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Agribusiness

The Zambia Crocodile Farmers Association (ZaCFA) has revealed that plans are advanced for a new crocodile farm to open in over 20 years. This is despite the negative effect on the luxury leather market by Covid.

The Association told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that they are confident that the industry will turn around following the removal of the 10% export duty in the 2021 Budget. Export duties we’re previously imposed on export raw crocodile skins

Association Spokesperson and Kalimba Farms Chairman Bill Thomas said the benefit of the duty removal is that there is an advanced plan for a new [and commercial] crocodile farm to be open in Zambia adding that this will be the first new farm in Zambia for over 20 years.

Thomas said the start-up costs are large with little anticipated return for first three years. He stated that plans to open a tanning operation are at an advanced stage and trials have been already been undertaken.

“We are now confident that this operation will be fully functioning by the end of 2021 which will give value addition to the raw materials prior to export”, he said.

Thomas told ZBT in response to the query that the employment numbers in the industry have also increased by about 28 percent, with the addition of an extra 176 jobs since the removal of the duty at the start of this year.

He said the main reason for growing a crocodile is for the skin but there are by-products such as meat and oil and sales of these have continued to grow within the local market.

Thomas however noted that the overall number of skins exported in 2020 declined slightly compared with the 2019 numbers due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the luxury leather market.

He added that exports were also negatively affected because international inspectors were not able to travel to grade the skins due to travel restrictions. The Zambia crocodile farmers association members rear Nile crocodiles, with skins sold internationally for luxury footwear, handbags and garments while the meat and other by-products are sold locally.

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The Zambia Crocodile Farmers Association (ZaCFA) has

Lifestyle

The University of Zambia (UNZA) has disclosed that student who have completed Advanced levels (A-levels) will be able to complete medicine in 5 years. UNZA has discovered that students studying medicine and nursing sciences can adequately be trained within six years and four years respectively.

UNZA Public Relations Manager Damaseke Chibale said there was a review of the curriculum by experts and it has been found that the number of years of the two science programmes can be reduced and will be sufficient for someone to graduate with a degree.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chibale said the students will be given the needed quality training adding that the institution has over the years realised that there are certain things that are not very important in the study of medicine.

He also said the trend in most countries is five and six years because the important thing is how the training is packaged adding that medicine training is a hands on programme and the first two-three years are spent in classrooms while the next three to four years involve practicals.

“Following the modern trends in medicine training and after strategically reviewing the curriculum, we have found that six years is adequate to train a medical doctor, so is four years to train someone in nursing sciences”, he said.

Chibale said the university keeps innovating and adopting the ICT technology so there was an exercise to review the curriculum and it was found that the medicine degree programme can be streamlined by one year by revising the curriculum.

He said the reason students used to take seven years was because they were doing A levels in the first year in the School of Natural Sciences because most secondary schools have no A levels.

He added that A levels require one to do the pure sciences so students who do A levels in secondary school start from second year when they enroll into the university.

“In a situation where a student has done A levels and they got maybe a B-general grade in all the science courses, this student will start in second year”, he said. He said with the reduction in the number of years for the programme, the student will only take five years to complete the programme.

He noted that for most European countries, students spend two-three years in class learning about deep sciences and after that they get into hospitals to get practical and learn about the applied medical practice which is the critical part in training.

“If you look at the US or UK universities training medicine, the entry will require that you must do A levels so that they don’t spend one year doing the A levels because they have already been done, so the degree in medicine varies between 5-6 years depending on the method of teaching”, he said.

The University of Zambia has reduced the years of study for medicine from seven years to six years whereas the nursing science programme will now run for four years instead of five years. This change is expected to flow through all the other public higher learning institutions such as the Copperbelt University – CBU and Mulungushi University which offer medicine.

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The University of Zambia (UNZA) has disclosed

Agribusiness

The Grain Traders Association of Zambia – GTAZ has revealed that there is a likely to be an increase in the prices of bread and other wheat products if the government does not issue a tax waiver for the import of wheat to cover the deficit.

GTAZ President Chambuleni Simwinga said consumers of the wheat products will have to bear the cost if the government does not issue a waiver on the export. The cost will be passed on to the final consumers.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Simwinga said imported wheat tends to be more expensive compared to locally grown wheat due to import taxes and duties, therefore the association has continued to lobby to government and is hopeful that there will be a positive response.

Simwinga said the government has allowed the importation of 100,000 metric tonnes of wheat  and people are importing from South Africa in small quantities, adding that it is still in the pipeline as people are still putting in place all the logistics that are needed.

