Prohibitive transport costs behind stranded maize at FRA depots

A Zambian Business Times – ZBT investigation has revealed that prohibitive transport costs and exploitative buying prices by local traders for mostly rural based farmers are among the key reasons why some maize traders  are stranded at Food Reserve Agency – FRA depots across the country.

A sample check with some of affected farmers who are stranded at FRA depots has revealed that they do not have the funds required to transport their maize to markets mostly in Lusaka and the Copperbelt were the large scale milling companies are based and are offering cash on deliverly terms

Moreover, because of the low quantities some of the local farmers have, their only market alternative is to get better FRA prices than to sell to local traders whose prices are low and considered exploitative, hence resorting to waiting for the FRA to buy their produce.

And the Millers Association of Zambia (MAZ) has appealed to farmers who are stranded at the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) depots to supply their maize to the millers as they are still buying the commodity.

MAZ President Andrew Chintala said there is no need for the farmers to panic because the millers are offering an alternative market therefore farmers are encouraged to deliver their maize to the millers or contact the association so it can link them to the market.

Chintala said the millers are offering a good price, which most farmers are satisfied with looking at the number of farmers supplying maize to the millers adding that a number of things constitute the price of maize.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chintala confirmed that the prices would also be dependent on where the farmers are because in some instances the millers may have to provide transportation costs to get the maize to the milling plants.

He explained that the association is open to trading with farmers that want to offload their maize with the millers as they are always buying maize to produce mealie meal therefore farmers should not be stuck with their maize.

“If a miller is based in Lusaka and their maize is in Lundazi, the Miller will have to move the maize all the way from Lundazi to Lusaka. Let them contact us so that we can link them to millers closer to them who can offer them a better price”, he said.

He noted that the millers were at some point struggling to sell on the local market and could not buy more maize but with the alternative market, the millers can now buy more quantities of maize.

“We don’t have a fixed price, so the price will be negotiated depending on the supplier, are they going to deliver the maize to where I am, will you deliver the maize to the miller or I have to pick it up so we are open to further engagements with the farmers and traders that have maize”, he said.

Chintala noted that the export of mealie meal is proceeding well and over thirty companies are currently exporting adding that that will positively impact on the farmers and inflow of foreign exchange into the economy.

He said the millers participating in the export programme are required to have their own maize and export between 20% and 30% of their total stock with either 70% or 80% remaining for domestic consumption depending on how much stock the miller has.

He mentioned that allowing everyone to export whatever quantities they have would lead to a shortage on the market as others would export everything.

When asked what criteria was used to select exporting companies, he stated that “The only criteria is that you have maize, we verify that the maize is there , we allow you to export and we will determine how much you can export depending on the quantities, so others will qualify for 20% and others 30%”, he said.

He said the association receives updates on how much has been exported every week and all matters involving the export, adding that it has not received any formal complaints about the programme therefore everything is running smoothly.

A Zambian Business Times - ZBT investigation

Enterprise Challenge Fund unveils 10 Agro firms to be funded

Ten companies that were selected to benefit from the second call for proposals under the Enterprise Zambia Challenge Fund have been unveiled.

The companies awarded include Avian Ventures Ltd T/A Farm Depot which was awarded with €251, 919, New Rotations Farming Zambia awarded with €998, 702, Seba Foods Zambia Ltd (260 Brands) awarded with €884, 268 and Chisamba Ranching and Cropping awarded with €995, 780.

Other companies include Community Markets for Conservation Ltd (COMACO) awarded with €470, 000, Mount Meru Millers Zambia Ltd awarded with €873, 503, Export Trading Company Ltd awarded with €495, 573, ASBA Resources Ltd awarded with €691, 105, Starke Ayres Zambia Ltd awarded with €469, 741 and Continental Ginnery Ltd awarded with €703, 966.

The awarding of grants to these ten companies brings the total number of successful recipients to fifteen since the start of the challenge fund and awarding of five companies early this year.

