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Agribusiness

Lusaka Avocado Multipurpose Cooperative (LAMC) says the finalisation of the deal which will see the cooperative supply hass avocados to Algeo SRL, an Italian company has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic because the company representatives  could not travel to Zambia due to the Omicron variant which badly hit Italy.

LAMC Secretary John Chowa said the two parties are likely to finalise the deal before the end of the first quarter, including the price at which the company will be buying the avocados adding that the price will be better than what local buyers are offering.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chowa said local buyers are paying between K5 and K7 per fruit. He explained that the cooperative projects a production of about 300 tonnes in 2022, 600 tonnes in 2023, 2,000 tonnes in 2024, 7,000 tonnes in 2025, 18,000 tonnes in 2026 and 26,000 tonnes in 2027.

Chowa told ZBT that the cooperative might be able to produce almost double the projected production going by the overwhelming response that has been received from the farmers. He said the cooperative was supposed to supply the trial shipment in March 2022 but that has been delayed by the failure to conclude the negotiations as well as farmers not having enough avocados which are ready for consumption.

“The avocados will only be ready end of March and going forward which has given us enough time to finalise the pricing.We are asking a lot of farmers to join us because there is a huge market for avocados. We hope to exceed this projected production and start selling to other buyers”,he said.

He said the cooperative will engage government to see if it can provide aggregation centres adding that most of the farmers who are ready to supply the avocados are in Lusaka. Chowa added that the cooperative will soon revisit and confirm with the farmers to ensure every farmer will produce the agreed quantity and quality of avocados.

The cooperative signed an export deal in 2021 to start supplying hass avocados to the Italian Company worth about US$29 million and the company expressed interest in acquiring 960 tonnes of avocados every month at a cost of US$2.4 million dollars, which translates to about US$29 million per annum.

The cooperative received a letter of intent from Algeo SRL of Italy on 26 July 2021 in which the company expressed its desire to procure 960 tonnes of hass avocados monthly from LAMC.

Algeo SRL wanted to acquire a trial shipment of 20 – 40 tons of avocados last year but the cooperative was unable to provide that quantity, as it was not the avocado season for the country.

Chowa noted that there are many avocado plantations coming up with some maturing this year and others in 2023, therefore the cooperative will be able to supply the avocados this year, adding that the company has allowed the cooperative to supply the quantities that they are able to supply until a time when they can meet the 960 tonnes demand.

He has urged more avocado growers to come on board, as there are more buyers interested in buying avocados and the market is unlimited. The cooperative is recruiting interested farmers and there has beenoverwhelming response in not only Lusaka but also other provinces too adding that there are provincial cooperatives who affiliate to the national cooperative.

“The various individuals will be taking their avocados to their various provincial cooperatives then we will aggregate as Lusaka”, he said. He mentioned that the price of avocados is dependent on the quality and where the avocado is coming from and countries known to produce high quality fruits have prices as high as US$5 per kg.

He said Kenya has prices as low as US$1.7 with other countries’ prices ranging between US$3 and US$5. Chowa explained that due to the high demand for avocados in Kenya, farmers have been harvesting premature fruits before the dry matter content reaches the required 21% and this leads to price reduction, as buyers are not certain about the quality of avocados they are buying.

This development is one of the key milestones that was arrived at during the business-to-business meeting facilitated by the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) that was held on 23 July 2021 between the LAMC and Algeo SRL of Italy to discuss areas of collaboration in the production and marketing of hass avocados.

The receipt of the letter of intent by LAMC from Algeo SRL mandates LAMC to commence the process of fulfilling key conditions that will ultimately lead to the eventual signing of the contract between LAMC and Algeo SRL.

 

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Lusaka Avocado Multipurpose Cooperative (LAMC) says the

Markets

Economist Trevor Hambayi says the kwacha’s instability has resulted in the prices of goods and commodities remaining the same despite the downward trend in annual inflation, which currently sits at 14.2% for the month of February 2022.

Hambayi said the prices of goods and commodities should have been going down with the decline in inflation but that has not happened because of failing to achieve currency stability, which makes it difficult to project where the exchange rate will sit in the coming six months.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Hambayi said the uncertainty surrounding the country’s debt repayment has also contributed to the kwacha’s instability and until there is certainty in terms of how the country will address the debt repayment, prices of commodities will remain the same.

