. Mutati

By JUDITH NAMUTOWE –
LOCAL production and processing of crude palm oil will drastically reduce Zambia’s dependence on the commodity and edible oil imports.
Finance Minister Felix Mutati expressed delight that the country was now able to produce and sell palm oil.
Mr  Mutati  was impressed with the production and processing of crude oil when he conducted a tour of the Zampalm plantation  project Mpika in  Muchinga Province
He was accompanied by Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) chief executive officer Mateyo Kaluba.
The entourage visited the model  public-private partnership between  IDC  and Zambeef Products.
The Minister   praised the economic, social and environment impact of the  project.
“It’s amazing that we are now able to harvest, they are able to produce and sell palm oil. The passion and the commitment of the workers is incredible, the determination of management is immeasurable. It’s a very satisfying project not only for the local area but for all of us,” Mr Mutati said.
Senior Chief Kopa of the Kopa Chiefdom was happy with the development taking place in the area as it was improving the livelihood of residents.
“From the time Zampalm came to this place, my chiefdom is not as it was before. We have benefited so much and the presence of the Zampalm in the area has changed the lives of the people,” Chief Kopa said.
Zambeef chairperson Jacob Mwanza said the plantation was set to be a centre of development as the country seeks to grow its agro-processing capacity and create a strong manufacturing base.
“Zambeef took on a bold and pioneering spirit to start the project. It is a developmental project; developing people around here and will make even more significant contribution to the edible oil industry in our country.
“It is  important that we partner with IDC because of the developmental nature of this project. We wanted it to remain Zambian and  contribute to the development of this part of our country  and as we go along, Zambia will one day be an exporter of palm oil instead of importing,” Dr Mwanza said.
The Zampalm project was launched in 2009 and currently has  409,506 palms planted over an area of 2,873 hectares on the main plantation.
A further 300 hectares is set to  be planted before the end of the year, with  96,000 seedlings in the main and pre-nursery.
In 2015 Zampalm commissioned its first US$1 million crushing mill plant with a capacity of two tonnes of fresh palm fruit per hour.
Work on doubling this crushing plant will be completed in the next 15 months.