Increasing agricultural production is a priority for economic development and human well-being. How production targets are set and achieved will have impact beyond the agricultural sector, affecting the attainment of national policy objectives in the environmental, land, health and natural resources sectors. Working to minimise trade-offs and maximise synergies between different policy objectives will aid overall progress towards Zambia’s national vision for sustainable development and international commitments. This briefing focuses in particular on trade-offs, as well as synergies, between policy objectives for agricultural production, forest conservation and environmental restoration targets which have, to date, been largely overlooked, leading to some significant policy disconnects that will need to be addressed in the near future.