The Impact of Agricultural Input Subsidies (FISP) on the Maize Productivity and Income of Women Farmers in Zambia's Southern Province: A Comparative Analysis

Anthony Ofosu Danso

Master's thesis

Abstract:

This thesis examines the impact of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) on the maize productivity and maize farm income of women farmers in Zambia’s Southern Province, while also assessing whether women and men benefit equally from the programme. Introduced in 2002, FISP has remained a central agricultural support programme in Zambia, aimed at improving smallholder maize productivity, raising rural incomes, and strengthening food security, yet women farmers still face barriers to accessing subsidized inputs, productive resources, and output markets Using cross-sectional survey data from four districts in Southern Province; Choma, Monze, Kalomo, and Pemba, the study applies a non-experimental analytical design to two subsamples: 131 women farmers (76 beneficiaries and 55 non-beneficiaries) and a pooled beneficiary sample of 234 farmers (76 women and 158 men). Probit estimation is used to identify the determinants of women’s participation in FISP, while propensity score matching and linear regression are employed to estimate programme effects and assess gender differences in maize productivity and maize farm income. The findings show that access to extension services significantly improves women’s likelihood of participating in FISP. The results further indicate that participation in the programme has positive, statistically significant effects on women’s maize productivity and farm income, suggesting that subsidy support can improve women’s agricultural performance when barriers to land, credit, extension services and market access are reduced. Although male beneficiaries report higher maize income, the findings suggests this difference is largely associated with inequalities in access to productive resources, scale-related advantages, and stronger market participation rather than lower female productivity. The study, therefore, implies that the effectiveness of FISP depends not only on input provision but also on whether the structural constraints limiting women’s access to land, livestock, and markets are fully addressed. The study recommends strengthening extension service delivery, improving women’s access to productive resources, and promoting their integration into output markets. It also recommends that subsidy design pay closer attention to gender differences in resource control and commercialisation to achieve more equitable and sustainable gains from agricultural support programmes overall.

Keywords

women farmers, Input subsidies, maize productivity, FISP, Zambia

Jazyk práce: English

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 27. 4. 2026

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 2. 6. 2026
• Vedúci: Ing. Jana Mazancová, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Karel Malec, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Master programme:
Agri-food Systems and Rural Development