He said, “Unfortunately, we don’t know how we are going to deal with the debt repayment. Until we get the board approval from the IMF for the staff level agreement that we had and we have got stability as to how we are going to be repaying our debt, that is when we expect to see a drop in the prices of goods”.

Hambayi added that knowing where the resources to use for debt repayment are going to be coming from would create a stability in terms of where the exchange rate will sit and that in turn will result in the decline of prices of commodities.

The Financial Analyst however explained that one of the factors driving the downward trend of inflation has been the stability in the exchange rate, which has been experienced the past few months adding that the kwacha has appreciated against the dollar and this has continued to be able to maintain the prices of goods and commodities.

“The kwacha has appreciated from where it was at K22 to a dollar, it has fluctuated between K22 and K15 but overall it has appreciated and secondly, we had an increase in the price of fuel but it was also reduced again and this has contributed to the fact that prices have been maintained”, he said.

Hambayi said the pressure on the exchange rate has been low because the country is not servicing its loan obligations and this has helped to maintain a degree of stability in terms of the kwacha appreciating.

“One of the key aspects we need to be able to get past is having to sort out our debt support with IMF which is going to help us be able to have a stability in the micro economic indicators around the exchange rate and this will help to continue to drop the inflation rate going forward”, he said.

 

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Economist Trevor Hambayi says the kwacha’s instability

Agribusiness

A survey carried out by the Zambian Business Times-ZBT has revealed that most suppliers of day old chicks are still struggling to sell their products since the beginning of the year 2022 due to reduced demand for day old chicks on the local market.

Francis Mwila, a sales coordinator at Ross Breeders has revealed to ZBT that business is currently very slow and this could be attributed to the fact that people do not have disposable income, adding that a number of activities such as farming and paying of school fees has contributed to the reduced trade in broiler chickens.

Speaking in an interview with ZBT, Mwila said despite the dampened demand, hatcheries have opted not to cut production of day old chicks due to the uncertainty in the market.

“We cannot reduce production because the poultry industry keeps evolving, you cut production today because there is reduced demand, tomorrow you get surprised that there are more people that want to buy day old chicks, so what do you do, there is just so much uncertainty in the market”, he said.

Mwila disclosed that some traders have reduced the prices of live chickens on the market and are not making as much profit as they used to because of the low demand, adding that this is despite the cost of growing chickens to the required size remaining high.

He said the consumer’s buying power is currently low and traders have opted to sell their products at reduced prices but before full maturity, as it is more viable than keeping the chickens for a longer period, which will only result in more costs for the traders in terms of more feed for the chickens.

“Prices are going down, those who were selling at K85, K90 and K95 are no longer selling at that price and they are now selling between K65 and K75. The price has come down as a result of low demand, people just can not afford to buy and since they are trying to save, you sell it at a low price so that’s the case at the moment”, he said.

He noted that although the demand for day old chicks has remained low, most suppliers are hopeful that the situation will improve by mid-March to April adding that the producers who have reduced their prices are not realising as much profit as before, which is negatively affecting the business considering the high cost of raw materials.

“The situation has not improved, this is our off-peak season which is coupled with a number of challenges in the industry like people paying school fees in January and February, one thing we have noticed is that people don’t seem to have disposable income, money is a problem now”, he said.

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A survey carried out by the Zambian

Markets

Atlas Mara Bank has pledged to continue supporting the Zambian government’s agenda through the provision of banking services under the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) noting that currently the bank supports more than 200,000 farmers across the country annually.

The Bank’s Board Member Jacob Sikazwe said during the just ended farming season, the bank paid out more than K400 million to farmers through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) noting that Atlas Mara is one of the first banks to participate in FISP from its inception in 2002/3 and pioneered the FISP e-voucher payment modality in 2013.

Speaking during the N’cwala ceremony at Mtenguleni Village, Sikazwe said the bank continues to maintain one of the biggest branch and ATM networks in Zambia with fifty branches in all the ten provinces adding that in Eastern province, the bank has the biggest branch and ATM network with branches in Katete, Chipata and Lundazi.

In a statement availed to the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Sikazwe noted that Atlas Mara is further expanding its reach into the underbanked areas through its Tenga mobile money wallet and Tenga express agency network, which currently has over one million registered customers and over one thousand agencies across the country.

Sikazwe commended government for providing an enabling environment through a diversified economy adding that the measures being taken to revamp the economy have been well received and he assured the President that as a major player in the financial sector, the bank will support the efforts of the ‘new dawn’ administration to revive the economy.

