2007 Volume 2 Issue 2 Pages 145-158
The rural people of Zambia, who make up 61% of the total population, have remained predominantly poor since independence, with an overall poverty level of about 73%, compared with 53% for their urban counterparts. Two-thirds of the rural poor are extremely poor. The fight against poverty has therefore been an ongoing one with a focus on rural areas. In Chongwe District, the communities keep up the fight with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency through the Project for Participatory Village Development in Isolated Areas, working in 43 villages to implement micro projects.
This study aimed first to estimate the income and productivity of households and identify the factors affecting income generation and crop production in the project villages. Second, it aimed to assess how the villagers chose the income generation and infrastructural activities that they undertook in their micro-projects in Chongwe District. We found that, although household income and productivity had not changed markedly, the effects of the project's interventions were positive. Community assets were beginning to support production in many villages. Micro-projects that create community assets may contribute to the lasting solution of poverty among rural households in Zambia by improving household incomes and productivity.