“If am going to import wheat at a higher cost, I cannot suck in the cost, I also have to pass that cost to someone and that someone is a consumer, so bread and other wheat products will cost more”, he said.

GTAZ has in the past advised that there is always a deficit in wheat production in the country, which is normally supplemented by imports. The local participation in wheat cultivation has been improving but more needs be done.

The association disclosed that there is a reasonable number of commercial farmers that grow wheat but the biggest challenge is the cost of inputs adding that most of the inputs that are used are imported into Zambia.

Simwinga has noted that wheat farming is not like growing maize as it is capital intensive or requires higher investment to some extent, and this is because wheat is not entirely rain fed, it is irrigated and irrigation of a large farm is not a cheap exercise therefore there is always a deficit of wheat every year.

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The Grain Traders Association of Zambia -

Agribusiness

The Sub-Sahara African Farmers Organisation (SSAFO) says it has increased its birds production which is now between 3.5 million and 4 million birds and currently exports over 10,000 birds to the Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC on a weekly basis.

SSAFO Founder and President Munyaradzi Mulonda said the organisation does not only keep chickens but now has its own brand, noting that besides processing the chickens for export, it also supplies to the local market and has its own food outlets.

Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mulonda said the organisation has its own shops, butcheries, a meat processing centre in Kabwe and has employed a good number of people, adding that this is one way it has helped creat employment.

He said the organisation has grown exponentially from the time it started due to its in-house growth of chicken and outgrower scheme, which it has launched and has a number of farmers supporting it through the scheme.

He added that the organisation has continued to target the export market in order to earn the country as much foreign currency as it can through farming activities through export of chickens.

“We are trying to promote farming as a business and show that agribusiness makes sense, this project is aimed at empowering people with skills. Broiler chickens come as a day old chick, weighing 35 grams, takes over a six week period to grow and there is so much  that happens in this six weeks, all these things are being taught to our members. We are now talking about introducing poultry farming at a very large scale”, he said.

Mulonda mentioned that Covid 19 really affected the organisation and things have not fully gone back to  normal as some of the clients that it was working with have not recovered from the economic effects of the virus and this has also negatively affected the organisation.

He added that the organisation owns a printing press and had printed exercise books which were supposed to be sold in the first term of 2020 but unfortunately as the books were been marketed, schools were closed and all the expenses went down the drain.

He also said that some members of staff were laid off because there was not much to do and demand for our products was low during the lockdown, but later, we hired more staff as the organisation started to expand beginning of august 2020 and is now working in full scale.

Mulonda said the organisation is open to partnerships from individuals, clubs, organisations, associations, cooperatives, corporate and public entities who want to join the programme which focuses on empowering the youth.

He also noted that 2020 was an exciting year for the organisation as it managed to grow as sub-Sahara farmer’s organisation.

“We started with one programme which is the consolidated young entrepreneurs’ programme which is a youth empowerment programme for poultry farming, we have now gone into crop production”, he said.

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The Sub-Sahara African Farmers Organisation (SSAFO) says

Markets

Zambia should backs its local cross border traders to expand export or risks remaining a net importer and dumping ground for foreign goods. Local traders growth will directly translate into increased forex earnings and local benefits.

Speaking in an an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Cross Boarders Traders Association – CBTA of Zambia Secretary General Jacob Makambwe said there is need to forcus on value addition and agro processing activities if the country is to expand its exports.

“There is need implement the industrial development policy that will support local value addition and the agro process activities. This includes developing the packaging and export standards certification, so that Zambian products are accepted in especially neighboring countries”, Makambwe stated.

He warned that if Zambia does not have value addition, it will continue being the dumping ground for foreign products and all our goods are going to come from outside the country. The country needs urgently implement its industrial development policy and re-develop its local manufacturing sector.

He added that Zambia is now part and parcel of the African Continental Free Trade Area – AfCFTA which is an agreement to open up to almost all African countries products and service, which will introduce other market forces.

Makambwe stated that his association which has over 500 registered members need to be supported if Zambia is to meaningfully grow its exports and earn the much needed foreign exchange.

He told ZBT that currently, the association members Business is about 70% imports and 30% exports. But when you look at the exports, the numbers could be more as most local traders rather take their goods to the Zambia border side and these are then bought off by traders from neighboring countries who then cross over to their countries. So the export numbers are much more than the official statistics.

The cross boarder traders association has called on the ministry of foreign affairs to sign off more bilateral trade deals that can have agreed quotas and could be utilized to drive more trade especially by local traders.

