LUAPULA Province Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary John Mwasha says the Avocado industry in the region has potential to change the economic status if well managed.
Mr. Mwasha said if well marketed the avocado industry which is booming in Kawambwa District can bring in Forex in Luapula and the country as whole.
Speaking when he met a team from the Zambia News and Information Services and Kawambwa Sugar at the Provincial Administration, Mr. Mwasha urged the media to sensitise people and publish information on plants such as avocado which is a promising business in Luapula.
“I encourage you to write stories on such plants, because if well marketed, the industry can boost our economy as a province and the country as a whole,” he said.
Mr. Mwasha noted that NAVA Limited the investors of the Kawambwa Sugar Limited that are managing the Avocado project should market the produce so that the local people can benefit.
“Most of our peasant farmers are being exploited and what is important is for them to have readily available market so that their livelihoods can improve,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) Senior Editor Christeter Chizhyuka pledged the institution‘s continued commitment to interpreting Government policies and documenting economic activities around the country.
Mrs. Chizhyuka said while in the Province, the team will visit Kawambwa Sugar Limited to document economic activities of the company and the avocado project.
She stated that it is through well researched information that the public are able to appreciate the work that Government and cooperating partners are doing.
The Kawambwa Sugar Limited Avocado project which covers 1,100 hectares targets to create direct employment for over 600 full-time workers and 600 seasonal workers, with a particular focus on empowering women.
Its first commercial harvest is expected by early 2025 with an expected annual revenue of USD$60 million, primarily from international sales.
Crop Markets is what will kill Agriculture in ZM. What’s the incentive for farmers to grow crops with no readily market without exploitation. Zambia increasing revenue through the Agriculture sector will always be a dream.
Apart from maize, why would farmers grow crops without a market? Farming should be seen as a business.
Expect less & less production if we continue on this path.
In Kenya during harvest time family member take turns to protect watch over the avocado trees at night as its highly sort after in Europe especially organic fruits not they GMO grown in Chile.