LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Zambia’s agriculture sector has much to offer the country as well as the SADC region, especially if it can improve productivity in the cattle sector, Zambeef Products Plc’s Joint Chief Executive Officer Francis Grogan has observed.
“As Zambeef we are very proud of being self-sufficient in beef and now we need to go further and begin serious exports into SADC. As Zambeef we see enormous potential to grow the Zambian beef industry and supply the whole region with beef. Given the necessary resources we can grow our beef herd and tap into the huge export opportunities that exist to supply beef into the SADC region,” said Mr Grogan.
Mr Grogan pointed out the massive potential and opportunities for exports to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region but also noted that much had to be done in order to achieve this. He referred to the need for the livestock community to increase the number of cattle by improving offtake, noting that it is not close to what the country is capable of producing.
The establishment of the new Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock is very welcome and Zambeef hope that the necessary resources and support for Veterinary Services and extra extension officers will materialise. This new ministry should herald a badly needed focus on the Zambian livestock sector.
“Zambia has a very small beef herd 3 to 3.5 million head of cattle while the country has the capacity to carry at least 12 to 15 million head. Tanzania,which has is a 10 percent larger land mass, has a national herd of approximately 23 million cattle so huge opportunity exists to tap into this potential. “But to improve numbers we must improve the offtake or productivity of our traditional beef herd. This can be done through channelling extra resources into veterinary support, improved husbandry methods and better nutrition. This way we can grow the national herd fairly quickly. Current offtake of the traditional herd is still only around 6 percent, while offtake from the commercial hers is over 30 percent,” he said.
“Surrounding us here is a market of 354 million people in SADC and SADC needs to start feeding itself. Zambia is self-sufficient in the production of all the basic foodstuffs such as maize, wheat, soya, beef, chicken, dairy, pork, which is a major achievement over the last 20 to 30 years. Now we need to keep improving on that so we can export our surplus to these 354 million people we have around us. Look at the opportunity to produce and export food to all those people; there won’t be any downturn in that. People have to eat food every single day of their lives. Agriculture, agri-processing and the food industry should be the new focus for Zambia to generate wealth for our farmers and employment opportunities for many people as we feed the region,” said Mr Grogan.
Mr Grogan’s sentiments were reiterated by a delegation of Finnish Ambassadors from Sub-Saharan Africa, led by Finnish Ambassador to Zambia Timo Olkkonsen, who toured Zambeef’s Huntley Farm and Kalundu Dairy as part of a regional meeting with ALI-Management and its co-operating Zambian partner the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) as part of efforts to understand how agribusiness and livestock in particular, can further positively contribute to the Zambia’s economic outlook.
“What Zambeef has here is quiet impressive so it really tells that the venture has been successful … and that the meat industry and cattle rearing clearly has a big role to play in the economy of Zambia. Agribusiness should be one of the pillars of the Zambian economy and there is much that needs to be done. Indeed, Zambia is partly already a bread basket to the region but it could be even more. There are possibilities for creating food processing and enhancing productivity in agriculture and turn more from subsistence farming to commercial farming,” said Mr Olkkonsen.
The Ambassador also highlighted the fact that that crop diversification was a necessity if value addition and exports are to be achieved on a larger scale.
Mr Grogan also pointed out that such growth in the sector would not only develop rural areas and contribute to job creation but also generate foreign exchange income through exports to other markets throughout the region. He further urged farmers to focus on tapping into neighbouring markets due to their proximity as well as opportunities resulting from increasing incomes and population across the region. The commissioning of the Zamhatch in Mpongwe and Zampalm in Mpika projects will tremendously increase Zambeef’s poultry production capacity as well as open up new markets for the much needed crude palm oil.
“The opportunity to create employment in agriculture; primary and agri-processing is enormous. Of that 3 to 3.5 million head of cattle, approximately 95 per cent is in the hands of small-scale farmers and we deal extensively with small-scale farmers all over Zambia. We have the natural resources for livestock production and we have the market right on our doorstep so we must focus investment and energy so we take advantage of these,” concluded Mr Grogan.
Zambeef currently employs over 6,000 employees and is the single largest employer in the country after the government and the mines with the biggest shareholder in Zambeef being NAPSA, ultimately making every single worker and anyone contributing to NAPSA a shareholder in the company.
