.18 μg/g, 361.11 μg/g, respectively). The O. serrulata oil also had a very distinctive aroma predominantly composed of p-cymene (52.26%), m-xylene (9.63%), γ-terpinene (9.07%), o-xylene (7.97), and limonene (7.23%). The cakes remaining after oil extraction are a good source of essential minerals, being rich in N, P, S, K, Ca, and Mg. These plants have the potential to be introduced for use in the food, technical, or pharmaceutical industries.

Climate change impacts on rainfed maize yields in Zambia under conventional and optimized crop management

Maize production in Zambia is characterized by significant yield gaps attributed to nutrient management and climate change threatens to widen these gaps unless agronomic management is optimized. Insights in the impacts of climate change on maize yields and the potential to mitigate negative impacts by crop management are currently lacking for Zambia. Using five Global Circulation models and the WOFOST crop model, we assessed climate change impacts on maize yields at a 0.5° × 0.5° spatial resolution for RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. Impacts were assessed for the near future (2035-2066) and far future (2065-2096) in comparison with a reference period (1971-2001). The surface temperature and warm days (above 30 °C) are projected to increase strongly in the southern and western regions. Precipitation is expected to decline, except in the northern regions, whereas the number of wet days declines everywhere, shortening the growing season. The risk of crop failure in western and southern regions increases due to dry spells and heat stress, while crops in the northern regions will be threatened by flooding or waterlogging due to heavy precipitation. The simulated decline in the water-limited and water- and nutrient-limited maize yields varied from 15 to 20% in the near future and from 20 to 40% in the far future, mainly due to the expected temperature increases. Optimizing management by adjusting planting dates and maize variety selection can counteract these impacts by 6-29%. The existing gaps between water-limited and nutrient-limited maize yields are substantially larger than the expected yield decline due to climate change. Improved nutrient management is therefore crucial to boost maize production in Zambia.

Association between microsatellite markers and rice response to the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae in selected Zambian rice genotypes

Magnaporthe oryzae, the rice blast disease pathogen is estimated to cause losses of up to 30% in rice production worldwide, yet its impact on rice production in Zambia remains unknown. Symptomatic rice leaf tissue collected from rice fields in Mongu District of Zambia was cultured on oatmeal agar medium and fungal colonies were purified and identified through leaf lesions and conidia using published keys. An M. oryzae isolate from this study was used to challenge twenty-eight selected Zambian rice genotypes to determine their responses to infection with the pathogen estimated by lesion numbers and sizes. Twelve of the genotypes (42.8%) were highly resistant (HR) with 1 to 2 lesions per cm2, 6 (21.4%) were moderately resistant with mean lesion numbers of 3 to 4 per cm2 while 10 (35.7%) were susceptible with lesion numbers above 5 per cm2 of leaf tissue. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplification of rice genomic DNA extracted from the 28 genotypes using selected microsatellite marker primers revealed a moderate genetic diversity with three of them showing significant genetic diversity. Allelic diversity among the selected genotypes was also confirmed from a calculated mean polymorphic information content of 0.8. A correlation between 8 of the microsatellite markers in some of the rice genotypes and their resistance response to M. oryzae was also established. Results show that some of the analysed rice genotypes have a significant potential for use as a genetic resource in breeding for varieties that are resistant to the rice blast pathogen for Zambian farmers.

Gender relations in smallholder cattle production in Zambia

In recent years, women empowerment has been a topical issue on the global development agenda, and evidence suggests that ownership of productive assets leads to intra-household empowerment. In smallholder rural households, ownership of productive assets such as cattle is considered a valuable asset as it provides multiple benefits. Despite the importance of owning cattle, gender differences are more pronounced in cattle ownership compared to small livestock in Sub-Saharan African countries. Therefore, this study examines in detail why the cattle gender gap continues to persist. Addressing this knowledge gap requires identifying how female household members acquire cattle and understand what cattle ownership means from a gendered lens. It is also essential to determine the factors associated with the proportion of cattle owned by female household members and determining if the share of cattle owned by female household members is correlated with cattle herd productivity and women empowerment. We used a mixed-methods approach to address the study objectives. Our qualitative findings suggest that though women can acquire cattle through various means, they often do not have full ownership based on the bundles of rights. The quantitative estimations show that even though women are likely to own cattle, the likelihood to increase the share of cattle they own is less due to the perceived intrahousehold conflicts that are likely to ensue. This suggests that the cattle ownership gender gap is likely to continue to persist. We also find insignificant negative correlation between the share of cattle owned by female household members and cattle herd productivity. However, we find that female household headship, education, cattle mortality, and birth rates are the key drivers of cattle herd productivity. Conversely, women empowerment is positively correlated with the share of cattle owned by female household members. Finally, we discuss how these findings could help the development programs that focus on women.