He noted that Atlas Mara is one of the pioneering banks to participate and integrate with the Ministry of Community Development and Social Service through the Zambia Integrated Social Protection Information System (ZISPIS).

The Board Member added that through this program, Atlas Mara supports the disbursement of social welfare grants to the beneficiaries across the country including Eastern province who are more than 170,000 beneficiaries.

Sikazwe has applauded the new dawn government for implementing the decentralization agenda and enhancing the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) allocation to local authorities to twenty- five point seven million kwacha (k25.7M).

He said this important policy direction would spur economic development, infrastructure development and employment creation as well as bring about capacity building for the local community and subsequently help alleviate poverty.

Sikazwe explained that Atlas Mara has a long and rich history of supporting arts and culture and in particular, the N’cwala ceremony where the bank has been a platinum sponsor for the past three years adding that corporate social responsibility is one of the bank’s most important tenants in giving back to the communities in which it does business.

He said the bank values the importance of traditional ceremonies, which play an important role in preserving the country’s unique culture at a time when the world is becoming smaller thereby diluting traditional culture.

“This is a great example of how a cultural heritage should be preserved, the N’cwala ceremony has proved to be resilient having been stopped due to the global covid pandemic in 2021. In 2022 the ceremony has grown exponentially due to the resilience and innovation of the organising committees and for this they must be commended”, he said.

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Atlas Mara Bank has pledged to continue

Companies

The Bus and Taxi Owners Association of Zambia had called on  the new dawn government to revert to a quarterly system for the adjustment of fuel prices, which the association can use to come up with more predictable bus and taxi fares.

Association National Chairman Sydney Chewe said government through the Energy Regulation Board – ERB adjusting fuel prices on a monthly basis makes it difficult to plan their operations and set fares because it brings about uncertainty and an unstable environment for the Association and it’s customers.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chewe noted that the association appreciates the reduction in recent fuel prices which have since been reversed but there is need for government to find a model, which allows the association to make adjustments on a quarterly basis in order to provide stability.

He explained that the association would not adjust the fares following the Energy Regulation Board (ERB)’s downward adjustment of fuel prices, as it was too early to reduce prices noting that other factors besides fuel prices, which affect the running of the business, need to be put into consideration too.

Chewe added that the price of fuel is not the only cost in doing business as there are other factors such as the dollar-kwacha relationship which need to be considered and since the kwacha has continued to depreciate, it means prices for vehicle spare parts will also increase therefore making it difficult to adjust the fares.

He mentioned that adjusting bus and taxi fares is not only inconveniencing for the association but also the passengers who have to look out for new fares almost every time an adjustment in fuel prices is made.

“Imagine if we have to adjust every month, we need a model that can speak on a quarterly basis, every three months we calculate the average costs and do a reduction or increment based on fuel prices and other things that affect or constitute the business”, he said.

The Energy Regulation Board reduced the pump price of petroleum products by K1.32/litre for petrol and K1.22/litre for diesel, which will now be sold as low sulphur gasoil/diesel, while the price of kerosene remained unchanged effective 31 January 2022. The fuel prices have since been increased by about 14% barely a month after reducing.

According to information obtained by the Zambian Business Times, the price review was necessitated by the decision to migrate to a monthly pricing cycle which now entails that local price of fuel is more responsive to the market fundamentals such as the international oil prices and the kwacha/US dollar exchange rate prevailing in the month preceding the pricing decision.

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The Bus and Taxi Owners Association of

Mining

GoviEx Uranium, the developers of Mutanda Uranium mining project has indicated that they plan to start actual uranium mining in Zambia in the next five years.

In a statement seen by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, the Canada listed company stated that “the mine-permitted Mutanga project in Zambia is forecast to start production in 2027 and could be the lowest capital intensive uranium project in Africa.”

In its annual statement to shareholders, GoviEx stated that “Uranium prices rose 39% in 2021. Higher demand from new market participants has contributed to increases in spot prices. Every year, more uranium is consumed than produced, and higher incentive prices are required to support new supply”.

And the investment into Mutanda Mine has received an impetus following the crisis in supply which is concentrated in Kazakhstan. GoviEx stated that “the recent crisis in Kazahkstan has highlighted the potential risk to output especially given the concentration of supply and this underlines the need for increased regional diversification that GoviEx’s projects can provide.”

