Cassava big business opportunity – minister

Sat, 25 Feb 2017 11:31:09 +0000

GOVERNMENT has reaffirmed its commitment to diversify the economy from being dependent on mining to other sectors such as tourism and agriculture. Minister in the Office of the Vice President Sylvia Chalikosa has said.

The minister said in agriculture the commercialisation of cassava was an opportunity.

Speaking during the consultative meeting for suppliers in the cassava value chain, she said the development in the cassava value chain would uphold calls for multi-stakeholder action on the development efforts being made in the country.

“Government has continued to attach great importance to cassava as a food security crop because a nation that does not feed itself becomes a threat to its own sovereign existence,’’ she said.

She said growing and processing its own food as a country would make Zambia more competitive in export markets while creating jobs which were an ingredient for national security

Zambia Breweries corporate affairs director Ezekiel Sekele said the company would continue working with small-scale farmers by guaranteeing a market for their produce in order to enhance the standard of living for the farmers.  Mr. Sekele said ZB was committed in ensuring that Government attained development for the people.  He said the company planned to buy over 3,000 tonnes of cassava this year and commended Government for investing in the cassava value chain. He said the challenges that the cassava farmers faced were lack of funds for equipment, reagents and information dissemination, lack of trained personnel, inadequate cutting varieties and lack of markets.