Faculty productivity in Zambian higher education in the face of internationalization: Unpacking research, publication and citation at the University of Zambia

This paper is based on a study that aimed at examining and interrogating the extent of faculty productivity in Zambia in terms of research, publication and citation with specific reference to the University of Zambia (UNZA). The paper invokes the Network Theory of Internationalisation of Higher Education founded by Johanson &amp; Mattsson (1988).The research design used in this article is a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. The sample size total was 254, of which 244 were academic staff and 10 were key informants from management. Qualitative data was analysed according to emerging themes, while quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of this paper seem to suggest that faculties at UNZA were highly involved in research (applied and basic) at 75%, but with poor incidences of transforming research into publication and innovation. Only 38% of respondents published articles annually (increasing to 62% within two years) in local and international journals. While respondents who had published books in the last two years was as low as 19.5%. UNZA productivity output in terms of citation was relatively poor, below the expected standard of h-index and citation index of a flagship university which has a track record of more than 40 years of operation as a fully-fledged comprehensive university. Results primarily showed that the UNZA had an average h-index of 4.50 and a citation index of 156.87 which are significantly lower than the world averages of 17.50 and 971, respectively. The paper finally argues that, UNZA like most of the flagship and comprehensive universities in Africa, are quickly transforming from a teaching university into a research university based on the influence of the global North whose research agenda is central – at the expense of teaching. In order to improve on research productivity, this paper recommends that UNZA deliberately identify relevant industries, and global and regional partners to genuinely collaborate with as a way of leveraging resources and expertise. There is also a growing desire by universities in the global South to work closely together as way of improving their own productivity capacity in terms of research, publication, citation and redefine the concept of internationalization to fit the global South.&#x0D; Key words: Faculty, Productivity, Research, Publication, Citations, University of Zambia&#x0D; How to cite this article: Masaiti, G., Mwila, K., Kulyambanino, C. &amp; Njobvu, T. 2021. Faculty productivity in Zambian higher education in the face of internationalization: unpacking research, publication and citation at the University of Zambia. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South. 5(1): 66-86. DOI: 10.36615/sotls.v5i1.153.&#x0D; This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Faculty productivity in Zambian higher education in the face of internationalization: Unpacking research, publication and citation at the University of Zambia

This paper is based on a study that aimed at examining and interrogating the extent of faculty productivity in Zambia in terms of research, publication and citation with specific reference to the University of Zambia (UNZA). The paper invokes the Network Theory of Internationalisation of Higher Education founded by Johanson &amp; Mattsson (1988).The research design used in this article is a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. The sample size total was 254, of which 244 were academic staff and 10 were key informants from management. Qualitative data was analysed according to emerging themes, while quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of this paper seem to suggest that faculties at UNZA were highly involved in research (applied and basic) at 75%, but with poor incidences of transforming research into publication and innovation. Only 38% of respondents published articles annually (increasing to 62% within two years) in local and international journals. While respondents who had published books in the last two years was as low as 19.5%. UNZA productivity output in terms of citation was relatively poor, below the expected standard of h-index and citation index of a flagship university which has a track record of more than 40 years of operation as a fully-fledged comprehensive university. Results primarily showed that the UNZA had an average h-index of 4.50 and a citation index of 156.87 which are significantly lower than the world averages of 17.50 and 971, respectively. The paper finally argues that, UNZA like most of the flagship and comprehensive universities in Africa, are quickly transforming from a teaching university into a research university based on the influence of the global North whose research agenda is central – at the expense of teaching. In order to improve on research productivity, this paper recommends that UNZA deliberately identify relevant industries, and global and regional partners to genuinely collaborate with as a way of leveraging resources and expertise. There is also a growing desire by universities in the global South to work closely together as way of improving their own productivity capacity in terms of research, publication, citation and redefine the concept of internationalization to fit the global South.