Speaking at the awarding ceremony in Lusaka attended by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Self Help Africa Country Director Elia Manda said the EZCF is focusing on how agribusinesses can develop and scale more businesses that are inclusive especially those that promote greener and more sustainable investments in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and livestock while integrating smallholder farmers in these value chains.

Manda said the expected results from the project includes having 40-45 agribusinesses supported by the fund and contributing towards the increment of the agribusinesses’ turn over by atleast 25% as well as seeing 150, 000 SHF better integrated into sustainable value chains and an increment in produce of SHF by atleast 90%.

He noted that one of the key criteria for approving proposals is that agribusinesses demonstrate how best their activities will contribute to promoting a green economy and have many activities pertaining to the use of climate smart agriculture

Speaking at the same event, Minister of Agriculture Mtolo Phiri said the award ceremony demonstrates government’s commitment to providing an enabling environment to support the growth of agribusinesses and the private sector in Zambia.

Mtolo said the awarding of the first and second round of grants also underscores the European Union’s commitment to supporting government’s agenda to develop the agriculture sector adding that government’s partnership with the European Union will continue to strengthen over time and will be broadened to address various bottlenecks affecting the growth of the sector.

He said government attaches great importance to agriculture because it is key to its agenda to diversify and remodel the economy and believes that transformation of the sector can only be achieved by enhancing agricultural production and productivity, agricultural extension services, market access and value addition among others.

Mtolo noted that access to affordable agricultural finance remains a serious challenge especially for small-scale farmers who have viable plans to expand agricultural production due to high interest rates, limited collateral and limited financial literacy which as a result is difficult for small-scale value chain actors to expand operations.

He mentioned that the Enterprise Zambia Challenge Fund and the concessional loans offered by the European Investment Bank complements government’s efforts to provide affordable agricultural finance and promote agricultural diversification.

He said the initiative aims to promote agricultural diversification and production of crops such as sunflower, groundnuts and soyabeans, which livestock and aquaculture value chains stand to benefit from as such crops, are inputs in the production of stockfeed therefore the growth of the livestock and aquaculture industries will stimulate increased crop production.

Mtolo urged the recipients of the grants to ensure they implement their respective projects to the best of their efforts and assured all partners on the programme that government will actively participate in the monitoring of project activities as that is important in ensuring the overall success of the enterprise project.

And Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Makozo Chikote said agriculture remains one of the key drivers for economic diversification, job creation and income generation for farmers adding that the project resonates well with government’s strong vision aimed at transforming the agricultural sector into an export oriented, diversified, private sector driven, and climate resilient sector.

He said government has realized that it cannot succeed without private sector support in transforming the fisheries and livestock sub sectors therefore the private sector has been challenged to come up with projects and business ventures that can transform the fisheries and livestock sub-sector and the challenge has manifested through the Enterprise Zambia Challenge Fund.

Chikote expressed delight that the second group of the 10 companies has two projects focused on livestock – Chisamba ranching and cropping and ASBA Resources noting that these projects will strengthen different elements of the beef, poultry and leather value chains and provide high-quality protein to low income consumers in the case of Chisamba ranching and cropping.

He said the project would bring about benefits in form of jobs in an agricultural value chain as employees; as producers; suppliers and business owners or through the development of affordable goods and services needed by the vulnerable population.

He has challenged the private sector to develop more quality concept notes that will benefit the livestock and fisheries sub-sector and small-scale farmers adding that the aquaculture window has not had any successful proposals to date.

Speaking at the same event Minister of Green Economy and Environment Collins Nzovu said government has placed a high premium on environmental sustainability and economic development that ensures meaningful and sustainable improvement in the livelihoods of people depends on the extent to which natural resources are managed.

Nzovu said the issues of greenhouse gas emissions and their effects have become real and high variabilities in weather patterns are evidence, with more frequent dry spells, droughts, and flash floods across the country.

He said these are taking a toll on the development prospects, as well as negatively impacting the livelihoods of people hence, the need for effective interventions to be put in place in the form of both mitigation and adaptation.

