Zambia’s sunflower sector is experiencing a dramatic contraction, with official data projecting production to drop from 115,011 tonnes in the 2024/2025 season to just 70,611 tonnes in 2025/2026, a staggering 40% decline. This sharp drop coincides with soybeans’ growing dominance as the country’s primary edible oil crop. The latest Crop Forecast Survey by the Zambian Business Times (ZBT) reveals that the area under sunflower cultivation has also fallen precipitously, shrinking from 360,521 hectares to 233,754 hectares in just one season, a reduction of more than 126,000 hectares. Agriculture expert Frank Kayula told ZBT that these figures reflect a major realignment...
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