Case Study – Sorghum Improvement in Zambia: Promotion of Sorghum Open Pollinated Varieties (SOPVs)

Food security has been a major concern because of low crop productivity in Zambia. Food insecurity is a cost to the social-economic development of Zambia and the SADC region. Unpredictable weather and climatic fluctuations have further aggravated this situation. To help address these challenges associated with climate change and crop productivity there has been a major paradigm shift towards crop diversification. As a result, the major goal of the Sorghum Breeding Program is to shift sorghum from a subsistence crop to a value-added cash crop. The inherent capacity of sorghum to tolerant harsh weather gives it an added advantage in mitigating the effects of climate change. The major goal of the Sorghum Program in Zambia is to upscale dissemination of already developed, underutilized, low cost, proven and improved sorghum technologies. &#x0D; The program has invested in the development of Sorghum Open Pollinated Variety (SOPVs) Technologies that are high yielding with a broader environmental adaptation. SOPVs contribute to national food security and economic development and need to be upscaled through research, extension and enabling policies. The Sorghum Breeding Program utilizes sustainable approaches to ensure that the climate adaptation technologies are utilized by farmers along the Zambezi and Luangwa river basins because these are areas mostly affected by the impact of climatic fluctuations. To make this approach sustainable the Sorghum Breeding Program incorporates agronomic practices such as conservation farming and other soil improvement technologies. &#x0D; Since farmers not only need food security but also income for social-economic growth, the program equally makes efforts to link small-scale farmers to markets. Disseminating technologies on sorghum value addition is also on the priority list because sorghum can also be used in the food industry (healthy foods), feed industry (stock feed and silage), brewing industry (malt and beer) and energy industry (bio-fuels). The private sector has been persuaded to continue investing in agriculture through input supplies and value addition. While the public sector (government) has been encouraged to make appropriate policies that can enhance sustainable agriculture. The changing climates and economies require that food diversification, sustainable agriculture and proven technologies for climate change adaptation are encouraged.

Use of culture and molecular methods for identification and characterization of dry bean fungal root rot pathogens in Zambia

Root and crown rot (RCR) of dry bean is a disease complex caused by soil-borne pathogens that can limit bean production in Zambia. Identifying the primary pathogen in the complex would facilitate the control as well as breeding for resistance to the disease. Plant tissue samples and DNA embedded FTA® Cards were collected to isolate, detect and molecularly identify RCR pathogens using genus/species specific primers as well as high throughput deep sequencing with illumina Miseq using universal eukaryote bar coded primers Euk7. A total of 204 isolates were characterized using morphological features and Sanger sequencing. Analysis of reads and operational taxonomic units from illumina sequencing, detection frequencies from polymerized chain reaction as well as morphological characterization revealed Fusarium species complex as the main component of RCR complex of dry bean in Zambia, primarily F. oxysporum, followed by F. solani. A sensitivity chi-square test comparing detection methods of the four major RCR pathogens showed statistical differences. A highly significant positive correlation (p < 0.001) confirmed by a good agreement (kappa (k) 0.5 to 0.6, p < 0.05) was found between FTA® Card and direct plant tissue. Use of FTA® Cards can facilitate sampling, storing and analysis of DNA for RCR pathogen identification.

African Indigenous Vegetables Production and Consumption Behavior of Farmers in Zambia: An Econometric Analysis

African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have recently received wide attention for their contribution toward food and nutrition security. Promoting the production and consumption of AIVs is likely to mitigate food insecurity and alleviate malnutrition in the African region. To document and analyze existing patterns of AIV production in Zambia, farmers were surveyed in person using a structured questionnaire. A total of 300 farmers were selected from Lusaka (50), Katete (50), Chipata (75), Lundazi (75), and Petauke (75). Analysis of the survey results using logit model identified that those who farm less than 10 acres of farming land, were concerned about nutrition quality of AIVs, reported that price of farm produce is fixed by buyers, were registered as a member of any community group or association, received training related to nutrition and health, saved money for unexpected expenses, and were single are more likely than other farmers to produce AIVs for home consumption. Whereas, those who visited the nearest market two times or more, traded agricultural produce through intermediaries, owned a TV, earned an income above 30,000 kwacha and has a University degree are less likely to produce AIVs for home consumption. These results indicate that interventions aimed at increasing AIV production for home consumption should target specific groups of farmers rather than all farmers. This survey also captures the most common AIVs that are grown in these regions in Zambia: Sweet potato leaves, amaranth and orange sweet potato.

