Despite the existence of several studies of cassava in Africa, the long-term history of the crop and of the relationships that it engendered between producers and successive state administrations remains underexplored. Based on oral interviews and a close reading of nineteenth-century travelogues and archival material, this article is an attempt at contributing to the historiography of cassava in Zambia. The article examines the role of cassava in food security in two regions of present-day Zambia, Luapula and North Western, where the crop has long served as a fundamental staple food. Further, it explores how the role of cassava in food security intersected with changing government policies, from the pre-colonial period to the late twentieth century.
Food Security and State Agricultural Policies: The Long History of Cassava in Zambia from the Pre-Colonial Period to 1990
chama
2021-01-01
Abstract
Despite the existence of several studies of cassava in Africa, the long-term history of the crop and of the relationships that it engendered between producers and successive state administrations remains underexplored. Based on oral interviews and a close reading of nineteenth-century travelogues and archival material, this article is an attempt at contributing to the historiography of cassava in Zambia. The article examines the role of cassava in food security in two regions of present-day Zambia, Luapula and North Western, where the crop has long served as a fundamental staple food. Further, it explores how the role of cassava in food security intersected with changing government policies, from the pre-colonial period to the late twentieth century.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
