Assessing the Potential for Private Sector Engagement in Integrated Landscape Approaches: Insights from Value-Chain Analyses in Southern Zambia

Abstract

Agricultural and forested landscapes in Africa are changing rapidly in response to socio-economic and environmental pressures. Integrated landscape approaches provide an opportunity for a more holistic and coordinated resource management strategy through the engagement of multiple stakeholders. Despite their influence as landscape actors, participation of private businesses in such initiatives has thus far been limited. This study focuses on the Kalomo District in southern Zambia, which provides an example of a rural landscape characterized by high levels of poverty, low agricultural productivity, and widespread deforestation and forest degradation. The study applied a value-chain analysis approach to better understand how the production of four locally important commodities (maize, tobacco, cattle, and charcoal) impacts land use, local livelihoods, and environmental objectives in this landscape, focusing on the role and influence of private sector actors. Data were collected through focus group discussions and key informant semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis was employed to analyze the data and contextualize the findings. Results indicate three key potential entry points for increased private sector engagement: (1) improving water security for smallholders; (2) empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as private sector actors; and (3) collective planning for sustainable landscape activities with deliberate measures to involve private sector actors. We discuss options for optimizing benefits from the identified entry points.

The Role of Multistakeholder Platforms in Environmental Governance: Analyzing Stakeholder Perceptions in Kalomo District, Zambia, Using Q-Method

“…For example, the economic development agenda imposed on most countries in the global South is premised on extractive production systems based on the exploitation of raw materials that leave a trail of poverty rather than the development it envisions (Ansari et al 2022). The 3 proponents of the second perspective perceive MSPs as institutions that rationally promote economic growth and enable the private sector to contribute to sustainable development-a perspective also reflected in Upla et al (2022), who assessed the potential role of the private sector in the value chain of commodities in the ILA context in Kalomo District. Such a perspective aligns with economic rationalism, a sub-discourse of problem-solving (Dryzek 2013), which is related to the worldview that environmental decisions should not hinder economic development (Goodpaster 1993).…”

“…The intersection of conservation, development, and agricultural land uses presents a substantial challenge in terms of landscape management and decision-making (Stone et al 2022). In recent decades, the increasing demand for food production and other ecosystem services has largely influenced the economic dynamics and local livelihoods, putting pressure on land resources, notably water, grazing land, and forests (Moombe et al 2020;Upla et al 2022). Although no specific data is available for Kalomo District, the overall rural Gini coefficient of 0.61 indicates severe social inequality (Reed et al 2020).…”