A Technology of Multiple Smelting Furnaces per Termite Mound: Iron Production in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract With exception of Maluma (1979) and Musambachime (2016, 2017), there have been no archaeometallurgical publications on the technology and culture of iron production in Zambia. This paper presents archaeological and archaeometallurgical evidence of a technology of iron production in Chongwe in terms of spatial organization, the process of metal production (either a three-stage process involving smelting in relatively tall furnaces, refining in miniature (vintengwe) furnaces, and smithing on a hearth or a two-stage process involving smelting and smithing), furnace air supply mechanisms, liquid slag handling techniques, variation in the geochemistry of ore and clay, and the nature of the final smelting products. Archaeological field data collection techniques included ethnoarchaeological interviews, (furnace) excavation, surface collections, and surface walkover surveys, while laboratory analytical techniques included optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and x-ray fluorescence (XRF). New field evidence indicates that iron production in Chongwe in the previous two centuries was secluded from respective pre-modern settlements for socio-cultural and technical reasons. There are no settlement remains in and around Chongwe smelting sites. Also, most of the archaeological data in Chongwe are supportive of the two-stage process that did not involve iron refining in vintengwe furnaces. There were no iron refining sites in Chongwe. Archaeological evidence also strongly points to the use of natural air supply mechanism for the smelting furnaces because proximal ends of tuyères inter alia were not trumpeted. All smelting sites were systematically located on termite mounds. There were three to four smelting furnaces located on the western side of a termite mound. The presence of tuyère mould slags and thin and elongated slag microstructures strongly indicates that liquid slag was tapped outside the furnace apparently through tuyères and was left to cool quickly. Presence of primary wüstite and iron particles in the slags strongly suggests the production of iron as the final smelting product in Chongwe. The results are compared with the archaeology, chemistry, and mineralogy of iron production from other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the Lake Tanganyika-Nyasa Corridor. The presence of three to four smelting furnaces per termite mound makes iron production in Chongwe a unique technology in the Corridor.

Does agricultural diversification build economic resilience to drought and flood? Evidence from poor households in Zambia

The adverse effects of weather extremes produce widespread damage and cause severe alterations in the normal functioning of household agricultural production in Zambia. Extreme weather events such as floods and drought are expected to increase in intensity and frequency due to climate change. Coupled with high poverty levels and limited institutional capacity, the country is highly vulnerable to the impact of extreme events. We quantify the effects of economic diversification on agricultural productivity of poor farm households with a skew-normal regression approach while accounting for drought and flood shocks. Our analysis finds that economic diversification is a strategy to increase agricultural productivity and mitigate the adverse impact of droughts and floods on agricultural households. The results also support the country's policies to encourage hybrid maize production and to provide crop seeds and fertiliser to poor farmers. This paper provides a framework to plan and inform interventions to enhance household economic resilience to weather shocks through agricultural diversification in Zambia and other countries.

English

The current and anticipated demographic changes worldwide are expected to increase fish and other animal protein consumption. Capture fisheries alone cannot meet these requirements. Aquaculture offers a way out if it can further be developed. However, in most developing countries, aquaculture is still in its infancy and the evidence on the industry is quite thin. We assess the profitability of small-scale aquaculture production in Zambia using primary data collected through a structured questionnaire that was supplemented with focus group discussions with individual fish farmers. The analysis combined descriptive statistics, enterprise budgets, and financial analysis tools. The profitability of the aquaculture venture was determined using the indicators of investment returns including, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR). The results from the profitability analysis show positive net revenue, NPV and IRR. The Benefit-Cost Ratio is also greater than one, implying that investment in aquaculture production is a profitable and viable business venture for small-scale farmers. The results reveal that over the useful life of the ponds, which is assumed to be 10 years, the estimated NPV is 17,524.13 ZMW and the IRR is 42.38%, measured at the discount rate of 15%. The positive NPV implies that the aquaculture enterprise is feasible and profitable. Key words: Aquaculture, profitability, Zambia