He noted that the ministry is advocating for an economy that ensures income generation and jobs for people, through economic activities that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, and reduce harm or loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

He mentioned that the last couple of years have seen the idea of a “green economy” emerge into the mainstream of policy discourse and it is no longer a concept promoted only by governments but is increasingly evident in the corporate-sector agenda as well.

He added that this promotes a new economic paradigm — one in which material wealth is not earned at the cost of growing environmental degradation, ecological destruction and social disparities.

Nzovu said it was gratifying that Enterprise Zambia is establishing a number of companies, which are promoting organic production, sustainable management of soils, including incorporation of trees into farming systems, and the use of carbon credits to provide additional sources of income to farming communities.

Ten companies that were selected to benefit

Mununshi set to harvest 1.4k tonnes of bananas

Zambia spending about half a billion dollars annually on banana imports is projected to be reducing year on year as the revamping of banana production in Luapula province by the Industrial Developments Cooperation – IDC starts to post returns.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) says the recapitalized Mununshi Fruit Company Limited (MFCL) is expected to harvest 1,425 tonnes of bananas from the already planted 30ha noting that 343 metric tonnes of bananas have been harvested so far.

IDC Head of Corporate Communication Namakau Mukelabai said IDC is investing in expanding the estate by an additional 100 hectares in the coming year and in preparation for this expansion, 55 hectares out of the planned 100 hectares for expansion has been cleared – out of which 20 hectares has been ploughed in readiness for planting.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mukelabai said while the first fruit was taken up by two local off takers, MFCL currently has six (6) off takers from Lusaka and Copperbelt Provinces respectively and plans are underway to onboard an additional two, to bring the number to eight (8).

She said prior to the inaugural harvest, MFCL had 50 workers but now the company has employed an additional 86 workers to expedite the expansion program. She noted that IDC expects MFCL to play a significant role in making Zambia self-sufficient in banana production, while slowly plugging the gap of importation of the fruit saving the economy the much needed forex.

Mununshi Fruit Company Limited is a company located in Mwense District of Luapula Province and wholly owned by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The IDC has so far invested K19.2 million in the banana plantation, to procure suckers, irrigation equipment, land clearing and rehabilitation of support infrastructure

Full-scale production at the estate started in mid-2020, when the company planted 50,000 banana plants on a 30 hectares plantation. The first harvest of the fruit begun in August 2021. See other articles on banana production in Zambia as Zambia spending US$432k on banana imports.

However, it remains to be seen if the new government will hold down some of these strategic investments and continue with planned additional investments which would turn Zambia into a net banana exporter in the medium term.

Zambia’s currency – the Kwacha continues to come under pressure due to mainly skewed decision making were the government and key economic players prefer to import goods and services at the expense of  local Agro development or manufacturing. Some have blamed this tendency on corrupt decision makers who prefer to cut deals to import than invest in long term local production.

 

Zambia spending about half a billion dollars

Amiran pesticides among the best in Zambia

Various farmers groups have praised Amiran Zambia as a company that stocks some of the best genuine agro-chemicals, which guarantee to produce the best intended results. The farmers say Amiran does not compromise on quality and ensures that they provide the best products on the market.

And Company Regulatory Agronomist Cynthia Banda confirmed that Amiran provides some of the best products of all the three classes of pesticides, which are fungicides, insecticides and herbicides.

In an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Banda said Amiran products are genuine and unlike some of the products on the market, not diluted, noting that products are graded. She noted that the company gives a warranty on some of the new sensitive products, which would still be under trial.

She added that Amiran runs trials on its various products such as pesticides in Zambia every year in order to ensure that they suit the climatic conditions in the country, therefore if the products work for the company, they will work for customers too, but if the opposite occurs, the company looks into factors that may have caused the failure until they get it right.

Banda said some of the best insecticides that the company stocks include crown, windstorm, blast super and cyromazin which focuses on pests and diseases such as tuta absoluta, aphids, white flies, diamondback moth, leaf minor, thrips and others diseases/pests. These fungicides are effective in crops like tomatoes, maize, cotton, wheat, vegetables, potatoes and fruit trees.