The Africa focused Uranium developer further states that “Demand for uranium is forecast to increase as China looks to reduce its dependency on coal by pledging to build 150 new nuclear reactors by 2060. Nuclear power may be included in the EU’s Sustainable Taxonomy Regulation and this could impact the industry by bringing investment towards nuclear, which is already Europe’s largest single source of low carbon energy and forecast to grow.”

The Mutanga Uranium Project consists of five main deposits: Mutanga, Dibwe, Dibwe East, Njame, and Gwabe. These deposits make up the bulk of the Mineral Resources described herein. The Project area is situated in the Southern Province of Zambia about 200 km south of Lusaka, immediately north of Lake Kariba, approximately 31 km northwest of Siavonga.

GoviEx acquired 100% of the Mutanga Project in 2016 from Denison Mines. The project included the Mutanga, Dibwe, and Dibwe East deposits. In 2017, GoviEx acquired 100% of the Njame and Gwabe deposits from African Energy Resource.

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GoviEx Uranium, the developers of Mutanda Uranium

Politics

The lack of clear laws, regulations and governance charters for government ministries, agencies and their employees has been blamed for the current accusations and counter accusations of suspected conflict of interest and nepotism in the awarding of government jobs, appointments and contracts.

This follows questions that have been asked on whether senior government officials are required to declare interest when relatives and close personal relations are bidding for tenders or when appointments for employment are being made.

And Former Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) President and prominent Lusaka Lawyer Eddie Mwitwa has confirmed that there are no specific laws that guide on how to deal with conflict of interest as these are matters of corporate governance and such laws may only be found in individual corporate entities such as board charters.

Mwitwa said the Anti-Corruption Commission Act is the primary legislation when it comes to giving guidance on how to deal with close personal relations or nepotism. Therefore, the Anti Corruption Commission independence is key to executing of this mandate.

Most government ministries, agencies and parastatals do not conduct annual declarations for close personal relationships nor are there requirements to declare interest when sitting on tender or employment committees. This is leading to failure to take corrective actions when the jobs are not done to paid for standard or when workers fail to do their jobs due to senior staff being conflicted by personal relationships.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Mwitwa further disclosed that even the issue of political party funding has no laws in place . He told ZBT that “currently, there is only a provision in the constitution that says parliament should enact laws that should regulate political parties including issues of funding but that law has not been promulgated yet”.

A further review by ZBT of what needs to be done shows that there is need for both the ruling United Party for National Development – UPND and the main opposition Patriotic Front – PF to act above board and facilitate for the enactment of political party bill into law for Zambia’s posterity.

It is a well known outcome that “he who pays the piper calls the tune”. The continued financing of key political parties by mostly foreign interests reduces the chances of successive governments to act in the best of interest of the majority of Zambian citizens.

Enactment and Implementation of laws and regulations in government that promotes good governance practices like declarations of conflict of interest, declaration of close personal and family relations etc are what is needed to attaining a functional and productive government.

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The lack of clear laws, regulations and

Agribusiness

The National Association for Smallholder Farmers in Zambia-NASFAZ has disclosed  that farmers in Vubwi and Mambwe districts of eastern province have started selling their soya beans at give away prices of about K150 per 50kg bag, when the price is expected to hit K500.

Small holder farmers Association chairperson Dr. Frank Kayula expressed disappointment that unscrupulous buyers are going into Mambwe and Vubwi to buy soya beans from farmers at K150 per 50kg bag even before the crop matures, a situation he has described as theft.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Kayula said the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has not set this year’s price for soya beans and going by last year’s price, which was K10 per kg, this year’s price is projected be higher, but some cash desperate farmers are currently selling their crop at less than K3 per kg.

He explained that the buyers are paying for the soya beans now, which they will collect once harvested adding that the capitalistic buyers are buying it cheaply as they want to make a lot of profit out of it once the marketing season is open, because soya beans is on high demand which is unfair to the uniformed small holder farmers.

“We just got a report from the cooperative leadership in Mambwe and said let’s warn the farmers all over the country because in the past, we have seen a situation where even standing maize, still green, not even yet mature, unscrupulous buyers go there and pay for it at very low prices”, he said.

Kayula said it is unfortunate that the smallholder farmers tend to forget that they suffer to produce their crops, noting that they should put into consideration all the cost of production and work that goes into farming before selling their commodities at low prices simply because they are desperate to have cash right now.

He has advised farmers all over the country to diversify and venture into other cash generating activities such as fish farming, chicken rearing as well as growing vegetables which can earn them an income throughout the year unlike waiting for their crops to mature once a year.