And Mambwe said most of the goods that Zambia imports through small scale and local traders includes motor vehicles, motor vehicle spare parts, clothes and groceries. So these are some of the areas were Zambia can deliberately look at setting up local manufacturing facilities.

In terms of exports, goods originating from Zambia are mostly Agro products and Livestock. This is an area we’re the country needs to develop its Agro processing industry to get better value from exports.

He told ZBT that the most active borders for local traders include Nakonde, border with Tanzania, Kasumbalesa border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chirundu border with Zimbabwe, Kazungula border with Botswana and Mwami border with Malawi.

He stated that “Nakonde is one of the busiest borders as its used as the entry point of most imports not just from Tanzania, but as a transit border for goods from as far as China and the Middle East. It’s also a transit point for goods destined for DRC Katanga region.

Chirundu is also the other land border which is very busy as it is a transit point for goods from South Africa to Zambia as well as transit goods to DRC. So the cargo that comes through Chirundu or even Kasugula also includes goods destined for DRC.

Zambia currently exports about 800,000 tons of copper annually mainly through multinational companies, but the export proceeds in dollars are not entirely remitted back to Zambia making the Kwacha Weaker and in perpetual depreciation fight.

It’s it is projected that if local traders were involved, the externalizations of export proceeds could be minimized as its generally a known principle that people invest in their home countries. It’s now known that there is no country that has been sustainably developed by another country.

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Zambia should backs its local cross border

Companies

PUMA oil Zambian unit risks having its operating license revoked after the company was accused of deliberately failing to stock enough fuel at most of its retail service stations, leading to creating of what has been described as an artificial shortage.

Energy Minister Mathews Nkhuwa during his fact finding tour of the Southern Province to check on fuel stock levels expressed his concerns questioning why Puma was the only oil marketing company whose retail service stations had no fuel when others had managed to re-stock.

The Energy Minister said he is disappointed with PUMA pointing out that almost all the filling station he had visited across the province had managed to get back to normal in terms of having enough stocks of both Petrol and Diesel at the various filling stations.

Nkhuwa said despite Puma having 70 years experience in the Zambian energy sector, its disappointing that the company is failing to order fuel in a timely manner so as to cushion consumers against possible shortages.

“Puma management seems not know what they are doing, the situation is disappointing since we need them to come through especially during this time when we are experiencing some level of fuel shortage as a country,” he said.

He said he was impressed with the fuel stock levels at most filling station except for puma. The minister noted that most filling stations had enough stocks to last up to six days. “Oil marketing companies have reserves for filling stations, while the country has reserves that should be drawn from in times of need”, he said.

Fuel shortages at some service stations started building up and was caused by oil marketing companies not ordering fuel due to high landing costs which was eroding their margins.

“So upon realizing that, government did consultations and afterwards we removed exercise duty on both diesel and petrol and zero rated the Value Added Tax – VAT so that the end user prices would not be adjusted upwards. This is why the current pump prices remained at the same price,” Nkuwa emphasized.

The Energy Minister has since assured the nation that fuel price hike was unlikely at the moment. “We would have increased the price of fuel, but we realize that if we increase the price of fuel, everything else will sky rocket in terms of pricing”, he said.

Nkhuwa however cautioned that the government had limited to no control over the two major factors that led to fuel increase. He cited the two factors as the Kwacha to US dollar rate and the international oil prices.

“So when international oil price goes up, it becomes very difficult to hold the prices down, if you look at the current situation, the Kwacha depreciated by about 51% and a barrel of crude oil has gone up from about US$40 the last time we increased, to now about US$53. These are the factors that put pressure on landed cost of fuel,” he said.

When ZBT reached out to Puma, regarding the threat of the oil marketing company losing its Zambian operation license, Puma Zambia Managing Director Pinchi Simukwai stated that he would issue a statement later.

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PUMA oil Zambian unit risks having its

Companies

Zambia is currently stuck and can not offload about 70 tons of ivory that is held by the government. The ivory held by Zambia is estimated to be worth about US$105 million using a lower band price of US$1,500 per kilogram.

A surge in demand for ivory in Asia has been the main reason behind the upward trend in prices for elephant tusks, especially from Africa. Over the past decade, the price of raw ivory has gone up from about US$100 per kilogram to between US$1,500 to US$1,800, creating a lucrative black market.

A check with the Ministry of Tourism and Arts by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT revealed that Zambia is still lobbying to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) for the country to offload its ivory stockpile.

Ministry of Tourism Spokesperson Sakabilo Kalembwe said the ivory is getting weak and the grade or quality is going down because of age, adding that some of the held ivory stock dates back several decades from the time it was confiscated.