Cage aquaculture production in Zambia: Assessment of opportunities and challenges on Lake Kariba, Siavonga district

Cage aquaculture is among the recent innovations that have attracted great attention in fish production in most African countries. In Zambia, cage aquaculture has recorded significant growth to even emerge as the largest contributor to the total national aquaculture production annually. Our study was aimed at assessing cage aquaculture production in Siavonga district of Zambia. We targeted the aquaculture and feed manufacturing companies, their production, challenges, and opportunities. This study revealed that there were five main aquaculture production companies with fish cages ranging from 96 m3 to 135,534 m3 in size. Oreochromis niloticus was found to be the only cultured species. Lack of quality fish seed and feed were the major challenges faced by the aquaculture production companies in Siavonga district. The study further revealed that there were two major aquafeed manufacturing companies within the district with a production capacity ranging from 50 tons to 200 tons per day. Lack of readily available raw material for feed making was the major challenge facing the aquafeed manufacturing companies. There are huge potentials for cage aquaculture in Siavonga district, which can significantly contribute to the nation's aquaculture production. These include the availability of large fish feed manufacturing companies and huge water resources.

Agricultural Informatization and Technical Efficiency in Maize Production in Zambia

The cropland productivity gap between Africa and the rest of the world is widening. Fortunately, increasing farmers’ access to useful agricultural information reduces the costs of searching for information, thereby leading to higher agricultural productivity and sustainability. This study investigates the association between the adoption of mobile phones to collect agricultural information and farmers’ technical efficiency (TE) in Zambia. Different from previous studies, we focus on the actual use of mobile phones by farmers rather than mere ownership. Farmers were selected using a two-stage sampling procedure, and the Cobb-Douglas (CD) production function is adopted to estimate the association using two approaches—the conventional stochastic production frontier (SPF) and propensity score matching-stochastic production frontier (PSM-SPF) model. In both cases, we found that the use of mobile phones is significantly and positively associated with farmers’ TE. However, the conventional SFP model exaggerates the TE scores by 5.3% due to its failure to mitigate biases from observed variables. Regarding the agricultural growth indicators (income and output) related to TE, a close inspection reveals that increasing mobile phone use to close the TE gap between the two groups could result in a 5.13% and 8.21% reduction in severity of poverty and extreme poverty, respectively. Additional research is essential to corroborate the findings and analyze the potential causal mechanisms. Our study provides strong evidence to promote mobile phone use in agricultural production in rural Zambia.

Correction to: Cassava mosaic disease: a review of a threat to cassava production in Zambia

This correction stands to correct the erroneous corresponding author name Rabson Chiza Chikoti. The publisher and everyone involved would like readers to know that the correct name credited should be Patrick Chiza Chikoti and not the former. The original article has been corrected.

Bioresources for sustainable pellet production in Zambia: Twelve biomasses pelletized at different moisture contents

The use of charcoal and firewood for cooking is common in Zambia, and its utilization is such that the deforestation rate is high, energy utilization is low, and unfavorable cooking methods lead to high death rates due to indoor air pollution mainly from particulate matter and carbon monoxide. By using an alternative cooking method, such as pellet stoves, it is possible to offer a sustainable solution, provided that sustainable pellet production can be achieved. In this study, 12 different available biomaterials were pelletized in a single pellet unit to investigate their availability as raw materials for pellet production in Zambia. The study showed that sicklebush and pigeon pea generated the same pelleting properties correlated with compression and friction and that both materials showed low moisture uptake. The study also identified two groups of materials that broadened the raw material base and helped to achieve sustainable pellet production. Group 1 consisted of materials with equal pelleting abilities (miombo, peanut shell, pigeon pea, and sicklebush) and Group 2 consisted of materials that showed low impact of varying moisture content (eucalyptus, miombo, peanut shell, pigeon pea, and sicklebush). The hardest pellet was made from Tephrosia, which was followed by Gliricidia.