This Amiran crop and pest chart below shows the right products to cure specific diseases in respective crops. This is the level of detail and depth that the company goes to to ensure farmers and users get value for money.

Banda said the company also stocks herbicides such as spencer which is specific for maize and can be used for pre and post emergence that is before and after the emergence of a seed adding that spencer is a selective herbicide that can still be used before the plant germinates.

It works against all types of weeds as well as the stubborn nutsedges, hence it has since been dubbed to come with the bemba catch phrase “Posa Ulukasu”, translated into English as “throw your hoe away”. The nutsedges have seeds which regerminate if one uses a hole to get rid of them but spencer clears the seeds too and is specific for maize but can also be used for sweet corn and popcorn.

Amiran currently has a promotion that allows customer to get a free 10gram sachet of windstorm for every 1 liter bottle of spencer they buy. This promotion is valid till the 19^th of November, 2021.

The Amiran Agronomist told ZBT that mofarno is another herbicide which is specific for soyabeans and can also work against annual grasses and broadleaf weeds. It is advised to use mofarno as a pre emergent but it can also be used as a post emergent while weeds are still small or at a height of 4cm.

She stated that dalot is another herbicide suitable for beans but works for carrots too. It is one of the fast-moving products because it has a low residue which is rare for herbicides, unlike other products that may stay in the soil for a year or two, dalot stays in the soil for 12 days. It goes into all horticultural crops except for tomatoes.

Banda also said the company’s knapsack sprayers are 16 litres and their durability is over 4 years. “The beauty of our knapsack sprayers is that they are not seasonal, it’s

not a seasonal sprayer that has to be discarded at the end of the season. If one part of the sprayer becomes faulty, you can find the spare parts easily”, she said.

She said the knapsack sprayers will be available at the end of the month noting that they are as good as the old knapsacks the company was handling but with better durability and will also be affordable.

Various farmers groups have praised Amiran Zambia

Neria Investments also denies supplying over-priced fertilizer

Neria Investments Limited has also refuted allegations that the company was supplying over-priced fertilizer to government at US$ 1,200 per ton when the commodity was trading around US$ 400 per ton on the international market.

Company General Manager Martin Chaikatisha stated that Neria Investments was supplying the commodity at a price way below US$ 1,000 per ton in the 2020/2021 farming season.

Chaikatisha said that in-fact, Neria Investments was the cheapest supplier of fertilizer in the 2020/2021 farming season compared to the other five companies that participated in the supply of the commodity to government.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chaikatisha noted that the company supplied about 135, 000 metric tonnes of both D-Compound and Urea to government in the 2020/2021 farming season.

He further stated that the fertiliser supply contracts were being awarded by way of public tender and that the ministry of Agriculture has all the contracts and the final prices for the five key suppliers which they can share with the media and the public.

Efforts by ZBT to get the ministry of Agriculture to confirm which companies supplied fertilizer at an exorbitant price of about US$1,200 per ton proved futile by time of publishing.

The large scale fertilizer trading companies have been accused of overpricing government contracts charging prices that are way overboard. But the major suppliers have indicated that their final prices were below the US$1,200 per ton.

And President Hakainde Hichilema during a separate briefing revealed that his predecessor government were buying fertilizer at US$ 1,200 per ton from its contracted suppliers at the time when the commodity was selling between US$400-US$450 on the international market.

“When the fertilizer world prices were US$400-US$450 per ton, our colleagues deliberately, consciously were buying fertilizer using taxpayer’s money at US$ 1, 200 per ton, you multiply that by 300, 000 metric tonnes”, President Hichilema said.

Before assuming office after the 12 August elections, President Hakainde Hichilema then main opposition leader promised to cut the retail prices of a 50kg bag of fertilizer from a range of K700-K800, which was the price at the time to about K250.

However, it remains to be seen if his new dawn UPND administration will be able to deliver on this promise to cut down the price of Fertilizer as international fertiliser prices have been increasing in the last six months.