“Why don’t they do other farming activities to make some extra income, they should get that money as a loan and pay it back at bank rates and sell their crops to people giving them better money. Farmers should only sell when the crops are ready, so those are capitalists are being unfair and taking advantage of the farmers”.

He described the practice as “blatant theft” and whoever is doing that to farmers is a thief and we will engage the relevant authorities, he said.

The lack of tailored Agro financing remains a challenge in Zambia with most emerging and local farmers having limited to no access to affordable finance. Financing from banks is mostly availed to large scale commercial farmers while micro-finance institutions are charging exorbitantly high interest rates.

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The National Association for Smallholder Farmers in

Lifestyle

The Ministry of Justice has disclosed that K19.4 million (about US$1.1million) has been paid off as terminal benefits owed to over 820 former Zambia Railways employees after negotiations with their lawyer.

Speaking during a briefing in Lusaka monitored by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe stated that the amount paid includes interest accrued over a period of time. The Justice minister disclosed that the arrears have also been cleared following successful negotiations between Government and the lawyers of the former Zambia Railways employees.

In 2020, ZBT reported that the Railway Workers Union of Zambia had disclosed that only 13% of Zambia Railways (formerly Railway Systems of Zambia) ex-workers who took litigation against government have so far been paid leaving out about 87% who took the dialogue route still waiting for payment of their terminal benefits.

At that time, Railway Workers Union of Zambia president Nathan Zulu stated that only 112 (13%) out of the total number of 866 ex-employees had been paid their outstanding retirements benefits and these are the ones that took government to court.

ZBT had reported that government only paid ex-employees of Zambia Railways who took legal action but left out the group that opted to dialogue to avoid paying high legal fees that are usually deducted from the awarded terminal benefits, a trend the disadvantages the retirees. See report on link Only ex-Railways employees who sued get paid

And Haimbe pledged that government will remain committed to clearing outstanding payments of terminal benefits of all former employees of government agencies and parastatals like Zambia Railways whenever resources are available.

He stated that the delay in paying terminal benefits to people who have contributed to the development of the country subjects them to unnecessary and avoidable poverty which his government aims to eradicate.

The Justice Minister has since called on all former government or quasi-government employees to remain patient as government works out modalities to clear any outstanding arrears.

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The Ministry of Justice has disclosed that

Tech

The Zambia Medical Association – ZMA Secretary General Dr. Roy Tolopu has disclosed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that fresh graduate doctors are currently not allowed to work in private hospitals or abroad without first working for the government.

Responding to a ZBT enquiry on why graduate doctors are not simply opting to join the many private practices and hospitals that have been opened across the country if the government has no funds to timely employ them, ZMA stated that there is need for government to put in place a lasting solution that will be allowing fresh Medical Doctors to work in the private sector or even abroad without having any licensing challenges.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT- Dr. Tolopu said Doctors in Zambia are currently not allowed to work in the private practices nor abroad without first working in government to get a full license.

Dr. Tolopu revealed that graduating Medical Doctors are only entitled to a provisional licenses which limits them from working in the private sector or abroad. This is leaving graduate doctors with no option but pushing to work for the government to attain a full practicing license.

He explained that currently, the law states that Medical Doctors are required to first work in government for not less than 1 year 6 months before they can be admitted to any other medical institution.

Dr. Tolopu said the problem of having unemployed Doctors will continue as the number of Medical schools in the country has increased causing an increase in the number of Medical Doctors being offloaded onto the streets seeking placements with the government.

“Previously someone would just graduate from a medical school and the results comes out with an opportunity of a medical doctor getting employed, but that is not the case anymore.” He revealed.

The ZMA Secretary General further told ZBT that he was aware that government is capable of employing the 800 Doctors at once and if government do not want to do so, let it start giving fresh Doctors full licenses so that they can apply for jobs in the private sector or out of the country.

The ZMA secretary General said there is need for Government, Zambia Medical Association and other key stakeholders to sit down and come up with a long term plan that will address the challenges facing Medical Doctors in the country.

Unemployed medical Doctors on Monday February 21st 2022 staged a public protest with intentions to march to State House (the official residence and office for the President of Zambia) but were blocked by police.

The graduate doctors were demanding that government should clearly state when it is going to fulfil its promises to employ 11,200 healthy workers which includes medical doctor as promised in the 2022 National budget presentation speech.

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The Zambia Medical Association - ZMA Secretary