ZCF urges value addition to export products

Tue, 27 Dec 2016 11:03:22 +0000

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

LOCAL agricultural commodity producers must contribute to the national value chain process by exporting finished products, says Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF) director general James Chirwa.

Mr Chirwa said in an interview that Zambian agricultural producers should take advantage of the large market in the SADC region by exporting finished products which contributed to the national value chain.

He said agricultural commodities such as maize should be exported in its finished product which was mealie meal for producers to get value for the product.

“Maize must not leave the borders of Zambia but the product of maize should leave the borders as a way of getting the benefit of value addition in the country.

“I think that is what will stabalise our currency and strengthen it against the dollar and this is what we should be doing for the country, not only for maize but also for anything else we can add value,” he said.

Mr Chirwa said the ZCF had since embarked on a vigorous industrialisation programme for the value addition such as the Presidential solar milling plant.

“It is never been my dream to sale maize outside the country and when I see ZCF selling maize like we are doing now, I am at pain but since it is meant to improve our cash flow, we have embarked on it.

“At the end of it all, I would want to see ZCF exporting mealie meal to whoever wants to import it outside the country,” he said.

Mr Chirwa also said cooperatives that benefitted from the Presidential solar milling initiative should not wait for ZCF to deliver maize to them as it was putting pressure on the cooperative.

“Let them consider it as a business, they have been given a life by way of that industrial development. They should find means by which they can source maize and start processing and value add.

“They should go on a serious maize market operation with the intention of feeding the plants, there is a benefit of value addition,” he said.

Mr Chirwa said ZCF currently had a sizable amount of maize and that the cooperative would in 2017 go on full scale into maize purchase for the purpose of milling and engaging in sale of maize.

He explained that one solar milling plants was able to produce 2 tonnes which is about 80 of 25 Kilogrammes of mealie meal in a day.