Prioritizing Critical Success Factors for Smallholder Maize Farmers in Zambia: A Pathway to Sustainable Food Security and Rural Development
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62156489%3A43110%2F25%3A43927218" target="_blank" >RIV/62156489:43110/25:43927218 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70038" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70038</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sd.70038" target="_blank" >10.1002/sd.70038</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Prioritizing Critical Success Factors for Smallholder Maize Farmers in Zambia: A Pathway to Sustainable Food Security and Rural Development
Original language description
The agricultural sector is pivotal to the economies of most developing countries. In Zambia, the agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder maize farmers who play a key role in ensuring food security, employment, and rural development. Despite receiving a significant share of the agricultural budget, smallholder maize farmers continue to experience low levels of productivity. This necessitates a focused evaluation of the critical success factors (CSFs) that can support and elevate smallholder maize farming outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the CSFs of smallholder maize farming in Zambia using the Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (Fuzzy AHP). An expert survey was conducted to collect data on the relative importance of each CSF, allowing for a systematic prioritization of the factors influencing smallholder maize farming. The results indicate that knowledge (0.2617), adoption of technology (0.1779), and financial resources (0.1365) have the most significant impact on the success of smallholder maize farming in Zambia. Additionally, the study identified knowledge application (0.1715), conservation agriculture practices (0.0936), knowledge acquisition (0.0901), irrigation (0.0843), and access to loan facilities (0.0793) as the most influential sub-factors. The study offers valuable insights for policymakers and agricultural practitioners, enabling them to focus on the most impactful areas to enhance the performance and sustainability of smallholder maize farming. Prioritizing the CSFs has the potential to drive progress in Zambia's smallholder maize sector, boosting productivity, enhancing food security, and fostering sustainable rural livelihoods, thereby contributing to the broader sustainable development goals such as eradicating poverty, achieving zero hunger, and climate resilience.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
50204 - Business and management
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Sustainable Development
ISSN
0968-0802
e-ISSN
1099-1719
Volume of the periodical
33
Issue of the periodical within the volume
S1
Country of publishing house
US - UNITED STATES
Number of pages
21
Pages from-to
1038-1058
UT code for WoS article
001522864200001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105009779709