Current very low staple production, dominated by maize, means high risk for grain deficits to most farmers. Small grains and legumes are critical to fill the gap for farmers with cattle, the non-poor and poor. Those without cattle (the extremely poor) are more vulnerable. They are persistently below food sufficiency, and cover less than 60% of their grain requirements, even when including maize and other grain crops.

Climate change and future expansion of human populations will reduce available land and water resources. This will threaten grain self-sufficiency for all farmers.

Soil fertility amendment allocating land for organic soil fertilization would increase the grain gap further. Hence, more drastic measures need to be taken towards sustainable farm sizes and production increases. More land needs to be brought into more profitable use, with higher yields and revenues from crop production.

Farmers with livestock are less vulnerable to climate change. They may sell livestock and buy food when crop harvests fail. Livestock also provides options to reinvest in agriculture, and increase production and producitivity of the farms. However about a quarter of the households in Nkayi don't own cattle nor goats; they continuously struggle to meet their immediate food requirements, with little cushion against the vagaries of climate variability and change.

For more productive use of livestock, and to also capture income opportunities following increasing demand for livestock products, it is critical to concurrently improve crop and livestock management and access to markets, rewarding higher offtake and quality products.