ZCCM-Investments Holding (ZCCM-IH) is seeking to partner with the private sector in the development of a mixed agriculture and value chain project in Lufwanyama. This is part of ZCCM-IH’s diversification programme from mining.

ZCCM-IH chief executive officer Pius Kasolo said the company has since acquired 2,000 hectares of land to grow various crops under irrigation and rear livestock which will be processed and sold locally and exported within the region.

“We will sale produce in raw form; pork will be processed into beacon and ham and we will not only feed the Copperbelt but, targeting Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo markets,” Dr Kasolo said in an interview last week.

He said the projects earmarked for next year, will be done in partnership with the private sector following a number of international agricultural firms that have expressed interest in the project. “During the just ended mining indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, we showcased our projects, including the agriculture project and large-scale agricultural firms expressed interest to co-venture,” he said.

ZCCM-IH, which holds shares in mining companies on behalf of Government and is also owned by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), has embarked on ambitious programmes aimed at diversifying in various sectors including energy, real estate and agriculture.

Recently, the company invested about US$8 million in the acquisition of Trinity House in Lusaka as it ventures in real estate. Dr Kasolo said the property will house the ZCCM-IH offices while the rest of the building will be leased as office space.

Source: Daily Mail