Zambia launches model farm as alternative to mining

24 March 2010, Reuters
URL: http://steelguru.com/news/index/MTM4MDE4/Zambia_launches_model_farm_as_alternative_to_mining.html

Lusaka:  Reuters reported that Zambia wants foreign and local investors to plough their resources in a new model farm meant to encourage economic diversification from copper and cobalt mining to agriculture.

Official data showed that as of November 2009, mining accounted for almost 90% of exports from Zambia, Africa's top copper producer.

Mr Felix Mutati commerce, trade and industry minister of Zambia said that the government had supplied electricity to the 155,000 hectare Nansanga farm bloc and built roads and dams to attract investors to grow more export crops to reduce dependency on copper.

Zambia, previously a net importer of maize has turned around its agricultural sector to become a net exporter, following a government program to provide subsidized pesticides and seed to small scale farmers, also aimed at improving food security.

The government also said that the southern African country faces increasing maize import requirements from its neighbors, particularly Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Mutati said that one of the things that is inhibiting investment in agriculture is poor infrastructure, and so the decision we took as government is to lay down the infrastructure. The government was currently demarcating the land and had received numerous applications from people seeking to invest in the model farm, but who had waited until the development of roads and other infrastructure was completed.

He said that "We believe that this year we should be able to see a few farmers beginning to work in Nansanga because we have laid the infrastructure."

Mr Mutati said that the government had spent more than ZMK 100 billion on the electrification of the farm and building of other infrastructure. The government wanted value addition to agricultural produce and would encourage farmers to sell their crops to local canning factories instead of exporting it in raw form.

(Sourced from Reuters)