In an exclusive interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Kalembwe said that even if we request to sell off all the ivory, CITES cannot allow the country to offload all of it at once because most of the ivory may end up on the black market.

“We cannot offload all of [the Ivory] at once because this will create unnecessary confusion and other countries will say, why has Zambia been allowed?, can we also be allowed to afload all our stocks”, he said.

He also said that the ministry is hoping that the lobbying that the country has been doing through the Non Governmental Organizations – NGOs and various embassies that are around that are affiliated to Zambia, CITES will give Zambia a go ahead to realize value from the stocks held.

And a follow up by ZBT with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife through the Assistant Director for Conservation Management, Andrew Chomba, revealed that the country has between 60-70 tonnes of ivory stocks.

When asked estimate the market value of the ivory, Chomba stated that it is difficult to tell how much it is worth because currently there is no legal trade in ivory worldwide. “What is prevailing now is the black market price and that should not be the basis for us to value our ivory, so it’s a challenge to put an actual price to it”, he said.

Chomba added that if the country is to offload its ivory stocks, a trading partner that will be willing to buy the ivory will have to be identified and then the price will be negotiated and agreed.

When further reminded that the stocks are costing the government and tax payers money to be kept secure, Chomba said that he cannot put an exact figure to how much it is costing the government to secure the stockpile at a secure location, but stated that it is a costly exercise.

To hold the stocks, its a continuous exercise of getting new stocks. “We have to send officers on patrol in the bush to look for dead elephants, be it from natural mortalities or poacher activities. The aim is to collect the ivory, secure it and take it to the headquarters”.

“So the cost of the salaries, cost of transporting it to a secure location is quite significant as well as the security provided and the storage room which must be secured at all times is a massive cost”, he said.

Chomba further told ZBT that it is a challenging process to get where the country will be able to sell the ivory because the proposals should be submitted to CITES at the conference of parties. It is at these conferences were Zambia’s proposal must be supported by two thirds of parties for it to succeed.

Some stakeholders have proposed that Zambia finds a way to leverage and benefit from its huge stockpile of Ivory it currently holds. As things stand, you find that the country is being negatively reported for failing to settle debt obligations when it holds assets such as ivory whose value can not be realized.

Most African countries are in the end forced to burn down these ivory stocks as holding the stockpiles just end up as a costly exercise. This perhaps explains why our economies in Africa continue to lose value over time. Dear ZBT reader, What should the government do with the ivory?

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Zambia is currently stuck and can not

Tech

Zambia’s Engineering professional body, The Engineering Institute of Zambia (EIZ) has maintained its stance and will not budge or compromise its professional advise that the Alick Nkhata flyover bridge should be demolished.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, EIZ President Eng. Abel Ng’andu said he has not backtracked on his position concerning the Alick Nkhata flyover bridge, adding maintained that the structure does not meet the specifications of a well-designed structure.

EIZ deemed the bridge unsafe after undertaking a review of the design and construction as well as after engaging all stakeholders involved on the project through an in-depth analysis of the intended purpose of the bridge, its design and construction sometime last year.

According to a press release made available to the media on 22 December 2020 by the EIZ Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Eng. Linus Chanda, the space where the flyover bridge is being constructed is not sufficient to meet a well-designed flyover bridge, which meets standard specifications.

Chanda had stated then that the assessments done prior to undertaking the project do not justify the construction of the bridge, adding that the safety of the pedestrians was not adequately addressed.

He also said that the steep slopes of the bridge would lead to frequent accidents and the sudden slope change on the deck of the ramp will eventually affect the integrity of the bridge.

The EIZ therefore recommended that the bridge be demolished and a new re-designed road section be constructed and it has since maintained its stance. Some patch up work was recently done by the contractor but a drive through the bridge is still raising doubt even from ordinary motorists as to whether the bridge is safe.

Some stakeholders have indicated that the contractor and the Pension fund (PSPF) may be reluctant to demolish and redesign due to the huge sums of money that has already been sunk into the bridge. Efforts to get a comment from both PSPF and the contractor proved futile by press time.

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Zambia’s Engineering professional body, The Engineering Institute

Markets

The re-opening of schools across Zambia has started the process of re-igniting the low business pulse as the local economy attempts to crawl out of the current recession exacerbated by the Covid pandemic.

Among the businesses expected to benefit include bookstores, garments and school uniform businesses and generally the food and beverages sector as school children drive the purchase of many lines under food and beverages.

From this experience, most businesses have learnt how pivotal schools and higher learning institutions play in driving demand for their products. The ministries of General and Higher education are perhaps the most unsung hero’s when it comes to contribution to economic activity.

