Fri, 05 May 2017 11:43:03 +0000
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
THE Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) has urged locals to engage in tree planting to grow and diversify the forest sector.
Company chief executive officer, Frighton Sichone, said Zambains must take up the challenge of investing in the sector unlike looking up to foreign investors.
He said it was important to industrialise the forest sector as it had potential to create jobs for all kind of people with different skills.
“The question is: Can we industrialize and diversify the forestry sector? This sector is very viable but sustainability is a question. We only hear about deforestation, illegal harvesting of trees or timber but on the other hand is how many people or companies are planting trees in this country?
“My major appeal is that we need as a country to identify ourselves as individuals, Government may plant or not. Can we take up a challenge and invest in this sector where you do not need much skills but only patience,” he said.
Mr Sichone said Zambia was ideally and geographically positioned on the African continent with potential to grow the forest sector by planting trees at all times.
“We have been to countries like Brazil, Finland, China and South Africa and none of these countries beats Zambia in terms of location and suitability of the environment. Now, do we need to have a foreign investor to come and plant a tree on our own soil?
“When we are very certain that we will have rains the following season and all we need is to plant a tree. So if we are going to industrialize and start producing timber products for export, then where is the material?
‘‘There will come a time when all the material will be used and not replaced,” said Mr Sichone.
