Despite the many potential benefits of legume cultivation, there is scarce empirical evidence on
whether and how producing legumes affects smallholder farm households’ food security. We use
nationally representative household panel survey data from Zambia to estimate the differential
effects on cereal-growing households of incorporating legumes into their farms via cereal-legume
intercropping, cereal-legume rotation, and other means. Results suggest that cereal-legume
rotation is positively and significantly associated with households’ months of adequate food
provisions, and calorie and protein production. In contrast, cereal-legume intercropping generally
has no statistically significant effect on the indicators of food security of Zambian smallholders.