Yet a check from indictors such as traffic from Monday morning shows that the transport sector also got a fair share of the return business from 1 February 2021. Minibus & taxi drivers and owners have also benefited from increased business.

This benefits also translates linked business sector such as petroleum stations, corner shops and both the formal and informal economy has definitely gotten a kick up in economic activity from this single and yet delicate decision to re-Open schools.

A check with leading book and stationary retailer, Book world, its Procurement Officer Christabel Sakala revealed that there is a rise in sales volumes as schools re-open. Sakala stated that they optimistic that the opening of schools will further increase sales for the bookstore.

Sakala said she has observed that the opening of schools has affected the business positively as more parents are trying to buy provisions and supplies for their children. Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Sakala said business was negatively affected during the closure of schools, as there were lower sales.

She said the bookstore has two types of key customers who are the schools and parents. She’s stated that from the time schools were closed, the sales volume were lower, adding that sales were not as high for both the schools which buy directly from the store or the parents who buy for their kids individually.

“At the moment we are still in the back to school run, schools just opened and the back to school rush started over the weekend which will go on throughout this week until next week, so we are positive that the sales will increase further”, she said.

Meanwhile the Bus and Taxi Owners Association of Zambia says the increase in Covid-19 cases has continued to slow down business, as most people are not traveling. Association Spokesperson Amis Daudi said people have reduced their movements due to the corona virus therefore, business has become slow.

Daudi noted that though the short distance movements have improved from the time school re-opened, there is still a general reduction in business. He stated that long distance movements have reduced even more as many people are trying to stay home and stay safe.

He has urged the drivers and taxi owners to ensure that everyone that uses their buses or taxis masks up, adding that the public should also ensure they follow the Covid-19 guidelines so that business can resume to be conducted under the new normal.

It is therefore key that the Covid pandemic defense guidelines are followed so that the country can find ways to open up and ease distractions in more and more sectors. After all, top scientist have projected that Covid may take a long time or even years to eliminate, even after the roll out of vaccines.

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The re-opening of schools across Zambia has

Agribusiness

Zambia’s Sunflower production increased by a staggering 47% in the 2019/2020 farming season compared to the 2018/2019 farming season. Despite this aggressive increase, the local production still did not meet the national demand.

According to information made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT by the Zambia’s statistics agency – Zamstats, Sunflower production increased from 34,208 metric tonnes in the 2018/2019 farming season to 50,451 metric tonnes in the 2019/2020 farming season.

Sunflower demand has largely been driven by the demand for edible oils (cooking and industrial oils) as well as stock feed. Meanwhile, National Union for Small Scale Farmers in Zambia-NUSFAZ says the current production of Sunflower is not enough to satisfy the needs of the processors of edible oils and stock feed.

Union Executive Director Ebony Loloji said edible oil manufacturers have the capacity to process in excess of 80,000 metric tonnes but production is less than this capacity. There is also demand from livestock feed producers which is also growing.

Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Loloji said the demand for sunflower is very high but the farmers are not able to meet the demand, adding that market availability is broad.

Loloji said there is need to educate farmers on how to go about producing the crop and the market availability, adding that if local farmers are given the market information at the right time, they will be able to make good decisions concerning venturing into sunflower production.

“If farmers are given information at the right time, they will be able to say okay fine, if I were to go into sunflower production, atleast I know that the market is readily available and am able to sell it at a competitive price and make a return or profit”, he said.

He also said that local famers need to be made aware of the fact that sunflower is a low input crop and is not as expensive to grow as other cash crops because it just needs compound D fertilizer as compared to maize which requires basal dressing and also top dressing.

“In terms of fertilizing for sunflower you just need around 4 bags of D compound for a hectare”, he said. Loloji mentioned that the oil from sunflower is of superior quality compared to soya beans and one gets more oil from sunflower for every kg that is crushed compared to soya beans.

“You need around 10kg of seed to plant one hectare compared to soya beans where you need about 100kg”, he said. He also said that the supply of seed was a challenge last farming season and hopes that there will be an improvement this year from seed companies.

“It was very difficult to source seed, there were so many seed companies that we contacted for the supply of sunflower seed but most of them were saying they had run out”, he said. Loloji also noted that there was an increase in the market price that was been offered in the last marketing season which was about K3.5 per kg, adding that it was better than the ruling prices for maize.

Zambian farmers have been caught up in the mono-cropping culture which have been heavily dependent on rains. Agro experts have contented that there is need for all year round and multi cropping for farming as a Business to reality in Zambia.

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Zambia’s Sunflower production increased by a staggering