Some analyst have indicated that local manufacturing may be the answer to cutting the prices of Fertilizer in Zambia as importing bulk commodities such as fertilizer has steep shipping , insurance and freight costs which result in higher landing costs . More to follow…

Neria Investments Limited has also refuted allegations

Enterprise Zambia Fund avails €10.9m to local farmers

The Enterprise Zambia Challenge Fund-EZCF says it has provided €10.9 million (about K217 million) to the companies that it is working with which is 52% of the total financial support it will provide.

Enterprise Zambia Portfolio Manager Mwandizhya Daka said 15 companies have so far been contracted to work on the project and integrate 268,000 local farmers who are the majority of smallholder farmers into 10 different value chains as either customers or suppliers, noting that the 15 companies represent 38% of the 40 agribusinesses targeted, who will have an impact on 150,000 smallholder farmers.

Daka said 3,500 full time jobs have so far been created which is 41% of the total target of 8,500 jobs to be created. Speaking at a breakfast meeting held in Lusaka,Daka said the total value of the financial support that the European Union – EU will provide for the 5 year project is €26 million, noting that the project commenced in March 2020 and will end in 2025.

She said out of the €26 million, €20.8 million is dedicated to actual funding which will be given to the agribusinesses in different value chains across Zambia in all areas. She added that €6.2 million out of the €20.8 million will be directed towards aquaculture which has a lot of potential and €14.6 million will be directed towards agriculture as well as agroforestry and initiatives that support green economy.

Daka said EZCF’s main objective is to contribute to increased income and nutrition security for 150, 000 smallholder farmer households in rural Zambia. She said the Challenge Fund seeks improved integration of smallholder farmers and agribusiness actors into regional, national and international value chains with additional weighting on gender focused opportunities and nutritionally sensitive (regional/national) value chains.

She told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that the project which is being implemented by Self Help Africa with technical support from Imani Development Ltd is funded by the European Union which also provides operational advice as well as strategic support adding that the European Investment Bank offers complementary finance
via local banks.

She added that the Zambian government also provides strategic support and chairs the steering committee. She noted that the rationale for working with SMEs to support smallholder farmers is in order to achieve sustainable impact, improve the scale of impact, and take advantage of embedded support among market actors as well as to boost industry competitiveness.

Speaking at the same event Enterprise Zambia Senior Portfolio Manager Alex Mugova said the Challenge Fund’s ambition is to provide funding and technical assistance to businesses in order to enable them to implement innovative and sustainable business models integrating SHFs and focusing on initiatives that help businesses to align with the EU Green Deal and promote a green economy, initiatives that help businesses to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by COVID-19 and by promoting competition, risk taking and innovation, EZCF will contribute to systematic (large-scale and lasting) market change.

He said initiatives aligned with EU Green Deal strategies to support a green economy include EU Farm to Fork strategy which aims to accelerate the transition to a sustainable food system  by neutral or positive environmental impact, mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts, reverse the loss of biodiversity, ensure food security, nutrition and public health which equals to everyone having access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, sustainable food, preserve affordability of food while generating fairer
economic returns and fostering competitiveness in supply and promoting fair trade.

Mugova said it also includes the EU Biodiversity strategy to preserve and restore ecosystems and biodiversity through organic farming which provides healthy food, halting and reversing the decline of pollinators which yields grains and planting trees and promoting agroforestry as well as reducing use and risk of pesticides.

He added that it also includes the EU Circular Economy Action Plan which is to move from a linear to a circular economy through turning waste into new products eg bio gas, using re-usable and recyclable packaging materials, minimizing food waste and using waste water from aquaculture for irrigation.

The Enterprise Senior Portfolio Manager noted that present methods of production and consumption degrade and deplete many of the world’s environmental resources therefore; there is need for new approaches that promote inclusive and environmentally sustainable development. He noted that there is need for transformation towards enviromental sustainability and increased resource efficiency, strengthened resilience to environmental pressures and risks and smarter use of green technologies.

The Enterprise Zambia Challenge Fund-EZCF says it