The rise of domestic medium-scale investor farms (holdings between 5 and 100 hectares)
is ushering in a change in farm structure that perhaps signals an alternative pathway to
agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This dissertation examines this change
and what it implies for agricultural development in the region through three standalone but
closely linked essays using the case of Zambia.
The first essay examines the causes and consequences of the rise of domestic mediumscale
investor farms in Zambia using a mixed-methods approach. By locating the study within
the broader political economy and new institutional economics literature, the study gleans some
important findings. Results show that a positive change in society’s perception of farming, a
change in enforcement of informal rules of land governance, and unintended consequences of
public spending agricultural support programs have played a pivotal role in farm structure
change. In addition, farm structure change has been associated with agricultural land
concentration, a growing informal land rental and sales market and a skewed level of agricultural
commercialization